| Livestock Research for Rural Development 28 (8) 2016 | Guide for preparation of papers | LRRD Newsletter | Citation of this paper |
A baseline survey of guinea fowl production in northern Ghana was conducted to gather bench mark data against which to measure impact of future guinea fowl project interventions. Ten districts were covered in Northern Region and five each in Upper East and Upper West regions. An average of 36 guinea fowl farmers were interviewed per district. Chi-square was used to compare actual values against expected values. Paired T-Test was also used to separate means. Tables and graphs were drawn for better visualization of the findings.
A substantial number of the farmers interviewed were between the ages of 21 and 60 years. By gender, guinea fowl farming appeared to be a predominantly male occupation in all three regions. Guinea fowl production was still largely the preoccupation of farmers with no formal education (64%). The local breed comprised the overwhelming majority (98%) of birds kept by the farmers. The respondents obtained day-old keets from two main sources; from their own eggs (52%) and buying eggs (44%) from others to hatch. Farmers in the Northern Region obtained the highest average number of eggs from their guinea fowls per annum (1067 eggs), followed by the Upper West Region (399 eggs per annum), and lastly the Upper East Region (328 eggs per annum). Of the eggs produced annually, about 22.6% were incubated to obtain keets, 37.5% were sold and 13.7% were consumed by the family. Calabash was the clear container of choice for storage of eggs (73.5%). Most farmers (89.8%) stored their eggs for a week or less before incubation. The most common method used to determine the sex of a guinea fowl was the helmet method (35%). Virtually all the respondents offered supplementary feed to their guinea fowls. In northern Ghana the use of grains (maize and millet) to feed guinea fowls dominated. There was normally water for the birds to drink as over 80% of the respondents alleged they gave their birds water. Mud hut for housing guinea fowls predominated. Once in a week sweeping of the guinea fowl house was the most common practice and it was carried out by 33% of the respondents. The most widely used medication was herbs in Northern (25%) and Upper West (40%) regions and dewormer in Upper East Region (35%). About 70% of the respondents had a problem of guinea keet mortality and it was the overriding challenge. Consequently, about 82% of the respondents requested for training in guinea fowl health. The major mode of transporting guinea fowls to market was by bicycle, and about half of the people interviewed used this means of transport. Guinea fowls were commonly conveyed in local cages to the market with 70% of the respondents indicating this practice in northern Ghana. Mortality rate during transportation of guinea fowls was about 0.6%.
Keywords: eggs, guinea keet, hatching, incubation, poultry
The helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) which is increasing in popularity (Jacob and Pescatore 2013) is an important domestic bird in northern Ghana, kept for its eggs and white meat (Yildirim 2012). This prolific bird is found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Australia and therefore has ubiquitous distribution (Moreki and Radikara 2013). The bird is a typical fixture of farming households with farmers keeping small flocks of the bird, not only for its meat and eggs but for important socio-cultural purposes such as sacrifices, funerals, gift-giving, contracting marriage rites and the celebration of guinea fowl festival and major holidays. It is also a source of ready cash for investment in education, healthcare, crop-livestock farming, purchase of grains to bridge gaps in food availability as well as in fixed assets (Teye and Adam 2000; Avornyo et al 2013; Dei et al 2014; FAO 2014). Guinea fowl population in Ghana was about 7% of national poultry population and smallholder farmers in northern Ghana obtained more income from the guinea fowl than from the chicken (FAO 2014). The meat and eggs of the guinea enjoy considerable popularity among the Ghanaian population and some expatriates because of gamy flavour and texture. Their bones are relatively small making the carcass to contain a relatively large amount of meat. Scientific tests have found guinea fowl meat and egg to be nutritionally superior to imported chicken products (Ayeni 1980; Moreki and Seabo 2012; Teye and Adam 2000).
Ghana has a comparative advantage for guinea fowl production because the relatively lower rainfall Guinea and Sudan Savannas which characterize about 70% of Ghana’s vegetation are ideal for guinea fowl production (Mahaka 1990; Ikani and Dafwang 2004). Unlike the chicken and turkey, guinea fowls are generally resistant to the common virulent viral diseases such as Newcastle disease, Fowl pox and Gumboro which decimate affected poultry populations (Microlivestock 1991; Ikani and Dafwang 2004; Bonkoungou 2005; Sayila 2009). This notwithstanding, in the rainy season guinea keet mortality is very high (average of 90% mortality rate is observed). Guinea keets are very susceptible to dampness but when they reach two months old, they probably become the hardiest domestic land fowl (Jacob and Pescatore 2013). The rainy season is unfortunately the period that they lay abundant fertilized eggs. The high demand for the guinea fowl is not always met due to the poor productivity of the bird, which may itself reflect poor and inadequate skill and infrastructure needed by the small scale farmers who account for the majority of production. Empowering local people to increase guinea fowl production not only addresses their poverty situation (Moreki and Radikara 2013) but also reduces the need for foreign currency to import meat into the country. Nahashon et al (2006a) observed that guinea fowl broiler production was a commercially viable option.
The objective of the survey was to gather bench mark data which may help in directing future guinea fowl project interventions and also help measure impact towards increasing guinea fowl productivity.
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| Picture 1. A map of northern Ghana showing the locations in red flags where the baseline survey was conducted |
The Northern Region is the largest of ten regions covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31% of Ghana’s area. It is divided into 26 districts and bordered on the north by the Upper West and East regions. The region is drier than the southern areas of Ghana due to its proximity to the Sahel. The vegetation consists predominantly of grassland, especially savanna with clusters of drought-resistant trees such as the baobab and acacia. Between May and October is the wet season with an average annual rainfall of 750 to 1050 mm. The dry season is between November and April. The highest temperatures are observed at the end of the dry season and the lowest in December and January. The temperatures can vary between 14 °C at night and 40 °C during the day. Common livestock species found in this region include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chicken and the guinea fowl.
The Upper East Region which consists of 13 districts is also located in the north of Ghana and it is the second smallest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana, occupying a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East Region is located in the north-eastern corner of Ghana and bordered by Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. It lies between longitude 0° and 1° West, and latitudes 10° 30′N and 11°N. The region also shares boundaries with Upper West Region to the west. Livestock species found in the Northern Region are also present in this region.
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the northwestern corner of Ghana and is bordered by Burkina Faso to the west and north. It is located on latitude 9.8°- 11.0° North and longitude 1.6°- 3.0 West. It covers a geographical area of 18,476 square kilometres which represents 12.7% of the total land area of Ghana. It is made up of eleven (11) districts.
A baseline questionnaire was administered to 720 farmers in a total of 20 districts (10 in Northern Region and five each in Upper East and Upper West regions). The districts were chosen with the help of a Google map in such a way that they were evenly spread across the entire region such that all the human settlement areas of the region were represented (Picture 1). An average of about 36 guinea fowl farmers were interviewed in each district. In a selected district, any person who had reared guinea fowls within the past 12 months from the date of the interview was qualified to be interviewed. The questionnaire captured the characteristics of guinea fowl farmers, breeds raised, guinea fowl egg incubation and hatching, determination of guinea fowl sex, current husbandry practices, farmer’s capacity to rear guinea fowls, guinea fowl mortality rate and transportation of guinea fowls to the market.
Chi-square was used to compare actual values against expected values. Paired T-Test was also used to separate means. Tables and graphs were drawn for better visualization of the survey findings.
A translator was often needed for the interview to proceed as most of the respondents could not communicate well in English. This doubled the interview time. Coupled with that, the use of a translator could compromise the quality of the interview process. The data obtained were based on farmers’ ability to recall production history spanning at least one year. Most of the farmers did not have written records of their guinea fowl production.
A substantial number (84%) of the farmers interviewed were between the ages of 21 and 60 years (Figure 1). According to a study by Teye and Adam (2000), 80% of surveyed guinea fowl farmer population were between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Percentage guinea fowl farmers peaked at 44% for age group 21-40. Only 2% of the farmers were below the age of 20. It appeared residents under 20 years of age were barred from rearing guinea fowl (Teye and Adam 2000). The demographic under 20 years might also not have the resources to have their own flocks or might be at an age where they were still dependants and living in the house of their parents.
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| Figure 1. Age distribution of farmers by region |
Majority of the farmers were male (Figure 2). By gender, guinea fowl farming appeared to be a predominantly male occupation in all three northern regions of Ghana. The Upper East and West regions however had a slightly higher proportion of female farmers compared to the Northern Region. A survey of rural poultry in West Mamprusi district also revealed that the owners were predominantly (83.3%) male (Dankwa et al 2000) which was in contrast to their observation in the south of Ghana that 81.2% of the owners were female. In Zimbabwe, about 89% of surveyed poultry farmers were female (Ndiweni 2013). Northern Ghana is peculiar in that animal rearing is traditionally male dominated (Otchere et al 1997).
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| Figure 2. Percentage sex distribution of farmers by region |
Most of the farmers interviewed (64%) had no formal education. The estimate given by Teye and Adam (2000) was 60%. About 20% of them had primary education and a small proportion had secondary education (9.7%) and tertiary education (6.6%). The pattern was similar across all the three regions. Dankwa et al (2000) reported similar figures with 78% having up to primary education and 4% with tertiary education. The results suggested that guinea fowl production was still largely the preoccupation of farmers with no formal education (Kwesisi et al 2015).
The majority of female guinea fowl farmers had only a few years experience (0-5 years) of guinea fowl rearing. A very strong association was found between sex of respondent and years of rearing. More than 50% of the female farmers were younger than 40 years of age, which may explain their generally few years of rearing experience. This contrasts with the male farmers, most of whom were more than 40 years.
The linkage between farmer’s level of education and the farmer belonging to a group was detected only among respondents from Upper East Region but not in the other two regions. When correlation between level of education and membership of group was tested for each gender, no association was found for the women farmers but a correlation existed for the male farmers (P<0.05). The proportions of male respondents belonging to groups appeared to increase with level of education.
The respondents obtained their day-old keets from two main sources; from their own eggs (52%) and buying eggs (44%) from other farmers to hatch. This observation seems to be at variance with the observation by Yakubu et al (2014) that the majority (45%) of guinea fowl farmers in north central Nigeria obtained their foundation stock from the market. Table 1 shows the numbers and types of guinea fowl breeds kept by the respondents. The local breed comprised the overwhelming majority (98%) of birds kept by the farmers. About 1% each of the exotic breed and cross bred guinea fowls were encountered in the study. The exotic breeds were found in only 4 of the 20 districts surveyed. The introduction of exotic guinea fowl breeds by developmental projects could account for the presence of these birds and their crosses in these districts. Kebede et al (2012) also reported lack of improved breeds in Ethiopia.
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Table 1. Breeds of guinea fowls kept by respondents by region and by district |
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Region |
Exotic breed |
Local breed |
Cross breed |
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Northern |
44 |
18776 |
203 |
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Upper East |
0 |
6525 |
0 |
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Upper West |
221 |
4477 |
90 |
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Grand Total |
265 (0.87%) |
29778 (98%) |
293 (0.96%) |
The Northern Region had the highest per capita number of guinea fowls compared to the Upper East and Upper West regions (Table 2). These numbers are higher than the 3 to 10 breeding guinea fowls per household reported in Sierra Leone (LEAD 2008), Zimbabwe (Saina 2005) and in the Nasawara State of Nigeria (Yakubu et al 2014), but somewhat similar to the report of Boko et al (2011) in Benin, and apparently lower than 4 guinea cocks and 15 guinea hens per household recorded in West Mamprusi district of the Northern Region of Ghana (Dankwa et al 2000). The overall proportions (for the three northern regions) of breeding males (cocks) to breeding females (hens) were approximately 1:1.4. Northern Region had an overall ratio of 1:2. The proportions in the Northern Region looked more favorable for efficient breeding compared to what was observed in the Upper East and Upper West regions where the ratios of breeding males to breeding females was almost equal. Yakubu et al (2014) observed a mean sex ratio of 1 cock to 2.5 hens in Nigeria suggesting the presence of excess breeding males.
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Table 2. Flock dynamics (age groups and sexes) of guinea fowls |
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Region |
Average number |
Average number |
Average number |
Average number of |
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Northern |
55.9 |
9.4 |
4.4 |
41.9 |
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Upper East |
36.5 |
5.3 |
7.4 |
23.8 |
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Upper West |
27.7 |
9.7 |
8.0 |
8.5 |
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Grand Total |
43.8 |
8.4 |
6.1 |
28.6 |
Guinea fowls start to lay at 6 to 7 months old and may lay for 8 months (Ikani and Dafwang 2004) in a year. Farmers in the Northern Region reported the highest average number of eggs from their guinea fowls per annum (1067 eggs/farmer/annum) equivalent to 114 eggs/hen, followed by the Upper West Region (399 eggs/farmer/annum) or 41 eggs/hen, and lastly the Upper East Region (328 eggs/farmer/annum) equivalent to 62 eggs/hen. Agbolosu et al (2012b) also observed egg output by guinea fowls in Northern Region to be considerably higher than those from Upper West and Upper East Region. Saina (2005) in Zimbabwe obtained a mean egg production of 89 while Jacob and Pescatore (2013) reported over 100 eggs per hen in the USA. Egg output in Europe was estimated to range between 175 and 200 eggs per annum (Le Coz-Douin 1992; Muglah 2001). In north central Nigeria, mean annual egg production per guinea hen was about 79 (Yakubu et al 2014). Egg numbers reported for guinea fowls compare favourably to 30 to 40 eggs produced per annum by chickens in Ghana (Dankwa et al 2000). Gono et al (2013) in Zimbabwe observed that inadequate feed supply gave rise to, among others, low egg production. Jacob and Pescatore (2013) also mentioned that guinea fowl egg production often starts in April or May. Generally more eggs were laid in the rainy season compared to the dry season (66.9% vs. 33.1%). Guinea fowls are seasonal breeders and they mostly lay their eggs during rainy season when feed resources are relatively abundant. In the wild, the guinea hen may lay about 15 to 20 eggs in the breeding season (Ikani and Dafwang 2004).
Of the eggs produced annually, about 22.6% were incubated, 37.5% were sold and 13.7% consumed by the family. The 22.6% reported in this study is at variance with 71% reported by Yakubu et al (2014) in Nigeria. The fact that only 22.6% of eggs were incubated per year might be due to the limited number of chicken hens available for incubation. Another possible reason was the low survivability of keets, which some farmers claimed, discouraged them from raising keets. Sale of guinea fowl eggs was an income generating activity in the rainy season that helped to bridge the hunger period that farmers experienced (Ahaotu et al 2013). The local hen turned out to be the predominant means (93%) of incubating guinea fowl eggs in all districts of the three northern regions. The simple reason being that this was the only option (affordable and easily managed). The guinea fowl hen was not used for incubation. Very few farmers (10%) had their own incubators and 13% used commercial incubators.
The calabash was the clear container of choice (74%) for storage of eggs. The other methods did not seem to be significant as less than 5% of the respondents used each of these methods of egg storage. The duration of egg storage has implications for egg fertility; fertility generally reduces with length of storage. Most farmers (89.8%) stored their eggs for a week or less before incubation while 10.2% of the farmers stored it for more than 1 week. This was the pattern observed in almost all districts.
In the drier areas of northern Ghana, the respondents often practised a sex ratio of about 1 guinea cock to 1 guinea hen. In the wetter areas, for example in the Northern Region, a sex ratio of 1:5 was common in the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District. This was suggestive of the availability of more guinea fowl feed resources in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District. Jacob and Pescatore (2013) reported that in the wild, guinea fowls typically married in pairs but under domestic conditions, one male could marry four or five females. Moreki and Seabo (2012) have reported for Botswana that indiscriminate breeding was common giving rise to a lot of inbreeding. Teye and Adam (2000) also reported lack of source of good quality day old keets in Ghana. These notwithstanding, Yakubu et al (2014) estimated an inbreeding rate of 0.1% and an effective population size of 493 birds suggesting that the guinea fowl was not in any danger of becoming extinct.
The most frequent method used to determine ownership of guinea fowls was toe cutting. All respondents in Upper West Region practised toe cutting while 92% of the respondents in Northern Region also practised same; 80% of Upper East respondents practised that as well. Consequently, 92% of respondents in northern Ghana practised toe cutting as a way of determining ownership of guinea fowl.
Determining the sex of a keet has been a major constraint for guinea fowl farmers (Teye and Adam 2000). Most respondents (35%) used the helmet method to identify the sex of the guinea fowl. A few respondents used the cry of the guinea fowl, the lobes, the phallus, its aggression for instance during feeding, body size, appearance of the legs and the feathers among others to identify the sex of the guinea fowl. The commonest method of determining the sex is not foolproof hence the lack of an overwhelming majority of farmers choosing that method. Nahashon et al (2006b) have however realized that the male and female pearl grey guinea exhibited differences in their growth patterns, and concluded that the female guinea fowl conversely to the chicken, seemed to have a higher asymptotic body weight than the guinea cock.
Generally, as observed from the survey, methods used to identify guinea cocks from guinea hens were similar irrespective of the farmer being a new entrant or had many years of guinea fowl rearing experience. In northern Ghana, the method of choice to determine the sex of the guinea fowl did not seem to change even after many years of guinea fowl rearing. This means that many years of rearing did very little to improve the ability of these farmers to determine accurately the sex of their guinea fowls. There was not enough statistical evidence to suggest the existence of a relationship between number of years of guinea fowl rearing and the use of a particular method to determine the sex of a guinea fowl. This suggests that not much learning takes place to improve accuracy of sex determination with time. Perhaps that method of identifying the sex of a guinea fowl was acquired during childhood before the farmers kept their own flocks of guinea fowls.
Mud hut for housing of guinea fowls was the dominant structure. In fact 80 to 90% of the guinea fowl houses in northern Ghana were mud huts. Dankwa et al (2000) and Boko et al (2011) corroborated this information. Other housing structures were wooden coops and cemented houses. Even though the majority (95%) of the households said they had guinea fowl houses, it was not clear how many of these farmers got their guinea fowls to sleep inside these houses. In the Nasawara State of north central Nigeria, Yakubu et al (2014) said about 87% of their respondents provided some form of enclosure for their guinea fowls. There were a few instances where it was observed that although structures in the semblance of a poultry house existed, the birds were sleeping at a different place; on perches outside the house. According to Boko et al (2011), 74% of guinea fowl farms surveyed in north-eastern Benin had their adult guinea fowls roosting in trees and the available guinea fowl houses were invariably in an unhygienic state. Farmers in other studies indicated that poor housing was a contributory factor to low guinea fowl productivity (Teye and Adam 2000). Ikani and Dafwang (2004) reported that the provision of adequate ventilation in the guinea fowl house was important because the relatively drier droppings of the guinea fowl more easily create a dusty atmosphere predisposing them to respiratory problems.
The extensive production system was predominant in northern Ghana with about 93% of the respondents using it. While 4% practised the semi-intensive production system only 3% practised the intensive system. In Zimbabwe, Saina (2005) also reported a preponderance of extensive and semi-intensive systems over the intensive system. Dankwa et al (2000) mentioned that local poultry in Ghana were extensively kept and FAO (2004) reported that about 80% of poultry producers in Africa, Asia and Latin America used the extensive system of production. In Benin, about 95% used the extensive system (Boko et al 2011) and intensive production is little practised (Dougnon et al 2012). In Botswana however, intensive system of guinea fowl production was common probably following their government directive for complete confinement of the domestic guinea fowl (Moreki and Seabo 2012).
Ahaotu et al (2013) were of the opinion that guinea fowl growth performance was considerably hampered under the extensive system because they observed that while 2 to 8 weeks old keets grew at 5.5 g/d under the intensive system, their counterparts under the extensive system grew at 1.5 g/d. This notwithstanding, Savadogo (1995) demonstrated faster growth rate of keets under the extensive system.
Guinea fowls consumed grass seed, crop byproducts, worms and insects under the extensive system of production (Ikani and Dafwang 2004). Almost all the people interviewed gave supplementary feed (Northern Region, 97%; Upper East Region, 100% and Upper West Region, 97%), which appears to be higher than 80% reported in north central Nigeria (Yakubu et al 2014). The feed types used by farmers were grains (maize, sorghum, millet and soybeans), termites/maggots, farmer self-prepared feed and purchased commercial feed. In the study area, use of the aforementioned grains to feed fowls dominated (46% to 100%). The next dominant feed type was termites which ranged from 22% to 45%. The rest of the feed types were seldom used. These included rice, rice bran-husk mixture, fish, watermelon, kitchen waste, cooked cassava, sorghum spent grains (pito mash) and Moringa. Kusina et al (2012) and Naandam and Issah (2012) also reported that cereals such as maize, millet and sorghum were fed to smallholder guinea fowls. Of the farmers interviewed, those who said they could prepare feed constituted 13% in Upper West Region, 12% in Upper East Region and 10% in Northern Region.
In Northern Region, termites were mostly used to feed guinea keets while maize and, in a few cases sorghum were used for growers and adults. In Upper East Region, mostly millet and termites were used to feed keets while maize and millet were used mostly to feed growers and adults. In Upper West Region, while termites were used mostly to feed keets, maize was used to feed growers and adults. This observation was somewhat corroborated by Dei et al. (2014) when they reported that the dominant feed for keets and older birds was maize supplemented with sorghum and termites.
There was normally water for the birds to drink as over 80% of the respondents alleged they gave their birds water. Water was commonly provided in locally fabricated waterers. Feeders on the other hand were hardly provided. Over 50% of them claimed they changed their water daily. Once in a week sweeping of the guinea fowl house was the most common practice reported by 33% of the respondents (Figure 3). Boko et al (2011) however reported that in north-eastern Benin once per season sweeping of hen coop and cleaning of waterer was the most common practice.
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| Figure 3. Proportion of farmers adopting recommended practices |
Generally herbs were used as medication for guinea fowls in all three regions; 25% in Northern Region, 22% in Upper East Region and 40% in Upper West Region (Figure 4). It was the most commonly used medication in Northern and Upper West Region. Moreki and Radikara (2013) reported that under the extensive system of production, guinea fowl health management was based mainly on ethnoveterinary medicine. Yakubu et al (2014) also indicated that 28% of interviewed households used ethnoveterinary medicine as opposed to 72% who did not use it. There may be need for an investigation into the efficacy of these herbal concoctions (Boko et al 2011; Nyoni and Masika 2012) for the effective treatment of guinea fowl diseases. About 19% of respondents in the Northern Region used a dewormer, 27% in Upper West Region and 35% in the Upper East Region. It was the most commonly used medication in the Upper East Region. Vaccines which the farmers patronized included Newcastle vaccine, Gumboro and Fowl pox vaccine. According to Ikani and Dafwang (2004), no viral disease had been incriminated in the local guinea fowl in Nigeria. Their statement however is at variance with the claim by Yakubu et al (2014) that Newcastle disease was the most prevalent infection reported by respondents in north central Nigeria.
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| Figure 4. Medications and mineral-vitamin premix use for guinea fowls by region |
About 33% of the respondents had ever received technical advice on guinea fowl rearing with the majority in Upper East Region (43%), followed by Upper West Region (35%) and the least in Northern Region (29%). Technical advice was mainly from Ministry of Food and Agriculture particularly the veterinary staff and this cut across the three regions. Technical training was also offered and often, it was on guinea fowl health with about 31% of the respondents ever receiving such training. The other trainings were related to feeding, breeding, housing and brooding, with about 25% or fewer people participating in such trainings. Only about 10% benefited from training in all five topics and this included 33% of the people in Upper West Region. In Northern Region, it was about 2.5% of the people interviewed. In Upper East, it was 5%. About 50% of those interviewed in Upper West Region had received training in at least one topic compared to 10% in the other regions (Figure 5).
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| Figure 5. Proportion of farmers who ever received technical training on aspects of guinea fowl production |
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| Picture 2. Guinea fowl sleeping places |
In northern Ghana, about 20% of the farmers had ever been involved in a beneficiary project. Again Upper West Region topped the list with about 25 to 33% of them benefiting from a project as compared to 18% in Upper East and 14% in Northern Region. Upper West Region is the poorest region in Ghana, and this possibly explains why a higher proportion of interventions seemed to be concentrated in this region. Of the beneficiaries, only a handful have benefited from guinea fowl projects. The rest were involved in exotic chicken projects, small ruminant, rabbit, pig, bullock, donkey, bee, maize, soybean, mango, cotton, cashew and loans projects supported by various development organizations.
About 82% of the respondents requested for training in guinea fowl health. Compared to the preference for knowledge on guinea fowl health, less importance appeared to be attached to the other topics as about 50% were asking for training on other topics. The other topics were feeding, breeding, housing and brooding.
Formal education did not contribute significantly to the ability of a farmer to reduce guinea fowl mortality (Figure 6). In Upper East and Upper West regions, respondents with tertiary level of education recorded higher guinea fowl mortality rate than respondents with lower level of education. It was in Northern Region that there was a semblance of a reduction in mortality with increasing level of education. For the entire northern Ghana, the relationship was -0.007. Most of the farmers with the high level of education were experts in other fields rather than in Animal Science.
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| Figure 6. Trend between level of education and guinea fowl mortality rate |
A probe into whether the number of years spent rearing guinea fowls would significantly influence farmers’ capacity to reduce guinea fowl mortality revealed no such effect (Figure 7). It was thought that old (60 years or more) men would record lower keet mortality rates because of the many years they might have spent rearing guinea fowls combined with the likelihood that they would have more time to cater for the guinea fowl. Irrespective of region, number of years of guinea fowl rearing did not influence mortality rate.
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| Figure 7. Trend between years of guinea fowl rearing and guinea fowl mortality rate |
About 70% of the respondents had the problem of guinea fowl mortality. Restricting it to Upper East Region, close to 90% had that problem. In Upper West Region, it was 60%, and 70% in Northern Region. In Zimbabwe, keet mortality rate far outweighed general flock mortality rate in the ratio of 11 to 1 (Saina 2005). According to Galor (1990), the typical guinea fowl suffers about 75% of its diseases within the first six weeks of life. Some farmers reduced keet mortality by confining them for an average of one month (Ndiweni 2013). In Benin, mortality rate of keets within the first eight weeks of life ranged from 68 to 87% (Boko 2004). Similar observations were made in Burkina Faso (Bessin et al 1998). Boko et al (2011) obtained remarkably similar values for mortality rates when they first used a questionnaire and later cross-checked by recording mortality as it occurred in the farm. The questionnaire estimated 70% for keet mortality rate and 12% for the older fowls while actual field observations estimated 67% for keet mortality rate and 13% for the older ones. This observation lends some credence to the outcome of an interview process with farmers equipped with very scanty written records. Keet mortality rate was positively associated with monthly rainfall figures, and in Benin it was most critical between July and September (Boko et al 2011). Cold was another factor that contributed to keet mortality (Dahouda et al 2008; Boko et al 2011; Avornyo et al 2013). Otchere et al (1990) indicated that mortality posed a major limitation to the growth of the poultry sector in Nigeria. Under an intensively managed system, keet mortality could be brought under control (Ahaotu et al 2013; Avornyo et al 2013).
Guinea keet mortality, as also identified by Teye and Adam (2000) and Boko et al (2011), therefore posed the overriding challenge obscuring other challenges such as feeding, predation, and theft which were expressed by only 10 to 20% of the respondents. Dankwa et al (2000) were of the view that efforts to curb poultry mortality should be topmost. It appeared that apart from guinea fowl mortality, the only other significant challenge that Upper West Region had was theft. This was not the same in the other two regions which had concerns with feed and predation in addition to theft. Researchers and development workers therefore need to be mindful of the fact that any success in reducing keet mortality would result in surviving guinea fowls becoming exposed to these other challenges so multiple interventions may be needed to ensure an increase in guinea fowl productivity. Boko et al (2011) observed the major causes of mortality in older guineas to be predation and accident but Agbolosu et al (2012a) added that the adult guinea fowl generally experienced a low mortality rate, which in their study was 1 to 2 %. One major challenge of guinea fowl farmers in Zimbabwe was the lack of financial support to raise shelter for the birds (Gono et al 2013). Availability of small grants may therefore arouse interest in guinea fowl production (Moreki and Radikara 2013).
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| Figure 8. Challenges contributing to a reduction in flock size and health |
The major mode of transporting guinea fowls to the market was by bicycle, and about 50% of the people interviewed used this means of transport to send their birds to the market. About 20% used motorbike as against 14% going by foot. Guinea fowls were commonly conveyed in local cages to the market with 70% of the respondents in northern Ghana admitting to the use of the local cage. Sometimes the legs of the guinea fowls were tied and the guinea fowl was carried by hand, hung on the arm or on bicycle handle bars. Occasionally they were sent to the market in packing cases. Mortality during the transportation of guinea fowls to the market was low; about 0.9% of birds died during transportation to the market in the Northern Region. For northern Ghana, it was 0.6% that died. Both the Upper East and Upper West regions reported negligible figures; 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
The authors are very grateful to the World Bank and the Ghanaian Government for sponsoring the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP) which enabled this study to be undertaken. Special gratitude goes to the team of dedicated enumerators for their accomplishments. Without the cooperation and coordination efforts of the Directors of Agriculture, this work would not have been accomplished and to them we are most grateful. There was tremendous show of commitment on the part of translators and farmers who waited patiently for their turn to be interviewed.
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Received 16 June 2016; Accepted 16 July 2016; Published 1 August 2016