Abstract
We tested the novel cross of the old local breed Deutsches Lachshuhn and the layer breed White Rock, as well as purebred Deutsches Lachshuhn, for their suitability as dual-purpose chickens under 100% organic husbandry conditions, and compared their performance and welfare with the two dual-purpose crosses New Hampshire × Bresse and Bresse × White Rock, which are already established in Germany. Chicks were reared in mixed-sex groups until slaughter of the males at 15 or 18 weeks of life. Data on laying performance and animal welfare were recorded until the hens' 72nd week of life. Laying performance of Deutsches Lachshuhn × White Rock was almost twice as high as that in purebred hens, while fattening performance of the males did not differ. Deutsches Lachshuhn × White Rock, New Hampshire × Bresse and Bresse × White Rock realized a balanced performance profile of 242-250 eggs per hen alive and a final live weight of the males of 2924-3105 g after 18 weeks of rearing. The efficiency of a pair of chickens (one male and one female) was very similar for the crosses (3.69-3.77 kg feed kg(-1) marketable product), while purebred Deutsches Lachshuhn was less efficient (6.35 kg feed kg(-1) marketable product). Crossing the breed Deutsches Lachshuhn with a layer breed therefore improved laying performance and overall efficiency of the birds compared to purebred Deutsches Lachshuhn.