Abstract

 
 
 Body weight (BW) and linear body measurements of 120 Nigerian Nsukka ecotype local hens in terms of body length (BL), chest girth (CG), thigh circumference (TC), thigh length (TL), and shank length (SL) were taken and subjected to Pearson correlation analysis to obtain the relationship between these growth traits. Multiple Linear Stepwise Regression procedure was used to find the best linear combination of the linear body measurements that can best predict BW. The findings showed that linear body measurement traits of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens were strongly (p < 0.01) and positively correlated (0.5 < r) except thigh length which recorded a moderate value (0.3 < r > 0.5). The regression equations of linear body measurement traits with BW were positive with coefficient of determination ranging from 60.5-74.6%. The stepwise analyses showed shank length as best single measurement with R2 = 0.605, while inclusion of our five predictors in an equation resulted in R2 = 0.746. Thus, the following equation was generated: BW = – 1485.70 + 82.06 SL + 58.34 BL + 38.70 TC + 8.39 CG + 3.85 TL. This showed that they accounted for 74.6% of the variations in the BW of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens. The prediction equations generated from linear body measurement traits are positive and strong, therefore can accurately be employed to predict the relative BW of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens during selection programs as well as in the market with the use of measuring tape.
 
 
Highlights
The Nigerian Nsukka ecotype local chicken is one of the numerous indigenous genetic resources among poultry that can be found in almost every community in Nigeria
The coefficients showed that body weight (BW) had significant linear relationship with body length (BL), chest girth (CG), thigh circumference, thigh length, and shank length
Our results indicated that other linear body measurement traits were significantly associated with each other in a strong and positive direction with thigh length being the only trait with moderate association with other traits evaluated in this study
Summary
These indigenous poultry resources which have adapted to a wide range of ecological settings present viable alternatives to smallholder poultry production in developing countries (Daikwo et al, 2015). This has led to efforts by researchers to employ scientific tools in improving the Nigerian heavye local chicken (Nwosu et al, 1985; Momoh and Kershima, 2008; Ndofor-Foleng et al, 2010; 2015, Oleforuh-Okoleh et al, 2012; Agbo et al, 2018; Ikeh et al, 2020). This study aimed at developing equations to estimate BW of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens using linear body measurements taken
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