Comparative Application of Nonlinear Models to Describe the Growth of Broilers and Noiler Chicken Strains
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56919/Keywords:
Nonlinear models, growth, broilers, Noiler, chickensAbstract
Growth pattern is crucial in the rearing of meat-type chickens, as it enables managerial decisions at specific development phases and guides improvement programs. This study used four nonlinear (Gompertz, Logistic, Weibull and Brody) models to fit the growth of two commercial broiler (Cobb 500 and Marshall) and one indigenous (Noiler) chicken strains reared in the semi-arid environment of Sokoto. Body weight (BW) was recorded weekly starting from the first week until 56 days of age, and the average daily gain was computed from the records. The model fit was evaluated based on the coefficient of determination (R2), Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean square error (MSE). The results showed that the Marshall strain had superior growth performance (asymptote body weight >3000 g and BW at inflection of 1334), whereas the Noiler strain showed higher variability in BW (CV of 21.7%). Estimates of maturity differed across models, with the Weibull and Brody models estimating the highest and lowest rates, respectively. The age at inflection varied from 5.5 weeks for Cobb (Gompertz) to 8 weeks for Marshall (Weibull). Overall, the Gompertz model best described the growth of the three chicken strains, with the lowest AIC, BIC, RMSE, MSE residuals as well as the highest R2. These results enhance our understanding of chicken growth dynamics reared in semi-arid environments and identify strain-specific critical ages of growth to guide feeding strategies for the three strains. Future studies extending through 12 weeks or beyond are recommended to validate the asymptote and to improve the predictive reliability of the fitted growth functions.
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