The Interface between Exotic Poultry Breeds and Local Management System Researcher Farmer s (9)1 and Ahmed Eshetu2 1Ansa, Berlay and Derj Kebeles, Enebse Sar Midir Wereda 2Agri-Service Ethiopia, PO Box 2460, Addis Ababa Abstract A participatory research was conducted from May 2003 to April 2005 to identify the interface between exotic poultry breeds and the local environment and management system. The research focused on three main issues: the egg production potential of the pure-breed and cross-bred Rhode Island Red (RIR) birds, testing the brooding abilities of cross-breds and identifying the possible factors that contribute to poor hatchability of eggs collected from the exotic breeds. Based on the agro-climatic zones Agri-Service Ethiopia (ASE) selected three kebeles to implement the interface of exotic poultry breed to the local management and three kebeles were purposively selected based on the agro-ecological difference to conduct the research: Ansa (kola), Berlay weina dega and Derj (dega). Selection was made based on the participation level of women in the poultry project and their interests to participate in the research due to their high focus on the issue. Flock composition was one RIR cock, one RIR-hen and one cross-bred hen and one local hen. The three kabele associations (KAs) were considered as three blocks with three replications in each KA. Nine female project participants in the kebele and Agri-Service Ethiopia staff participated in the research. The result showed that farmers were faced by a problem mainly in the hatchability of eggs laid from pure Rhode Island Red. According to the, community it could be due to several factors such as fertility of the egg, the size and shape of the egg, local temperature, and performance of brooding hen. The hatchability of eggs from the purebred was 23%, while the egg from the crossbred with the same management was 90%. Cross-bred hens could brood on average for three days. The egg production potential of both pure and cross-breds at local management was 302 eggs from the pure-bred and 257 from the cross-bred a year. However, the reason for hatchability problem was not known. Further research on the problem has to be conducted by the scientific researchers such as Andassa Livestock Research Center.