Comparison of four nonlinear growth models in Creole chickens of Mexico

Abstract

Animal growth is a complex and dynamic process that involves physiological and morphological changes from hatching to maturity. It is defined as the increase in body size per time unit. Mathematical functions, called growth models, have been used to explain growth patterns. The aim of this study was to compare the Gompertz-Laird, logistic, Richards, and Von Bertalanffy growth models to determine which best fits the data of the Creole chickens ( CC ). Three hundred forty-seven CC were individually weighed from hatching until 177 D of age. Birds were fed a starter diet (0–18 D of age; 19% crude protein ( CP ) and 3,000 kcal of ME/kg) and grower diet (19–177 D of age; 18% CP and 2,800 kcal of ME/kg). Data were analyzed using PROC NLIN to fit the nonlinear growth curve. The coefficient of determination ( R 2 ), Akaike information criteria ( AIC ), and Bayesian information criteria ( BIC ) were used to compare the goodness of fit of the models. The Von Bertalanffy (R 2 : 0.9382, 0.9415; AIC: 2,224.1, 2,424.8; BIC: 2,233.5, 2,434.3, for females and males, respectively) was the model that best explained growth of the birds. On the other hand, both the Gompertz-Laird and logistic models overestimated hatching BW and underestimated the final BW of CC. Females reached age of maximum growth faster than males. The asymptotic weight was higher in males (3,011 g) than in females (2,011 g). Body weight at inflection point was 892 g at 64 D of age for males and 596 g at 54 D for females. In conclusion, the best fit of the data was obtained with the Von Bertalanffy growth model; the information is intended to serve as the basis for utilizing CC.

Characterisation of biological growth curves of different varieties of an endangered native hen breed kept under free range conditions

“…Predicted k parameters in the present study agree with those by other authors who used Von Bertalanffy models in slow-growing broilers and native creole chickens (Narinç et al 2010;Mata-Estrada et al 2020). Still these are slightly lower when compared with local breeds or slow-growing genotypes using Logistic and Gompertz models, respectively (Rizzi et al 2013;Aksoy et al 2021).…”

“…Inflection age estimated by Logistic model in local chicken of Ghana (Osei-Amponsah et al 2014) are close to the values reported in the present study. Both sexes of Utrerana hen breed present similar results (<4 days between males and females) at the estimated inflection age, in contrast with the results obtained by Mata-Estrada et al (2020), who reported a difference between males and females of approximately 10 and 8 days for Von Bertalanffy and Logistic models. Therefore, the slaughter age for Utrerana breed must be similar in both sexes.…”

“…Regarding to the best models for describing growth on poultry, some authors suggested that Von Bertalanffy growth model was the best model to fit growth in local breeds (Yang et al 2006;Mata-Estrada et al 2020). Nevertheless, Atil et al (2007) suggested that logistic growth model reports the best fit in broilers when compared to Von Bertalanffy and Gompertz models.…”

“…There are previous bibliographic references on the productive performance of the growth of some local Spanish breeds (Francesch 1998;Cubil o et al 1999;S anchez et al 2000;Muriel 2003;Miguel et al 2009;Franco et al 2012;Cajal and Francesch 2014). Non-linear growth models (Brody, Von Bertalanffy, Verhulst, Logistic, Gompertz, and others) have been studied in other native breeds, geographically and genetically separated (Yang et al 2006;Rizzi et al 2013;Osei-Amponsah et al 2014;Mata-Estrada et al 2020). In the Utrerana poultry breed, research with the aim to describe the quality-related characteristics and the sensory preference of eggs has been performed (Gonz alez Ariza, Arando Arbulu, et al 2019, Gonz alez Ariza, Navas Gonz alez, et al 2019, Gonz alez Ariza et al 2021.…”

Comparison of non-linear models to describe the growth in the Andalusian turkey breed

“…One of the main differences between native turkey breeds and commercial meat-type turkey lines is the bodyweight that individuals reach, which is approximately about two or three times lower in native breeds (10 kg in Andalusian male turkey; 5-6.8 kg in Mexican backyard male turkeys and 20 kg in commercial line males) (L opez-Zavala et al, 2008;Zampiga et al 2019). These bodyweight variations are usually associated with low growth rates and worst feed conversion in native breeds (Mata-Estrada et al 2020). However, native turkey breeds have developed a genetic resistance to some diseases as a consequence of greater diversity which provides them with greater resistance than commercial lines (Kamara et al 2007;Camacho-Escobar et al 2008), since heterogeneous populations are less susceptible to viral infections (Mpenda et al 2019).…”