TITLE:
Indigenous Breeding Practices in Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) as Influenced by Plumage Features in Northern Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Jean Massawa, Dongmo Djiotsa Francis, Gustave Simo, Alexis Teguia
KEYWORDS:
Indigenous Breeding, Guinea Fowl, Plumage Features
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
10,
2023
ABSTRACT: The objective of this work was to draw up an
inventory of environmental and anthropogenic factors linked to indigenous
breeding practices of guinea fowl (Numida
meleagris) influenced by plumage characteristics. The information was
collected using the snowball technique and using a formal questionnaire
developed (AU-IBAR, 2015). The dominant plumage is pearl gray with a frequency
of 38.89% followed by black (13.85%). In total, 154 adult animals were lost by
operators with a frequency of 22.95%. According to plumage, white comes first with a frequency of 51.61% followed by Lavender
plumage (36.58%). Predation is the
major constraint with a frequency of 35.72%. The guinea fowl most targeted by predators are the white guinea
fowl with a frequency of 56.25%, while predation is low for black
plumage (25%), royal purple (33.34) and pearl gray (34.69). The pearl
gray guinea fowl and the royal purple guinea fowl appear to have a more
developed wild instinct, which explains the frequency of recorded escapes. White
plumage is perceived as being more docile during breeding and tends to exhibit better resistance to heat stress compared to
other phenotypes, making it more
valued for traditional rituals. Dark plumage seems more sought after
in breeding for its supposed prolificacy, its resistance
to infections and its weight. According to breeders, the dominance
relationship mainly depends on the number of
individuals of the same plumage. Dark plumage in significant numbers in most flocks seems to have dominance in terms of food and choice of
sexual partners, which would explain their large numbers.