Phenotypic racial pattern of Brazilian chickens of Canela-Preta breed

The purpose of this study was to establish the breed pattern for Canela-Preta chickens from Piauí state, Brazil, by phenotypic descriptors, as a contribution to the beginning of the valorization and recognition process of this genetic resource as a breed by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. A total of 116 birds from the cities of Teresina, Oeiras, and Queimada Nova were used. In total 32 morphological traits (21 quantitative and 11 qualitative) were measured. For qualitative traits, visual observation was used to obtain the data. The simple frequency and homogeneity were calculated for qualitative traits. Quantitative data were submitted to an analysis of variance and to a cluster analysis using UPGMA. Canela-Preta chicken has the following qualitative phenotypic pattern: type of comb - saw or walnut and its variations; color of comb - red or dark; eye color: red-orange, yellow, dun, brown or black; beak color: yellow or dark; wattles color: red or dark; lack of top knot; type of feathers: smooth; absence of feathered legs; predominantly black shanks; plumage color: black; hackle color: ranging among white, black and gold. They have quantitative phenotypic traits of high, medium and low coefficient of variation, however their homogeneity it is enough to be considered as a definite breed. They are classified as medium sized, with average body weight of 1.890 kg for females and 2.200 kg for males, which qualify them within the demand of poultry trade pattern in Brazil. Objetivou-se estabelecer o padrão racial para galinhas Canela-preta do estado do Piauí/Brasil por meio de descritores fenotípicos, como contribuição para o início do processo de valorização e reconhecimento deste recurso genético como raça pelo Ministério de Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento. Foram utilizadas 116 aves dos municípios de Teresina, Oeiras e Queimada-Nova, no estado do Piauí. Foram medidas 32 características morfológicas, sendo 21 quantitativas e 11 qualitativas. Para as características qualitativas a técnica empregada para obtenção dos dados foi à observação visual. Para as variáveis qualitativas foram calculadas as frequências simples das características e homogeneidade dessas frequências. Os dados quantitativos foram submetidos a uma análise de variância e posteriormente à análise de agrupamento, via método UPGMA. As galinhas Canela-Preta têm o seguinte padrão fenotípico qualitativo: tipo de crista: serra ou noz e suas variações; cor da crist