Estimation of Body Weight of Nigerian Local Turkeys from Zoometrical Measurements at 4, 8 and 12 Weeks of Age
In Nigerian markets, birds are sold on face value and not by actual body weight which prompted this experiment. This experiment was conducted to predict body weight from zoometrical measurements (body length, breast girth and keel length) in Nigerian local turkeys at different ages. A total of 250 poults were used for the study which lasted for 12 weeks. Measurements of body length, breast girth and keel length were regressed against body weight using linear, quadratic and cubic functions. The coefficient of determination (R2) obtained varied from 24.62% to 81.93% for the three functions. Cubic function had the highest R2 values for all the zoometrical measurements, while linear function had the least R2 values in all the three age groups. The highest R2 value (81.93%) was obtained at the 8th week. Best accuracy of prediction was obtained with breast girth in all the age groups. From the results obtained in this study, body weight of turkeys can be predicted from any of the body length, keel length and breast girth with best accuracy of prediction obtained with cubic function and breast girth as the regressor.
