Breeding System Characteristics and Egg Production Performance of Crossbred Native Chickens in Humid Tropical Smallholder Farms: Evidence from a Case Study in Indonesia

Crossbred native chickens are widely raised in smallholder farming systems in tropical environments for egg and day-old chick (DOC) production. This study aimed to characterize breeder management practices and egg production performance on five smallholder farms in Samarinda City, Indonesia. A descriptive observational study was conducted using purposively selected farms. Data were collected through farm observations, farmer interviews, environmental measurements, and available production records, and were analyzed descriptively. Farmers had 2–9 years of farming experience, and four farms used intensive management while one used a semi-intensive system. The number of breeding hens ranged from 30 to 50 per farm, with male-to-female ratios of 1:4.3 to 1:6. Daily egg production ranged from 12 to 40 eggs per farm, corresponding to a hen-day egg production (HDP) of 36.0%–85.7%. Reported feed protein content ranged from 17% to 20%, while feed consumption ranged from 80 to 120 g/bird/day. Housing density ranged from 1.60 to 3.00 birds/m², temperature from 28 to 29 °C, relative humidity from 60% to 75%, and temperature-humidity index (THI) from 77.03 to 80.60. Egg production-based breeder selection practices varied among farms. Because the study involved only five purposively selected farms and descriptive analysis without inferential statistical testing or continuous production monitoring, the findings describe the selected farms and do not establish causal relationships or support generalization to all smallholder farms. Further research involving more farms and systematic production monitoring is needed to investigate relationships between breeder management, environmental conditions, and egg production performance.