1. A Thesis Defense for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science (Breeding and Genetics) By Duodu Addison (M.Sc) Index number:

2. TOPIC
Genetic Improvement of Growth Traits, Disease Resistance and Docility of Four Strains of Local Guinea Fowl in Ghana

3. ORDER OF PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
PROBLEM STATEMENT
OBJECTIVE
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION

4. INTRODUCTION
Domestic Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris)
Originated from Africa ((Ferguson, 2008; Annor et al., 2013).
Reared in Europe, specifically France, Hungary, Poland, Belgium and Russia, Asia, and Latin and North America (Annor et al., 2013).
In Ghana, Guinea fowls are found mostly in the northern savanna regions

5. INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Importance
Income and protein, low cholesterol levels, higher yield of edible meat compared to chicken (Dubiec and Zagalska-Neubauer, 2006).
Both the eggs and meat are delicacies.
longer storage and easier handling of eggs with less breakage (Dei et al., 2004).

6. INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Importance
Cultural purposes - funeral celebrations, sacrifices, as a token for settling disputes and welcoming mother-in- laws (Annor et al., 2013).
Guinea fowl production is lucrative because there is high demand for both the meat and the eggs.

7. INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Problem statement and justification
Poor growth performance, disease resistance and docility of local Guinea fowl (Annor et al., 2013).
This can be attributed to
extensive production system
poor feeding, health care and management practices
the use of unimproved breeds of birds (Dougnon et al., 2012).

8. Problem statement and justification
INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Problem statement and justification
Table 1. Performance of Local and European Guinea fowls
Annor et al., (2013)
Parameter
Annual eggs per bird
Egg weight
Fertility rate
Hatchability
Mature body weight
Local Guinea fowl
100
30g
42%
45%
1200g
European Guinea fowl
180
60g
88%
83%
2400g

9. INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Objective
Main
To improve productivity of local Guinea fowls in Ghana through genetic selection.
Specific
1. To estimate average values of traits and verify strain, sex and seasonal effects on traits.
2.To determine disease resistance in local Guinea fowls through the use of Sheep Red Blood Cell (SRBC) as an indicator trait.

10. INTRODUCTION CONT’D
Specific objective
3.To measure docility in local Guinea fowls through the use of cage score and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio
4.To estimate phenotypic and genetic parameters.
5.To estimate genetic gain of third (3rd) generation offspring in body weight, disease resistance and docility.

11. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area: Poultry Unit of the Department of Animal Science, University of Education, Winneba, Mampong campus (Ghana).
Period: August, 2015 to September, 2018.
Annual rainfall: 1300mm (Meteorological Services Department, 2015).
Daily temperature: Between 25°C and 30°C and the relative humidity of the area is 70% (MSD, 2015).

12. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Experimental birds
930 keets. The males were 380 and the females 550.
The best one hundred and thirty-two (22 males and 110 females) were selected based on body weight to build the base stock after taking six month body weights.

13. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Housing and experimental design
The birds were housed in a slated wooden pen partitioned into 22 compartments.
Each compartment contained 6 birds and measured 1.5m by 3m. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used with strains as treatment

14. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Feeding
Table 2:Feed composition
ME = Metabolizable energy
Age of birds
Composition
1-8 weeks
22% of protein and 2950 kcal/kg (ME)
8-20 weeks
20% of protein and 2800 kcal/kg (ME)
During laying
17.5% of protein and 2780 kcal/kg (ME)

15. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Table 3a: Medication
AGE (DAYS)
MEDICATION
1-2
Glucose in water 6
Antibiotic plus vitamin premix 10
Coccidiostat 16
Newcastle 23
Gumboro 25 30 35
Dewormer 38
Fowl pox vaccination 44 49
Newcastle (Lasota) vaccination

16. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Table 3b: Medication
AGE (DAYS)
MEDICATION 52
Antibiotic plus vitamin premix 56
Dewormer 60
Coccidiostat 84
Fowl pox vaccination 98
112
Newcastle (Lasota) vaccination

17. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D Parameters measured
Hatch weight,
2month weight
4month weight
6month weight
2month weight gain
4month weight gain
6month weight gain
Feed intake
FCR
Docility
Heterophil
Lymphocyte
Antibody titers

18. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D Parameters measured
Eggs weight
Hen-day egg production
Age at First Egg
Percentage fertility
Percentage hatchability
Dressing percentage
Crude protein
Ash
Energy
Moisture
Pre-brooding survival
Post-brooding survival

19. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D Parameters measured
Phenotypic and genetic variances
Genetic coefficient of variation,
Heritability
Genetic and phenotypic correlation
Genetic gain

20. MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT’D
Statistical analysis
GLM procedure of Statistical Analysis System (SAS for Windows, version 7).
The means were separated by using the PDIFF procedure of SAS (SAS, 2008)

21. FIRST AND THIRD OBJECTIVES.
Average values of traits and docility
The objectives were to:
Calculate average values of traits
Determine strain effects on all traits
Find effects of sex and season on all traits
Measure docility in birds

22. FIRST AND THIRD OBJECTIVES CONT’D
Materials and methods
Birds
The mean values of all the traits were obtained from records of 1530 birds reared over 3 year period ( ).
Records were taken on each bird from day old to 8 months

23. FIRST AND THIRD OBJECTIVES CONT’D
Experimental design
Feeding, housing, medication, parameters measured and statistical analysis
Discussed already

24. FIRST AND THIRD OBJECTIVES CONT’D
The models considered were:
Yij= µ + Bi + eij (for strain effects)
 (ii) Yijk= µ + Si + Tj + (ST)ij + eij (for sex and seasonal effects)

25. FIRST AND THIRD OBJECTIVES CONT’D
Measurement of docility on1 to 4 scale
= Non-aggressive (docile) - walks slowly, can be approached closely by humans,
= Slightly Aggressive - runs along boundaries, will stand in corner if humans stay away.
= Moderately Aggressive - look for exits and will run eagerly if humans move closer.
= Very Aggressive –, hitting gates and walls of the cage, avoids humans etc.

26. RESULTS Table 4a: Effect of Guinea fowl strains on production traits
Body weight
Pearl
Lavender
White
Black
SEM
P-value
Day old, g/bird
24.5
24.8
25.1
25.7
0.35
0.09
8 Weeks, g/bird
430a
398b
416a
357b
15.9
0.01
16 Weeks, g/bird
768a
695b
714b
694b
14.5
24 Weeks, g/bird
1520a
1440b
1470b
1430b
14.4
32 Weeks, g/bird
1730a
1640bc
1680b
1590c
18.4
Pre BDWG
0-8 Weeks, g/bird
6.76a
6.22b
6.52ab
5.53b
0.27
Post BDWG
8-16 Weeks, g/bird
6.82
6.59
6.54
6.79
0.21
0.54
16-24 Weeks, g/bird
12.7
12.6
12.3
0.7
24-32 Weeks, g/bird
3.59
3.18
3.52
2.84
0.25
0.1
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
SEM= standard error of means , p = probability of main effects
BDWG = brooding daily weight gain,

27. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 4b: Effect of Guinea fowl strains on production traits
Egg production
Pearl
Lavender
White
Black
SEM
P-value
Egg weight (g)
41.31a
40.13b
38.29c
38.76c
0.14
0.01
Hen day egg production (%)
66.66a
56.13b
57.50b
51.19c
0.74
Feed intake
24 Weeks, g/bird
54.2
52.1
53.7
53.4
0.95
0.24
Feed conversion ratio
24 Weeks g/bird
4.43
4.26
4.33
4.44
0.11
0.5
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
SEM= standard error of means p = probability of main effects

28. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 5: Effect of strain on reproductive traits of four strains of local Guinea fowls abcd Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05. SEM= standard error of means
Reproductive p
Age at first egg
Fertility (%)
Hatchability (%)
Pearl
212.56a
56.037a
29.115b
Lavender
192.22b
53.817b
24.049c
White
208.23a
30.918d
21.945c
Black
211.34a
48.014c
37.510a
SEM
2.35
1.079
1.928
P-value
0.01
0.001

29. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 6: Effect of strain on biochemical profile of four strains of local Guinea
fowls
Biochemical profile
Pearl
Lavender
White
Black
SEM
P-value
Protein (%)
12.988b
13.118a
13.134a
13.141a
0.031
0.001
Ash (%)
1.733a
1.676b
1.692b
1.643b
0.021
Cholesterol (%)
2.383
2.395
2.375
2.373
0.011
0.524
Moisture (%)
75.015a
74.702c
74.855b
75.061a
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
SEM= standard error of means

30. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 7: Effects of strains on carcass characteristic, docility and survival of the four strains of local Guinea fowls
Parameters
Pearl
Lavender
White
Black
SEM
P-value
Carcass
Dressing (%)
62.812b
57.669c
68.903a
62.866b
1.671
0.002
Docility
Cage score
3.11a
2.66b
3.24a
0.08
0.01
Heterophil-lymphocyte ratio
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.24
Survival
Pre-brooding survival (%)
86.8a
75.8b
70.0b
50.6c
3.64
Post-brooding survival (%)
94.2
97.3
90.7
100
2.71
0.19
abcd Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
SEM= standard error of means

31. DISCUSSIONS Effect of Guinea fowl strains on production traits
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
1.Consistent higher BWT by the Pearl strain
2.Slower growth in genral
Fajemilehin (2010)
Ayorinde and Ayeni (1983).
i.Variation in genetic potentials (Folasade and Obinna, 2009)
i.Lack of genetic improvement (Houndonougbo et al., 2017).
ii.Egg rather than meat production (Kerketta and Mishra, 2016)
iii. flight and fast running for survival in the wild (CABI, 1987)

32. DISCUSSIONS CONT’D Effect of Guinea fowl strains on production traits
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
3.Heavier egg weight from the Pearl strain
4.Comparatively low egg laying rate
Bernacki et at. (2013)
Than Ayorinde et al. (1989) reported
i.Differences in body size of the hens (Obike et al., 2011).
i.Selection criteria
ii.Production system (Yamak et al., 2015).
ii.Strain, climate and quality of feed. (Moreki and Seabo, 2012).

33. DISCUSSIONS CONT’D
Effect of Guinea fowl strains on reproductive traits
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
1.Significant differences in ATFE
2.Significant effect on fertility and hatchability
Oke et al. (2003)
Moreki and Mothei (2013)
i.Variation in management practices in terms of diet (Oke et al., 2003).
ii.Live weight of Guinea hens at point of lay (Ayorinde and Oke, 1995)
i.Weather conditions, sex ratio, testicles weight and egg storage (Agbolosu et al., 2012)

34. DISCUSSIONS CONT’D
Effect of Guinea fowl strains on biochemical profile and dressing percentage
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
3.Varying nutritive figures
e.g. percentage moisture, Crude protein
4 .Dressing percentage
i.Mareko et al. (2008)
ii.Maria et al. (1998)
Nobo et al. (2012)
i.Fat and dry matter of the meat not matured (Warriss, 2000)
ii.Sample preparation and analytical methods (Holland et al., 1997).
i. variety effect, diets, management system and carcass dressing methods (Kerketta and Mishra, 2016)

35. DISCUSSIONS CONT’D
Table 4.2: Effect of Guinea fowl strains on docility and survival
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
5.Outstanding docility by Lavender
6.Lower pre- brooding survival
Amberg (2009) disagrees
Premavalli et al. (2012) and Khairunnesa et al. (2016) had higher values
i.Variations in body weight of the birds (Burrow and Dillon, 1997).
i.Due to susceptibility nature of keets in the juvenile stage (Moreki, 2009)

36. RESULTS Table 8a: Effect of season on production traits
Growth parameter
Dry S
Major R. S
Minor R. S
SEM
p- value
Day old, g/bird
25.6a
24.4b
25.5a
0.24
0.01
8 Weeks, g/bird
368b
432a
421a
11.4
16 Weeks, g/bird
801a
817a
536b
13.5
24 Weeks, kg/bird
1.51b
1.57a
1.31c
32 Weeks, kg/bird
1.73b
1.80a
1.45c
17.9
Pre BDWG
0-8 Weeks, g/bird
5.72b
6.80a
6.61a
0.21
Post BDWG
8-16 Weeks, g/bird
7.18a
6.19b
6.34b
0.16
16-24 Weeks, g/bird
11.9b
12.7a
12.9a
0.18
24-32 Weeks, g/bird
3.58a
3.91a
2.35b
0.2
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
BDWG = brooding daily weight gain, R= rainy, S= season
SEM= standard error of means p = probability of main effects

37. RESULTS CONT’D Table 8b: Effect of season on production traits
Parameters
Dry S.
Major R. S.
Minor R. S.
SEM
p- value
ATFE (Days)
205.81
207.42
205.03
2.13
0.73
Egg weight (g)
39.72
39.54
39.61
0.13
0.56
HDP (%)
57.96
58.05
57.61
0.7
0.92
Feed intake
24 Weeks, g/bird
53.6
52.8
0.87
0.85
FCR
4.58c
4.35b
4.17a
0.09
0.01
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
R = rainy, S = season, SEM= standard error of means p = probability of main effects

38. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 9: Effect of season on reproductive traits and biochemical profile of local Guinea fowls.
Reproductive
Dry S
Major R. S.
Minor R. S.
SEM
P-value
Fertility (%)
50.317a
45.425b
45.848b
1.016
0.001
Hatchability (%)
29.755
26.644
28.064
1.821
0.395
Biochemical profile
Protein (%)
13.019b
13.003b
13.264a
0.032
Ash (%)
1.718a
1.734a
1.607b
0.015
0.002
Energy (kj)
451.16b
450.24b
456.31a
0.742
Moisture (%)
74.967a
74.965a
74.791b
0.021
abc Means bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
P = parameters, R = rainy, S = season, SEM= standard error of means and p = probability of main effects

39. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 10: Effect of season on carcass characteristic, docility and survival of local Guinea fowls.
Parameters
Dry S.
Major R .S.
Minor R. S.
SEM
P-value
Carcass characteristic
Dressing (%)
63.623b
68.345a
57.218c
1.541
0.001
Docility
Cage score
3.03
3.05
3.01
0.08
0.95
Heterophil-lymphocyte ratio
0.003
0.070
0.02
Survival
Pre-BS ( %)
74.66
67.23
70.55
2.99
Post-BS ( %)
95.21
96.84
94.69
2.05
0.65
abcMeans bearing different superscripts in the same row are different at p<0.05.
P = parameters, R = rainy, S = season, SEM= standard error of means, BS = brooding survival and p = probability of main effects

40. CONCLUSIONAND RECOMMENDATIONS
Pearl strains should be used to achieve higher productivity.
For better hatch weight, Keets should be hatched in the Minor rainy and dry seasons.
Guinea fowls use feed efficiently in minor rainy season and have better fertility in the dry season
Effect of 1:1 sex ratio should be investigated in Guinea fowls.

41. SECOND OBJECTIVE
Determination of disease resistance in local Guinea fowls through the use of Sheep Red Blood Cell (SRBC) as an indicator trait
Objectives
Determine whether SRBC could be an indicator trait for disease resistance
Determine strain and sex effects on antibody titers in local Guinea

42. SECOND OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Objectives
Estimate SRBC concentration effect on antibody titers in local Guinea
Estimate effect of route of administration of SRBC antigen on antibody titers in local Guinea fowls

43. SECOND OBJECTIVE CONT’D
 Materials and methods
Three hundred and twenty (320) keets aged12 weeks old were used
40 males and 40 females from each of the four strains

44. SECOND OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
4x2 factorial design (4= strains and 2= SRBC concentrations) was used
General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of SAS for Windows, version 7.
Total antibody titers were measured by agglutination assays

45. SECOND OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Control Highest (HA) Plate 1: SRBC Hemaglutination (HA) test in local Guinea fowls.

46. RESULTS
Table 11: Means of antibody titers of four strains and sex of local Guinea fowl inoculated with SRBC antigen.
Factor
Antibody Titer ABR
Strain
Pearl
8.16a ± 0.181
Lavender
5.93b ± 0.181
White
6.31b ± 0.181
Black
5.96b ± 0.181
P-value
0.003
Sex
Female
7.16a ± 0.220
Male
6.02b ± 0.226
0.005
a–b Means within a column for breed and sex with different superscripts differ at p<0.05.

47. RESULTS CONT’D
Titer
Figure 2: Effect of route of SRBC antigen administration on
antibody titers in local Guinea fowls
Route (1= Intravenous; 2= Intramuscular)

48. DISCUSSIONS
Effects of four strains, sex and route of inoculation on antibody titers of of local Guinea fowl inoculated with SRBC antigen
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
Significant influence of strain on antibody titers
 2 The relatively higher antibody titers
3. Better response to antibody titers of the Pearl strain
4. Significant sex effect observed on antibody response to SRBC antigen
5. Route of SRBC inoculation
Baclmans et al. (2005) in Nana, Ff and nana
 Than, in White leghorn lines (Boa-Amponsem et al., 2001)
Li et al. (2000) in Turkey
Boa Amponsem et al.(2001)
i Guinea fowl species is resistant to most poultry diseases Houndonougbo et al. (2017)
i.Higher levels of T lymphocytes subpopulations the birds in this strain posses (Konlan et al., 2011)
i.Influence of sex hormones Eiginger and Garrett (1972)
i. Functions of the ellipsoid-associated cells and peritoneal cavity cells. Van der Zijpp and Nicuwland (1986)

49. CONCLUSION
SRBC antigen could potentially be used as an indicator trait for disease resistance in Guinea fowls.
Pearl have high potential for immune competence.
Antibody response to SRBC antigen was better in females than in males.
Intravenous injection was more effective
Post injection days and SRBC concentration did not influence antibody response.

50. Estimation of phenotypic and genetic parameters Objectives
FORTH OBJECTIVE
Estimation of phenotypic and genetic parameters
Objectives
Estimate genetic variation (diversity) in traits
Estimate heritability of traits
Estimate phenotypic and genetic correlation between traits

51. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
Seven hundred and eighty (780) records were collected from six hundred keets (300 males and 300 females) for the estimate
These birds were produced from the base population (110 dams and 22 sires )

52. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Statistical analysis
Sire-son and sire-daughter regression was used for estimating all the parameters except egg characteristics where dam-daughter regression was used
Genotypic (σ2g) and phenotypic (σ2p) variances were obtained according to Baye (2002) as: σ2g = MSp−MSg/r and σ2p=MSg/r

53. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV)
GCV(%) =
Heritability:
h2 = covxz/σ2X = 2b
Model used was Zi = βXi + ei

54. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Standard error (S.E) of the heritability was calculated as:
S2b =
S.E. (b) =
S.E. (h2) = 2 S.E. (b)

55. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Genetic and phenotypic correlations among the traits were obtained as:
Genetic correlation (rG)
rG =

56. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Standard error (S.E.) of the genetic correlation
S.E. (rG) =  

57. FORTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Phenotypic correlations (r):
r =
Standard error of the phenotypic correlation
S.e. (r) =

58. RESULTS
Table 12a Variance and coefficient of variation components estimates of traits of indigenous Guinea fowls
Male
Female
Parameter
σ2p
σ2g
CVg (%)
HWT
1.568
1.129
4.09
1.458
1.196
4.07
TMWT
6.91
7.51
FMWT
8.8
6.03
SMWT
3.88
3.12
EMWT
3.34
2.29
TMWTG
2.046
0.9
12.91
0.823
0.313
7.15
FMWTG
1.374
0.357
7.79
1.524
0.457
9.62
σ2p = Phenotypic variance; σ2g = Additive genetic variance; CVg = Genetic coefficient of variation

59. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 12b Variance and coefficient of variation components estimates of traits of indigenous Guinea fowls
Male
Female
Parameter
σ2p
σ2g
CVg (%)
SMWTG
1.608
0.515
3.7
0.861
0.207
2.37
EMWTG
3.242
0.778
20.71
3.422
0.616
18.78
SVV
2.153
0.387
8.1
1.719
0.378
8.22
DOC
0.527
0.19
14.98
0.397
14.2
DRESSP
0.002
0.004
9.88
0.003
0.001
5.02 FI
17.956
5.028
3.95
16.464
5.927
4.24
FCR
0.422
0.169
10.2
0.844
0.371
14.47
σ2p = Phenotypic variance; σ2g = Additive genetic variance; CVg = Genetic coefficient of variation

60. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 13: Variance and coefficient of variation components estimates of egg traits of indigenous Guinea fowls
Parameter
σ2p
σ2g
CVg (%)
Age at first egg
86.2
29.308
2.58
Egg weight
2.67
1.547
3.03
Hen-Day egg production(%)
39.82
31.063
7.84
Fertility (%)
0.01
0.001
5.36
Hatchability (%)
6.59
σ2p = Phenotypic variance; σ2g = Additive genetic variance; CVg = Genetic coefficient of variation

61. DISCUSSIONS Table 4.2: Genetic variance components estimates of traits
Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
1Medium to high genetic diversity in body weight
Søndergaard et al., 2002
i. There will be high response to artificial selection in these traits (Annor et al., 2012;).

62. RESULTS
Heritability
hs2 = Heritability from sire-son regression, hd2 = Heritability from sire-
daughter regression, S.E = Standard error; NB= Number of observations
Table 14: Heritability estimates of body weight of indigenous Guinea fowls
Traits NB
Males
hs2 ± S.E
Females
hd2 ± S.E
Hatch weight
300
0.72 ± 0.30
0.82 ± 0.35
2-month weight
296
0.66 ± 0.35
0.70 ± 0.38
4-month weight
295
0.54 ± 0.28
294
0.46 ± 0.27
6-month weight
0.48 ± 0.28
0.38 ± 0.29
8-month weight
0.34 ± 0.29
0.32 ± 0.3

63. RESULTS CONT’D Heritability
hs2 = Heritability from sire-son regression, hd2 = Heritability from sire-
daughter regression, S.E = Standard error; NB= Number of observations
Table 15: Heritability estimates of weight gain in indigenous Guinea fowls
Traits NB
Males
hs2 ± S.E
Females
hd2 ± S.E
Daily gain from 1-2 months
296
0.44 ± 0.40
0.38 ± 0.4
Daily gain from 2-4 months
295
0.26 ± 0.40
294
0.30 ± 0.4
Daily gain from 4-6 months
0.32 ± 0.30
0.24 ± 0.25
Daily gain from 6-8 months
0.24 ± 0.32
0.18 ± 0.32

64. RESULTS CONT’D Heritability
hs2 = Heritability from sire-son regression, hd2 = Heritability from sire-
daughter regression, S.E = Standard error; NB= Number of observations
Table 16: Heritability estimates of other traits of indigenous Guinea fowls
Traits NB
Males
hs2 ± S.E
Females
hd2 ± S.E
Antibody response to SRBC 72
0.18 ± 0.26
0.22 ± 0.3
Docility
144
0.32 ± 0.25
0.48 ± 0.3
Dressing percentage 52
0.26 ± 0.30
0.28 ± 0.26
Feed intake 62
0.28 ± 0.29
0.36 ± 0.29
FCR
0.40 ± 0.30
0.44 ± 0.3

65. RESULTS CONT’D Heritability
hf2 = Heritability from dam-daughter regression, S.E = Standard error.
Table 17: Heritability estimates of egg characteristics of local Guinea fowls
Trait
No records
hf2 ± S.E
Age at first egg
589
0.34 ± 0.16
Egg weight
168
0.58 ± 0.21
Hen-day egg production
0.78 ± 0.17
Fertility
0.08 ± 0.15
Hatchability
0.12 ± 0.17

66. DISCUSSIONS Heritability estimates of traits Parameter Previous report
Reasons
Medium to high heritability of body weight
3.The medium heritability values for docility in both males and females
4. Moderate heritability OF FCR and FI
Ayorinde et al., 1988;
Sanjeev et al., 1997
Komai et al. (1959)
i.Additive genetic variance made a greater contribution to the total phenotypic variance
ii Mass selection for any of the traits could result in rapid improvement
Selection to change the aggressiveness will be effective in birds
i.Genetic selection for FCR and FI can improve feed efficiency

67. RESULTS
Table 18: Genetic (above diagonal) and phenotypic (below diagonal) correlations among 7 traits (sire-son regression) Hatch weight (HWT); two month weight (TMWT)); six month weight (SMWT); two month weight gain (TMWTG); six month weight gain (SMWTG); survival (SVV); docility score (DOC) and standard error (SE)
HWT
TMWT
SMWT
TMWTG
SMWTG
SVV
DOC
0.56
-0.17
0.54
0.21
-3.73
-1.81 SE
0.23
0.34
0.31
0.42
0.49
1.25
0.33
1.34
1.02
0.25
1.3
-0.32
0.19
0.32
0.02
0.47
1.03
0.41
-0.29
0.39
0.6
0.97
-0.67
0.52
0.04
0.26
0.12
0.11
0.82
1.7
0.4
0.2
1.54
0.5
0.38
-0.23
0.07
-0.25
0.13
0.17
0.63
-0.21
0.27
0.28
0.16
1.09
0.15
0.14
0.18
0.1
-0.24
0.09
-0.05
1.6

68. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 19: Genetic (above diagonal) and phenotypic (below diagonal) correlations among 7 traits (sire-daughter regression) Hatch weight (HWT); two month weight (TMWT)); six month weight (SMWT); two month weight gain (TMWTG); six month weight gain (SMWTG); survival (SVV); docility score (DOC) and standard error (SE)
HWT
TMWT
SMWT
TMWTG
SMWTG
SVV
DOC
0.13
-0.75
0.11
-0.46
-0.47
-0.05 SE
0.34
0.75
0.47
0.37
0.42
0.05
0.73
0.15
-0.16
-1.01
0.21
0.25
0.23
0.52
0.59
0.01
1.1
0.19
-0.07
-0.32
0.18
0.22
0.04
0.72
0.44
0.07
0.09
0.12
1.36 -
-0.45
0.2
0.63
0.46
0.02
0.17
-0.02
0.16
-0.11
0.82
0.57
0.26
-0.01
0.31
0.1
0.65
-0.35
-0.43
-0.31
0.03
-0.1
0.14

69. DISCUSSIONS Table 4.2: Genetic and phenotypic correlations Parameter
Previous report
Reasons
1. The moderate to high positive genetic correlations obtained
2 Genetic association between body weights at early ages with body weights at later ages
Daikwo (2011) and Momoh et al. (2014)
i. indicates that genetic improvement in anyone of them can improve the other (Hansen et al., 2010).
ii. Selection for body weight at early ages would improve body weight at later (maturity) ages (Momoh et al., 2014)
iii. The observation also means that selection for SVV can improve higher HDEP and earlier ATFE and selection for higher FERT could also improve hatch (Hansen et al., 2010)

70. CONCLUSION CONT’D
The results could be used to initiate Guinea fowl selection breeding programmes.
Moderate to high positive genetic correlation between SMWT, DOC and SVV indicates that these traits could be used in a multiple trait selection using the selection index.

71. RECOMMENDATION
Scientists should carry out research to find out whether weight at first egg has influence on egg production.

72. FIFTH OBJECTIVE
Estimation of genetic gain of the 3rd generation offspring
Objectives
Estimate selection differential and selection intensity
Estimate genetic changes

73. FIFTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
Records obtained from 657 keets belonging to 3rd generation
In each generation of selection, an index was constructed using statistics collected on HWT, TMWT, SMWT, SVV and DOC
Direction of selection was positive

74. FIFTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
The total number of records used for each generation was 440, 856 and 1233 for the first, second and third generations (G0, G1, and G2) respectively
The selection index calculations were solved using Mathcad 7 professional (Mathsoft applications)

75. FIFTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
The general solution to the index equation was b = P-1Ga according to Becker (1984)
Selection differential was calculated as the within- generation changes induced by selection (selection differential (∆S)).

76. FIFTH OBJECTIVE CONT’D
Materials and methods
Estimation of genetic changes
Mean selection intensity = mean ∆S/ mean σp
Selection responses = deviations of the means of the selected line from its unselected control line per generation
Realized response over the three generations = Regression of the cumulated responses on generation numbers

77. RESULTS
Table 20: Selection differential, realized response and estimated response of traits
Gen. = Generation; ∆S = Selection Differential; σP = Phenotypic Standard Deviation; I = Selection Intensity;∆Gi = Expected Direct Genetic Gain; RR = Realized Response; CSR = Cumulative Selection Response; ERR = Estimated realized response over three generations
Trait
Gen ∆S σP I RR
CSR
ERR
HWT GO
2.11
4.90
3.14 G1
3.26
5.07
5.57
8.71 G2
3.97
5.26
8.48
17.19
Mean
3.11
5.08
0.62
7.03
TMWT
16.53
18.15
159.96
18.14
221.54
381.50
17.68
21.43
334.21
715.71
17.13
19.24
0.89
277.88
SMWT
30.32
34.53
518.90
29.40
38.35
884.40
33.25
40.02
30.99
37.63
0.82
986.52

78. RESULTS CONT’D
Table 21: Selection differential, realized response and estimated response of traits
Gen. = Generation; ∆S = Selection Differential; σP = Phenotypic Standard Deviation; I = Selection Intensity;∆Gi = Expected Direct Genetic Gain; RR = Realized Response; CSR = Cumulative Selection Response; ERR = Estimated realized response over three generations
Trait
Gen ∆S σP I RR
CSR
ERR
SVV GO
1.55
2.90
4.47 G1
0.93
2.97
6.00
10.47 G2
2.06
3.30
9.50
19.97
Mean
1.51
3.06
0.49
 7.75
DOC
0.77
1.85
0.11
0.56
1.81
2.55
2.66
0.36
1.78
2.83
5.49
0.31
2.69

79. DISCUSSIONS CONT’D Genetic gain Parameter Previous report
Reasons and implications
1. The increase of the traits over the three generations
Sharma et al. (1983)
Ayyagari et al. (1985)
i.Luck of genetic drift effect
( Nwagu et al., 2007).
ii. Selection by index was effective

80. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The simultaneous inclusion of the three traits in the selection index improved the performance of the selected individuals in these traits
Selection based on an index should be applied in breeding programmes
The selection programme in this experiment should be continued until optimum response is attained.

81. THANK YOU