Sources of shared variability in meat weight distribution and conformation in Pekin ducklings

Abstract

A factor analysis with a varimax rotation was applied to ten highly intercorrelated carcass meatiness and conformation traits on 96 Pekin ducks to disclose the main sources of shared variability, deduce the factors that describe meat distribution and conformation and predict total carcass meat from orthogonal meatiness and conformation traits. Meat weight distribution and conformation appeared to be controlled by common and unique factors. The communalties for meati- ness traits ranged from 0.542 for neck meat to 0.870 for breast meat and those for conformation traits ranged from 0.555 for breast width to 0.717 for shank length and the uniqueness (special size factors) made the balance. Findings indicated that most of the common variability (68.4 %) in meat weight distribution and conformation could be accounted for by factors representing breast, length and wing meat factors. The first and third independent meatiness and conformation traits derived from factor analysis accounted for 73.8 % of the variation in total carcass meat. (© Elsevier / Inra)