Correlation analysis and growth curve fitting of body weight and body measurements of Pishan red sheep and Hu sheep

NUERABUDULA Wujiwaili; BIJIGULI Sataer; FAN Chen; AILI Wusiman; YANG Huiguo; YIMING Sulaiman

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.12.018

Abstract：This study compared and analyzed the early growth and developmental traits of Pishan red sheep and Hu sheep to provide references for the selection,breeding,and management of these two breeds.A total of 655 healthy Pishan red lambs(323 males,332 females)and 698 Hu lambs(340 males,358 females)were selected.They were raised under identical feeding conditions,and body weight and body measurements were recorded at 0,60,120,180,and 240 days of age.Weight data was analyzed using three nonlinear regression models:Logistic,Gompertz,and Von Bertalanffy.The results showed that at 60 days of age,Pishan red male lambs had significantly higher body weight,chest circumference,and chest depth than Hu male lambs(P＜0.05).From 120 to 240 days of age,Pishan red lambs(both male and female)had significantly higher body weight,body height,body length,chest circumference,and chest depth than Hu lambs(P＜0.05).The average daily gain of male lambs of 0～240 days of age was higher than that of female lambs.From 0 to 240 days of age,the average daily weight gain of Pishan red male lambs was higher than that of Hu male lambs,while the average daily weight gain of Pishan red female lambs was lower than that of Hu female lambs.The body height,body length,chest circumference,chest width,chest depth,cannon circumference,and width of the loin in Pishan red and Hu lambs(both male and female)showed extremely significant positive correlations with body weight(P＜0.01).Except for a significant positive correlation between cannon circumference and chest width in Pishan red male lambs at 120 days of age(P＜0.05),all other body measurement indicators showed extremely significant positive correlations at various age stages(P＜0.0l).Among the three models,the Von Bertalanffy model had the best fitting performance,with R2 values exceeding 0.993.The study concluded that the Von Bertalanffy model provided the better fit for the body weight data of Pishan red sheep and Hu sheep and is more suitable for modeling their growth curves.