Flexible Alternatives to Modelswidely Used for Describing Growth in Japanese Quail

Mathematical functions for modeling the growth of animals are separated into two groups called fixed and flexible according to their inflection behaviors. The aims of this study were to compare fixed and flexible growth functions and to determine the best fit model for the growth data of Japanese quail. The long term growth patterns of Japanese quail were monitored during 110 days from day-old to slaughtering, and were analyzed. The fixed and flexible models used in the study were Gompertz, Logistic, Von Bertalanffy and Levakovich, Janoschek, Morgan Mercer Flodin, respectively. The differences in weight between growth profiles of female and male birds were tested via profile analysis also known as Repeated MANOVA. The results of Profile Analysis revealed that females' live weights were heavier (P