ABSTRACT

Eight hundred (800) broiler chicks consisting of two hundred (200) Ross (RS), Arbor Acre (AA), Hubbard (HB), and Marshall (MS) strains reared under the same nutritional and environmental conditions for a period of eight weeks were used to estimate variations between strains, and the relationship among the body weight (BW) and some morphometric body parameter such as Body Length (BL), Body Girth (BG), Shank Length (SKL), Shank Circumference (SKC), Thigh Length (THL), Keel Length (KL), Wing Length (WL), Drumstick Length (DSL), Body Height (BH), Beak Length (BKL), Comb Length (CBL), and Neck Length (NKL). The results showed that significant differences (p < 0.05) existed across the strains at the age of four and eight weeks. There were significant (p<0.05) correlation coefficients (-0.320 to 0.855) between BW and the morphometric parameters at four (4) weeks of age, while the correlation coefficient (0.855) obtained for WL and NKL was the highest. THL and SL had the least correlated value of -0.320. At week 4, BW was highly correlated with BG (r= 0.556) and KL (r= 0.620) in the four strains of broiler studied.  Significant correlation coefficients that ranged from -0.013 to 0.838 also existed between BW and the morphometric body parameters of the broiler chickens at eight weeks of age, with the highest correlation value obtained between BKL and SKC (r= 0.838), while BW was significantly (p<0.05) correlated with SL (r= 0.615) and KL (r= 0.513) in the four-strain during this period. It was concluded that strain affected overall body weight, and morphometric traits in broilers chickens at the age of four and eight weeks, while some morphometric body parameters contributed positively to overall body weight in the four strains of broiler studied.