Characterization, PCA, and CCA on Morphometric Traits of 3-Month-Old Merawang Chickens
Dias Ahmad Ilanur (1), V.M.A. Nurgiartiningsih (1)

1) Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The Merawang chicken is a dual-purpose local genetic resource from Bangka Belitung that plays an important role in regional poultry development. Morphometric characterization is essential to understand phenotypic variation and its relationship with body weight (BW). This study aimed to (1) characterize morphometric traits based on sex and shank color, (2) analyze variation patterns using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and (3) evaluate the linear relationship between morphometric traits and BW using Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). A total of 46 Merawang chickens aged three months were used, consisting of 12 males and 34 females. Data were analyzed using RStudio through quantitative descriptive and multivariate approaches. The results showed highly significant differences (p<0.001) in all morphometric traits between males and females. Correlation analysis indicated that shank circumference had the strongest association with BW in males (r=0.771), while body length showed the highest correlation in females (r=0.524). Based on shank color, only shank circumference differed significantly (p< 0.05), with strong correlations to BW found in the yellow-shank group. PCA identified two principal components explaining 72.98% of the total variation. The first component (59.2%) represented overall body size dominated by BW and skeletal dimensions. CCA revealed a significant canonical correlation (P=7.04x10^6) with the first canonical coefficient of 0.768, explaining 59.0% of shared variation. Morphometric traits accounted for 41.4% of the variation in BW. These findings suggest that sex is the main determinant of morphometric diversity, while shank circumference, beak length, and shank length are the most influential traits related to BW.

Keywords: Merawang Chicken, Morphometric, Body Weight, PCA, CCA, Breeding.

Topic: Animal Reproduction and Breeding