Pigeon's Morphometric Traits Influence Body Weight and are Good Sources of Shared Variability

Abstract

To assess the sources of shared variability among body weight and selected morphometric traits of pigeons and find the factors impacting their body weight, six hundred pigeons were used in the study; body weight, body length, chest girth, wing span, and drumstick length were measured. Results showed that pigeons varied in their morphometric traits by location (P < 0.01). The correlation coefficient between the parameters was mostly significant (P < 0.01), positive, ranging from -0.059 to 0.998. The proportions of the total variance of the first two principal factors were high at all locations. The first two factors accounted for 99.85, 87.00, and 65.09 % of the total variability of the body weight of the pigeons in Gwagwalada, New Bussa, and Minna, respectively. Making up the largest share of the total variance, the first factor represented body weight. Chest girth dominated the first factor in Gwagwalada pigeons, while wing span dominated in New Bussa and Minna pigeons, respectively. Predictive regression equations (stepwise) relating live body weight to body measurements showed improvement with increasing use of independent variables up to 71.70, 70.60, and 36.40 % for Gwagwalada, New Bussa, and Minna pigeons, respectively. These results showed that chest girth (Gwagwalada), and wing span (New Bussa and Minna) of the pigeon influenced their body weight positively and hence, could be selected and used in improving the bird. Future studies should look into the use of the body parts in improving body weight in the pigeons at the various locations.