Phenotypic characterization of domesticated and wild helmeted Guinea fowl of Kenya

摘要

ThisstudyaimedtocharacterizethelocalhelmetedGuineafowlsinselectedregionsinKenyabasedonprimaryphenotypictraits.Ninety(90)Guineafowlsrandomlyselectedfromfourdomesticpopulations(seventyindividuals)inWesternKenyaandawildpopulation(twentyindividuals)inLaikipiaCountyinKenyawerescoredforprimaryphenotypiccharacteristics(shanklength,bodylength,winglength,helmetwidth,helmetheight,headsize,livebodyweight,wattlecolour,skincolourandshankcolour).ThephenotypicdatacollectedwereanalyzedusingExcelspreadsheetandRCoreversionR.3.1.2.Differentcolourvariationswereidentifiedforthebirds#8217;wattle,skinandshank.DomesticatedhelmetedGuineafowlpopulationshadredwattleswiththewildhelmetedGuineafowlshavingbluewattles.Thedominantskincolourwasgrey(94.4%)withafewhavingwhiteskin(5.6%).Shankcoloursobservedwereblack(95.6%),pink(3.3%)andgrey(1.1%).Otherthanthewattlecolourandheadsize,thereisnomarkeddifferencebetweendomesticandwildhelmetedGuineafowlsofKenyafortheprimaryphenotypictraitsconsidered.Thereseemstobeapositivecorrelationbetweenbodytemperatureofthebirdsandtheambienttemperature.ThesefindingspresentageneticpoolfromwhichdecisionsonsustainableuseandconservationofhelmetedGuineafowlscouldbemade.Thiswouldhelpfarmers,breedersandconservationiststogeneticallyimprovedomestichelmetedGuineafowlsandalsoimprovetheirsurvivalinthewild.