In Situ production environment of domesticated helmeted guinea fowl and phenotypic characterisation of domesticated and wild helmeted guinea fowl in the southern part of Botswana

Abstract

In Situ production environment of domesticated helmeted guinea fowl and phenotypic characterisation of domesticated and wild helmeted guinea fowl in the southern part of Botswana The objective of the first study was to characterize guinea fowl production environment in the Southern part of Botswana. A structured questionnaire was administered to a total forty two (42) guinea fowl farmers from Kgatleng (n=10), Kweneng (n=18), South East (n=6) and Southern Districts (n=8) to gather data on demographic information of guinea fowl farmers and breeding practices, husbandry practices, feeding, flock health, and marketing channels of guinea fowl. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, 2007) was used to generate descriptive statistics, including means, frequencies and percentages. The Chi-square (X2 ) test was used to determine statistical differences of categorical data across the districts. The survey revealed that 76.2% of guinea fowl farmers were males. Majority of the respondents (73.8%) had secondary or tertiary education and the households comprised of 2-5 individuals. Most farmers (76.2%) kept guinea fowl for aesthetic value and for own consumption during special occasions. The source of foundation stock was mainly from other local guinea fowl farmers and most farmers (50%) kept less than 20 birds per farm. The most predominant guinea fowl variety was the pearl (95 %). Most farmers (78.6%) did not have any breeding strategy for their birds and did not have selection criteria for both males and females hence ignored animal traits. Guinea fowls were mostly kept on communal farms (57.1%) under an intensive management system (61.9%) and were mostly sold to individuals (57.1%) as live birds. The second study aimed to compare the body weights and linear body measurements of domesticated and wild helmeted guinea fowl varieties in the southern region of Botswana. This study employed 40 adult wild and 160 adult domesticated guinea fowl of both sexes. The collected data were analyzed using general linear models (GLM) procedures of Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and the model included fixed effects of breed and sex and the interaction between breed and sex. Results were summarized as least squares means± standard ii error and means separation were done by paired t-tests. Live birds were measured for live body weight, body length, wingspan, shank length, and chest circumference. No significant weight differences were seen across domesticated helmeted guinea fowl varieties. All domesticated helmeted guinea fowl varieties were heavier than their wild counterparts. The White guinea fowl variety was longer than other domesticated and wild varieties. The wild guinea fowl had similar shank length with the pearl grey and lavender varieties. There was no significant sex influence on guinea fowl body weight, body length and chest circumference Sexual dimorphism in favor of males was only found for shank length in pearl grey and lavender varieties of domesticated helmeted guinea fowl.