Assessing size and conformation of the body of Nigerian indigenous turkey

Abstract

Body measurements, wing length, neck length, shank length, thigh length, body length, beak length, head length, keel length and chest circumference of 110 twenty weeks old Nigerian indigenous turkeys reared under semi intensive system were subjected to principal component analysis. The objectives of the study were to assess variability among body shape characteristics, deduce components that describe these traits, quantify the sex difference in size and shape, and predict live weight at that age from both original and orthogonal traits. Variation was noted between male and female turkey, in favour of the male as an expression of sexual dimorphism for all traits. Pair wise correlation between body weight and body measurements in both sexes ranged from 0.41 - 0.97 in males and 0.34 - 0.99 in females, respectively. Eigen values and share of total variance of the principal component analysis for the first 3 PCs were 80.25, 9.85 and 3.11% for males, and 78.03, 11.61 and 7.77% for females, respectively. The first factor in both sexes accounted for the greatest percentage of the total variation and was representative of general size. Independent body shape characters derived from factor scores accounted for 97% and 96% of the variation in the live weight in male and female turkeys, respectively.