IJCRR - 7(7), April, 2015
Pages: 10-17
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EGG QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THREE VARIETIES OF HELMETED GUINEA FOWL (NUMIDAMELEAGRIS) IN NIGERIA
Author: Onunkwo D. N., Okoro I. C.
Category: Healthcare
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Abstract:
An investigation of the egg quality characteristics of three varieties of guinea fowls was studied. The experimental varieties were Pearl (Sake), Lavender (Hurudu) and Black (Angulu). Base populations of 180 guinea fowls were used to generate 144 F1 females comprising 48 birds per variety. Each variety was divided into three randomized replicates containing 16 birds per replicate. Data were collected fortnightly on egg quality traits. Parameters collected for egg quality traits include: Egg Weight (EW), Egg Length (EL), Egg Width (EWD), Egg Index (EI), Shell Thickness (ST), Shell Weight (SW), Albumen Height (AH), Albumen Weight (AW), Albumen Diameter (AD), Yolk Length (YL), Yolk Height (YH), Yolk Weight (YW), Yolk Diameter (YD), Yolk Index (YI), and Haugh Unit (HU). The egg quality data were treated statistically. The Pearl, Lavender and Black varieties showed great
similarities in two important indices for assessing egg quality traits, namely: Haugh unit (88.95, 89.04, and 88.56) and yolk index values (0.40, 0.41, and 0.42) respectively. Based on the mean internal egg quality values, Differences were observed in albumen weight (18.23, 19.79 and 17.36) and yolk diameter (32.31, 31.91 and 31.50) of the Pearl, Lavender and Black varieties respectively. The Lavender and Pearl varieties recorded higher values in both traits than the Black. The result of the mean external egg quality traits showed that the Pearl and Lavender varieties are similarly longer and wider than the Black variety. The Black
variety however outperformed the Pearl variety in shell thickness. The Pearl and Lavender varieties showed more similarity in performance than the Black. However, since, the Lavender variety performed better than the Pearl variety in albumen weight and shell thickness, it is thus recommended.
Keywords: Egg quality, Egg characteristics, Guinea fowl, Varieties
Citation:
Onunkwo D. N., Okoro I. C.. EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EGG QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THREE VARIETIES OF HELMETED GUINEA FOWL (NUMIDAMELEAGRIS) IN NIGERIA International Journal of Current Research and Review. 7(7), April, 10-17
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