author(s)
N Dahariya, S Sathapathy, UK Mishra, R Patra, S Dehury, SK Joshi, SK Sahu and L Samal

abstract
Hansli chicken is especially reared in Mayurbhanj district and in some parts of its nearby districts like Keonjhar of Odisha. They play a vital role in the economic upliftment of poor, landless and marginalised section of the people in the rural areas besides providing them with nutritious egg and meat for consumption. A total number of eighteen day old Hansli chicks and eighteen day old Vencobb broiler chicks were divided into three age groups viz. group I (up to 1 month), group II (1-3 months) and group III (3-6 months) with six birds in each age group. On each observation day (4^th week, 12^th week and 24^th week), six birds from each breed were used for the study of gross morphological and gross morphometrical features of the spleen. It was found that the spleen in both the birds was almost triangular in shape, dark-reddish in colour having rounded edges which was situated on the right side of the junction between the proventriculus and gizzard in both the birds. The average weight of the spleen was found to be 4.7 ±0.11 gm in Hansli chicken at 12th week of age that was significantly (p≤0.05) less than the average weight of spleen in Vencobb broiler chicken at this age, where it was measured as 5.2 ±0.16 gm. Further, the average size and weight of the spleen increased with age in both the birds. The present study provided a detailed baseline data on the age wise development of spleen in Hansli chicken and Vencobb broiler chicken which could be used in future research in other breeds of birds.