Influence of Sexual Dimorphism on Genetic Parameters of Arbor Acre Chicken

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the extent of the effect of sexual dimorphism on the body weight and linear traits of Arbor Acre chickens. Hundred-day-old Arbor Acre broiler chicks comprising fifty-two males and forty-eight females were used in this study. Day-old birds were winged tagged and were given feed and water ad libitum. Bi-weekly body weight and linear body measurements, namely, wing length, shank length, thigh length, comb length, back length, breast girth and keel length were measured. In addition, the heritability and repeatability of the measured traits were estimated. The results showed that body weight increased as age increased with male chickens having the superior final weight at 8 weeks over their female counterpart. Among the linear body measurement, shank length increased at a rapid rate more than other linear body traits followed by the back length and keel length. The heritability and repeatability estimates ranged from moderate during the early growth phase to high during the later growth phase of 5 and 8 weeks. The study concludes that male Arbor Acre male chickens attained higher weight than the females after eight weeks of growth. Similarly, shank length and back length were good linear body measurements for predicting body weight for selection purposes.