Application of the Von Bertalanffy Model in Family poultry

Abstract

Family poultry farming is of great importance because it is low cost and ensures many times the improvement of the food quality of the producer and his family, as well as to complement the budget of families in small municipalities in several Brazilian states. The Von Bertalanffy growth model nonlinear was adapted to describe the growth curve of free-range chickens. Therefore, an experimental work was carried out to collect the weight-age data, where that the birds were not submitted to a specific diet to accelerate growth, adopting the management commonly used in family poultry farming. The parameters of the model are considered constant and were obtained from the experimental data. In addition Furthermore, the allometry constant was calculated for this specific species. Using Von Bertalanffy model it was possible to better understand the process of growth in chicken weight caipira and provide information to the rural producer such as: the maximum weight of the bird and the best age for slaughter. Therefore, the methodology used in this work shows a way of inserting extension into higher education subjects, through the application of knowledge in the community.