ANALYSIS OF BODY WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS IN BROILER CHICKENS USING A CORRELATION MATRIX: THE EFFECT OF MILLED DRIED GINGER

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of 0.5% dried milled ginger supplementation on the growth performance of Arbor Acre and Ross 308 broilers, focusing on the correlation between body weight and linear body measurements across various growth stages. It was conducted at a private farm in Zaria, Nigeria, where 180-day-old broiler chicks were randomly allocated into three replicate groups, with diets formulated to meet NRC (2000) nutritional recommendations. Body weight was measured weekly, while linear parameters, including keel length, body girth, and wing length, were recorded biweekly. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficients in SPSS Version 25. The results revealed distinct growth dynamics across the breeds. Arbor Acre broilers demonstrated significant correlations between body weight and keel length (0.71) and wing length (0.68) during early growth stages, emphasizing skeletal development as critical to weight gain. Conversely, Ross 308 broilers displayed robust early growth, characterized by strong correlations with body girth (0.84) and body length (0.70) at week 2 but shifted focus to metabolic and physiological processes in later stages, with weakened correlations observed by week 6. The findings indicate that ginger supplementation promotes growth by enhancing skeletal and metabolic traits, with varying impacts across breeds and growth phases. Recommendations include emphasizing early supplementation for Arbor Acre and Ross 308 broilers.