Body weight and linear morphometric relationship of three exotic and two local improved strains of chicken naturally infected with Eimera tenella oocysts

Abstract

Research has established the impact of coccidial infection on the general well-being and body weight (BWT) of chickens. This study was conducted to establish the relationship between BWT and linear morphometric traits of five chicken strains infected with coccidial oocytes. 500-day-old chicks of Arbor Acres, Hubbard, Marshall, Noiler and FUNAAB-Alpha were used for this study. Body morphometric data was collected weekly for eight weeks and subjected to appropriate statistical methods. Correlation coefficient values revealed that the highest positive correlation (0.84) for Marshall strain was between BWT and body circumference (BCF), followed by 0.70 obtained between the drumstick length (DSL) and the shank length (SHL). The Noiler strain had its highest (0.95) correlation between wing length (WGL) and nose-shoulder length (NSL), while the WGL and BCF had a value of 0.90. FUNAAB-Alpha strain had the highest value between BWT and shank weight (0.91) and the least (0.03) between SHL and NSL. The correlation between WGL and nose-to-shoulder length (0.83) was highest in the Abor Acre strain, while the lowest was between BCF and SHL (0.23). Hubbard strain had a correlation of 0.66 between circumference and BWT. All strains exhibited varying patterns of correlation values under diseased conditions. However, the Noiler strain demonstrated robust positive correlations between BWT and linear morphometric traits, which implies that improvements in one trait can lead to enhancements in other correlated traits, providing opportunities for genetic manipulation and selective breeding.