EFFECT OF WILD GUINEA FOWL HATCHABLE EGG SOURCES ON EGG EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS, FERTILITY, EMBRYO CHARACTERISTICS, MORTALITY AND HATCHABILITY
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.7892Mots-clés :
Guinea fowl, egg, wildlifeRésumé
A total of 600 hatchable eggs (300 each) from Northern Nigeria (Birnin Kebbi) and Saki in Southern Nigeria were used to investigate effect of wild guinea fowl hatchable egg sources on egg external characteristics, fertility, embryo characteristics, mortality and hatchability.Results showed that incubated eggs sourced from Birnin Kebbi had higher dead in shell (17%), infertile eggs (7%) and keets hatched (68%) compared to ones from Saki, while hatchable eggs from Saki had higher dead in germ (28%) and weak in shell (4%) embryos compared to values obtained in Birnin Kebbi eggs. It was concluded that egg length and egg shape index (ESI) were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the egg source while the meteorological elements and enviroment of the egg source constitute a complex system, which influenced fertility, embryo characteristics, mortality and hatchability of wild guinea fowl hatchable eggs.