BODY MEASUREMENT RELATIONSHIPS IN LOCAL DUCKS AND PIGEONS IN THE DERIVED SAVANNAH ZONE OF NIGERIA

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the body measurement relationships of ducks and pigeons in the derived savannah zone of Nigeria. The data used in this study were obtained from a total of 20 ducks and 20 pigeons managed under an intensive system, which were measured and recorded, respectively. Parameters measured were Body weight (BW), Body length(BL),Keel length(KL) , Wing length (WL),Shank length (SL),Chest girth(CG),Web length (WBL).The correlation procedure of SAS was used to generate Pearson’s correlation coefficient between body weight and other measured parameters. The mean of BW(kg),BL(cm),KL(cm),WL(cm),SL(cm),CG(cm) and WBL(cm) of ducks were 2.21,33.90,27.15,29.10,14.48,38.25, and 3.48, respectively. The mean of BW(kg),BL(cm),KL(cm),WL(cm),SL(cm) and CG(cm) of pigeons were 0.23,11.83,8.10,11.30,7.00 and 18.25, respectively. There was positive and significant correlation between all parameters expect KL and WL(-2.0) which was negative in ducks . In pigeons, there was positive and significant correlation between BW and BL, KL and BW,KL and BL,WL and KL,BW and CG,BL and CG and KL and CG while in BW and WL,BL and WL,CG and WL showed negative correlation. In conclusion, meaningful improvements can be made through the selection of a pair of traits that were positively significant in both breeds.