INFLUENCE OF DAY LENGTH, DIETARY PROTEIN CONCENTRATION AND SEASON ON PRODUCTION, REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS AND BLOOD CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIGENOUS GUINEA FOWL (Numida meleagris) IN GHANA

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ABSTRACT 

Four biological experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of season, daylength, dietary protein concentration and artificial insemination on production and reproductive traits, egg characteristics, and blood and semen characteristics of pearl Guinea fowls (Numida meleagris). The first, second and third experiments were of 52 weeks duration each and utilized a total of 60 and 60 and 24 Guinea fowls, respectively and the fourth was of 26 weeks duration carried out on 36 Guinea fowls. Eggs and keets obtained from the experiments were measured. Experiment 1:Four (4) hens and one (1) male were each subjected to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness (12L: 12D), 14hours of light and 10 hours of darkness (14L: 10D), 16hours of light and 8 hours of darkness (16L: 8D) and 18hours of light and 6 hours of darkness (18L: 6D). Each group was replicated three times and reared in three seasons (Dry season: December - March, Major rainy season: April - July and Minor rainy season: August-November) in a 3x4 factorial experiment. Data were analyzed using General Linear Model procedure of SAS.  Results showed thatbody weight of males at sexual maturity (BWMM), body weight of females at sexual maturity (BWFM), first egg weight (FEW), hen-day egg production (HDEP), egg weight (EW) and egg mass (EM) increased (p

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