Interrelationships of live body measurements of broiler chickens in a humid tropical environment

Abstract

The interrelationships of live body measurements of Lohmann Brown broilers (LMB) in a humid tropical environment were studied. Body parameters used for the study were body weight (BDW), body girth (BDG), body length (BDL), keel length (KLL), shank length (SHL), and width (SHW). The correlation matrix showed generally that correlations and interrelationships of most live body measurements at 3 and 12 weeks of age were weak and non-significant (P > 0.05). SHW was the highest and only positively correlated (P < 0.01) estimator of BDW at 3 weeks. At 6 and 9 weeks BDW positively correlated (P < 0.01) with all the body parameters studied, having r values ranging from 0.34 to 0.74. However, at 12 weeks, BDW was positively correlated (P) with BDG (R=0.59), KLL (r=0.55) and SHW (r=0.31). Trait combinations and standard partial regression coefficients showed that at 3 weeks, only SHW could predict final BDW. SHW contributed 46.2% of the total variability in BDW. At 12 weeks the variability in final RDW was attributed to BDG (r² =0.347), SHW (r² =0.149), SHL (r² =0.041) and KLL ( r² = 0.030).

Keywords: Interrelationships, Correlation, body measurements, Broiler, tropics