Guinea Fowl Production

The study aims to evaluate the effects of a commercial probiotics and prebiotic combination on performance indices and haematological parameters of guinea fowls. A total of forty (n=40) day-old pearl guinea fowls raised to 12-week-old were used for the study. The fowls were wing-banded, weighed individually and randomly allocated into two groups of 20 fowls each, with each having two replicates. Experimental fowls were fed grower diet supplemented with 0.5 g of probiotics and prebiotic combination per kg feed for 8 weeks, while the control fowls were fed a grower diet that was not supplemented. Feed consumption and water intake were recorded daily, chest circumference, body weight, percentage weigh gain and feed conversion ratio were measured weekly, while blood samples were collected in the last week of the experiment to evaluate the haematological parameters. All birds were kept under similar environmental, managerial and hygienic conditions. The results revealed that experimental fowls had significantly (P < 0.05) higher feed consumption, water intake, total protein, packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count and haemoglobin (Hb), but lower total leucocyte count (TLC) compared with control. No significant difference was observed in other haematological parameters and performance indices between the two groups. In conclusion, 0.5 g/kg diet of prebiotics and probiotic combination improved erythropoiesis and nutritional status of guinea fowls; however, the results of performance indices suggest that this dose may not be optimum, thus necessitating the need for more research using other dosages.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of eggshell color of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) eggs on eggshell quality and hatchery results. The highest mean grey value (MGV), integrated density (ID), lightness (L*) and Hue angle (H*) values were obtained in eggs with lighter eggshell color. The effects of color difference (ΔE*) value levels on egg characteristics were evaluated. Eggshell color presented different (p<0.01) MGV, ID, L*, redness (a*), yellowness (b*), H* and Chroma (C*) values. Eggs with lighter color presented thicker eggshells and lower egg weight loss on day 25 of incubation (p<0.05) compared with intermediate and darker eggs. Eggshell color did not have any significant effect on fertility and hatchability (p>0.05). In conclusion, under the conditions of the present study, eggshell color influenced eggshell thickness and weight loss, but not hatching parameters of guinea fowl eggs. Further studies on this subject should be carried out.