Received: Mar 28, 2025 / Accepted: Aug 25, 2025 / Published: Sep 30, 2025
This study aimed to find the best model to describe the growth of Tien Yen female chickens and predict their live weight, weight gain, and suitable slaughter age. The body weights of 180 female chickens were measured every week from birth to 24 weeks of age. The chickens of the control group were fed a diet lower in protein and fiber. The chickens of the treatment group were fed a diet higher in protein and fiber. The data for growth performance were analyzed in R using six mathematical functions (von Bertalanffy, Janoschek, Gompertz, Logistic, Lopez, and Richards). The best models to describe the growth of Tien Yen females were Janoschek for the control group and Richards for the treatment group. The maximum absolute weekly gains occurred at 10 and 11 weeks of age (at the reflection point of the growth curves) and the maximum average weekly gains were obtained at 13.39 and 14.62 weeks of age for the control group and treatment group, respectively. Under the current local market conditions, the estimated economically optimal slaughter ages were 14.33 weeks (1,392.89g) for the control group and 15.17 weeks (1,565.23g) for the treatment group.
