The rapid increase in the global human population, particularly in Low-Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs), causes severe food shortages. Food shortages are complex and can be linked to economic, environmental, social, and political variables. Harnessing village chicken products serves as a cheap commercial chicken substitute to address food shortages. The consumption and sales of protein products from village chickens, such as meat, eggs, and internal organs, ensures food security and poverty alleviation in limited-resource communities. However, village chickens have poor-quality end products due to poor management and animal-rearing resources. Village chicken production challenges include the absence of high-quality feed, biosecurity, recordkeeping, housing, and commercial marketing of its end products. Management being based on cultural gender roles instead of the possession of formal poultry management training further limits village chicken production. To improve village chicken end-product quality, poultry management trainings for rural women are suggested due to studies showing that women mainly manage village chicken production. Furthermore, to create a formal market share of village chickens, sensory evaluations need to be conducted using mainstream poultry consumers. This review examined the potential contribution of village chickens in achieving Sustainable Development Goals—one, No Poverty and two, Zero Hunger—to benefit vulnerable groups in resource-poor communities.

The study aimed to determine the contribution of the informal market of village chickens to sustainable livelihoods. The study was conducted in two purposively selected cities, namely Durban and Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Central Business District (CBD). A questionnaire was administered to village chicken vendors in the CBD.A total of 50 village chicken vendors, which were limited in the CBD, were found and interviewed. In both Durban (100%) and Pietermaritzburg (77%), the majority of village chicken vendors were women (P 0.05) to generate income (100%). None (0 %) of the village chicken vendors were exposed to chicken farming training on village chickens in Durban and 11% in Pietermaritzburg have been exposed to training (P<0.05). Over 85% were interested in attending chicken farming training in both areas. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between the main source of income and the uses of chickens. The use of village chickens influenced the main source of income, which was not limited to income generation or leisure. It was concluded that the informal market for village chickens contributes to sustaining livelihoods through income, consumption, and cultural drive. It is recommended that access to training and resources can grow the informal market.

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the effects of sex, breed, and age on the body weight and internal organ weight of chickens reared in resource-poor communities. Understanding these factors is important for optimizing poultry production and enhancing food security in such environments.Methods: A total of 120 chickens were used, comprising three breeds: broilers (n=40), Potchefstroom Koekoek (n=40), and a non-descriptive breed (n=40). Each breed group consisted of 20 males and 20 females, which were further categorized by age into 10 growers and 10 mature chickens per breed. Body weight and internal organ weights (liver, gizzard, heart, intestinal weight, and length) were measured and analyzed to assess the influence of breed, sex, and age.Results: The results indicated that both grower and mature broilers had the highest body weights compared to Potchefstroom Koekoek and the non-descriptive breed. Breed significantly influenced body weight (p0.05). Liver weight was higher in females, but sex did not significantly affect liver weight. A linear relationship (p<0.05) was observed between body weight and the variables breed, sex, and age. Breed had a negative coefficient with body weight, while sex and age had positive coefficients. Age demonstrated the strongest relationship with both body weight and liver weight. The independent variables (breed, sex, and age) accounted for 64% of the variance in body weight.Discussion: The findings demonstrate that breed and age are significant determinants of body weight and internal organ weight in chickens reared under resource-poor conditions, whereas sex has a lesser effect. These results highlight the importance of considering breed and age in poultry management strategies to maximize meat and organ yield, thereby contributing to food security. Further research is recommended to explore these relationships in greater depth, with a focus on the potential of chickens in resource-poor communities, regardless of breed, sex, or age.

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of location, age and gender of consumers on sensory evaluation characteristics. The study focused on village chickens breeds (non-descriptive breed and Potchefstroom Koekoek) and broiler chickens in resource-poor communities. A total of 120 chickens were evaluated, comprising of three breeds mainly: broilers ( n = 40), Potchefstroom Koekoek ( n = 40) and a non-descriptive breed ( n = 40). For each breed, chickens were equally divided by sex (20 females and 20 males) and further categorized by age, into 10 growers and 10 mature chickens. The effect of breed, sex and age on sensory characteristics was measured by the use of a 9-point system. The results showed that color scales for female and male chickens ranged from 5.02 to 5.57. This suggest that meat color from female and male chickens were relatively the same. Taste varied from 5.15 to 5.98 and the highest scale was recorded in growing broiler chickens. Broiler chickens were tasty compared to other chicken breeds. The same trend was observed for juiciness from 4. 87 to 5.41. Gender had the highest level of significance ( p < 0.001) on color than location ( p < 0.01), breed ( p > 0.05) and age ( p < 0.05). The interaction between variables were measured, a significant interaction between gender × age and location × age was recorded. A significant effect of gender and age on taste with n interaction ( p < 0.05) of location × age was observed. On the overall acceptability of grower and mature chickens, a significant linear relationship was observed between location, age and breed. There was a ( p < 0.05) negative correlation between the location and tenderness ( r = −0.25) of broilers in grower female chickens. In grower male chickens, a ( p < 0.05) negative correlation between location and taste ( r = −0.22) was recorded. Lastly, a significant positive correlation with tenderness ( r = 0.17) and gender was noted for broilers. It was concluded that there is an effect of location, age, and gender of consumers in sensory characteristics on the consumer sensory assessments.

Correction on: Tenza T, Mhlongo LC, Ncobela CN and Rani Z (2026) Consumer sensory assessments of chicken breeds: the role of location, age, and gender in resource-poor communities for food security and sustainable livelihoods. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 10:1645863. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2026.1645863[1 = Extremely favorable; 2 = Very favorable; 3 = Moderately favorable; 4 = Slightly favorable; 5 = Neutral; 6 = Slightly unfavorable; 7 = Moderately unfavorable; 8 = Very unfavorable; 9 = Extremely unfavorable]. A correction has been made to the section [2.4 Sensory evaluation of chicken meat by consumers, No subsection, 24-27]:"[1= Extremely unfavorable ,2=very unfavorable,3=moderately unfavorable,4=Slightly unfavorable,5=Neutral,6=Slightly favorable,7= Moderately favorable,8=Very favorable,9= Extremely favorable]" The original version of this article has been updated.