Towards a sustainable use of indigenous dual-purpose chickens: laying performance, egg quality, and plumage condition of Dresden chickens and Dresden bantams over two laying cycles with an induced break

Abstract Background Indigenous chicken breeds are important for agricultural biodiversity conservation and niche poultry production but are understudied in terms of performance. This study evaluated the laying performance, egg quality, and plumage conditions of two indigenous German dual-purpose breeds, Dresden chickens (DrChi) and Dresden bantams (DrBa), compared with commercial Lohmann Brown (LB) layers across two laying cycles separated by an induced laying break. Materials and methods Sixty hens per group were housed under free-range conditions. Data collection spanned weeks 21–115, with an induced laying break initiated at week 68. Biological performance, egg quality traits, and plumage conditions were monitored. Results In the first laying cycle, DrChi hens laid 143.1 ± 9.5 eggs, and DrBa hens laid 156.6 ± 15.7 eggs per hen, which was significantly fewer than that the performance of LB hens (319.2 ± 15.4 eggs; p < 0.001). During the second laying cycle, DrChi produced 97.8 ± 7.6 eggs, DrBa produced 115.7 ± 12.9 eggs, and LB produced 226.8 ± 13.5 eggs ( p < 0.001). The yolk content was greater in DrChi (32.3 ± 4.4%) and DrBa (32.4 ± 4.1%) than in LB (26.1 ± 2.6%) ( p < 0.001). Plumage damage occurred less frequently in the indigenous breeds than in the LB hens ( p < 0.001). After the laying break, improvements in eggshell breaking strength, shell thickness, and albumen consistency were observed across all the breeds ( p < 0.001). Conclusions Although egg production was significantly lower in the indigenous breeds, they presented superior yolk content and better plumage conditions. The induction of laying breaks has proven to be an effective strategy for sustaining egg quality and extending the productive life of these indigenous breeds in free-range systems.