The Growth Curve of Gompertz Model in Body Weight of Mixed-sex Goose Breeds in Slovakia

Abstract

The growth curve in poultry is important to evaluate the performance and farming management system. This study was aimed to estimate the growth curve of body weight in goose. The growth curve in this study was estimated with non-linear Gompertz model through CurveExpert 1.4. software. Three goose breeds in Slovakia i.e. Landes (L), Pomeranian (P) and Steinbacher (S) were used in this study. Total of 28 geese (10 L, 8 P and 10 S) were used to estimate the growth curve. Research showed that the asymptotic weight (A) in those geese were reached at 5332.51 g (L), 6186.14 g (P) and 5048.27 g (S). Thus, the maturing rate (k) in each breed were similar (0.05 g/day). The weight of inflection was reached at 1960.48 g (L), 2274.32 g (P) and 1855.98 g (S) respectively. The time of inflection (t_i) was reached at 25.6 days (L), 26.2 days (P) and 27.80 days (S) respectively. The maximum growth rate (MGR) was reached at 98.02 g/day (L), 113.72 g/day (P) and 92.80 g/day (S). According to the CurveExpert 1.4. software, the coefficient of determination (R²) with Gompertz model was 0.99 for each breed. It can be concluded that Pomeranian geese had highest of growth rate than the other breeds.