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A review of mathematical functions for the analysis of growth in poultry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2010

H. DARMANI KUHI ,
T. PORTER ,
S. LÓPEZ ,
E. KEBREAB ,
A.B. STRATHE ,
A. DUMAS ,
J. DIJKSTRA  and
J. FRANCE
H. DARMANI KUHI
Affiliation:
Animal Sciences Group, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilam, Ilam 69315/516, Iran
T. PORTER
Affiliation:
Centre for Nutrition Modelling, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
S. LÓPEZ
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña (Universidad de León – CSIC), Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad de León, E-24007 León, Spain
E. KEBREAB
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
A.B. STRATHE
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
A. DUMAS
Affiliation:
Centre for Nutrition Modelling, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
J. DIJKSTRA
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
J. FRANCE*
Affiliation:
Centre for Nutrition Modelling, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
*
Corresponding author: jfrance@uoguelph.ca
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Abstract

Poultry industries face various decisions in the production cycle that affect the profitability of an operation. Predictions of growth when the birds are ready for sale are important factors that contribute to the economy of poultry operations. Mathematical functions called ‘growth functions’ have been used to relate body weight (W) to age or cumulative feed intake. These can also be used as response functions to predict daily energy and protein dietary requirements for maintenance and growth (France et al., 1989). When describing growth versus age in poultry, a fixed point of inflexion can be a limitation with equations such as the Gompertz and logistic. Inflexion points vary depending on age, sex, breed and type of animal, so equations such as the Richards and López are generally recommended. For describing retention rate against daily intake, which generally does not exhibit an inflexion point, the monomolecular would appear the function of choice.

Keywords

growth functionspoultrygrowthageintake

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Type
Review Article
Information
World's Poultry Science Journal , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 227 - 240
Copyright
World's Poultry Science Association 2010

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