This study was conducted to evaluate the breast skin collagen content and electrophoretic analyses of type I collagen in heterozygous naked neck and normally feathered commercial chicks. A total of 72 birds from each genotype were randomly selected at 7 weeks and slaughtered. Breast skin was separated from each carcass and was analysed for collagen content and gel electrophopresis of type I collagen was performed. Males had significantly higher level of skin collagen content than females in both genotypes. In the naked neck chickens ??1 , and ??2 bands were highly intensive than the commercial ones indicating that the collagen has become cross-linked by non-reducible covalent bands. On the other hand, normally feathered chickens had higher intensity of ??and ??bands than the naked neck chickens.

This study was conducted to evaluate the breast skin collagen content and electrophoretic analyses of type I collagen in heterozygous naked neck and normally feathered commercial chicks. A total of 72 birds from each genotype were randomly selected at 7 weeks and slaughtered. Breast skin was separated from each carcass and was analysed for collagen content and gel electrophopresis of type I collagen was performed. Males had significantly higher level of skin collagen content than females in both genotypes. In the naked neck chickens ??1 , and ??2 bands were highly intensive than the commercial ones indicating that the collagen has become cross-linked by non-reducible covalent bands. On the other hand, normally feathered chickens had higher intensity of ??and ??bands than the naked neck chickens.