Chickens have 78 chromosomes (2n =78) or 39 pairs of chromosome. Out of 39 pairs, 38 pairs are autosomes and 1 pair is sex chromosome. The sex chromosomes are Z and W. In male chicken sex chromosome is ZZ and in females are ZW. In birds, females are heterogametic, producing two types of gametes, i.e., Z and W types. The male chicken is homogametic Z chromosomes to all of its gametes.
Therefore, genotype of male chicken is 76 + ZZ and female chicken is 76+ZW.
