Assessing meat production of 3 Hungarian Landrace Guinea Fowl ecotypes reserved for in vivo conservation
2016
Szalay, I.T. | Phuong, T. N Lan | Ferencz, T.R. | Dong Xuan, K.D.T. | Kustos, K. | Gaal, K Kovacsne
Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) has existed in the Carpathian Basin for centuries and now is becoming an important genetic resource for low-input production. This study aimed to compare production traits, such as livability, BW, and feed conversion, of 3 Hungarian Landrace Guinea Fowl (HLGF) ecotypes, 2 from Hungarian gene banks (Godollo (G) and Hortobagy (H)) and one local type from Central Hungary (C). Beyond 5 wk of age, birds were kept in enclosures of either 15 m² or 50 m² free-range area per bird. The highest average BW and lowest feed conversion at 14 wk of age (1329.38 ± 101.47 g and 2.916 ± 0.253 kg feed/kg BW gain, respectively) were recorded for the G ecotype of HLGF, which was kept in 50 m² free-range area/bird. An ANOVA test showed that the ecotype of guinea fowl influenced BW and feed conversion, and the size of the free-range area was found to be a determining factor for feed conversion rate at 14 wk of age (P < 0.001). Our study results indicate that use of the G ecotype of HLGF is preferred for meat production and that the size of the free-range area is essential for keeping any types of HLGF after 5 wk of age. Different HLGF ecotypes also were shown to exist in rural Hungary, which should be of interest to future conservation programs.
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