Study area

Playa Ventura is located geographically in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range, within the region called Costa Chica in Guerrero at 16° 18’ N and 98° 03’ W (Figure 1), at an altitude of 10 meters (^{INEGI, 2010}). There is a total population of 555 residents, of which 281 are women and 274 are men. There is an indigenous population of 24 residents of the Amuzgo people.

Figure 1 Location of the community of Playa Ventura, Copala, Guerrero, México. 

Playa Ventura has a sub-humid warm climate with summer rains (Aw1), with an annual average temperature of 26 to 28°C. The average annual precipitation varies between 1000 and 1500 mm (^{INEGI, 2009}).

The community of studied belongs to the hydrological region of Costa Chica-Río Verde, from the Río Nexpa river basin (^{INEGI, 2010}). The most important bodies of water for the community are the Cabeza de Charco lagoon and the Copala River. There are also streams or apantles, as they are known locally, but these only provide water for agriculture and livestock production during the rainy season.

Rainfed agriculture is practiced, with irrigation and humidity, developing primarily maize crops (Zea mays) with association to bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and squash (Cucurbita maxima), hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). The low deciduous forest is distributed mainly on the Cerro Coacoyul mountain and some residual forest can be observed in areas surrounding the community; this type of forest characteristically harbors trees between 8 and 12 meters tall, which during the dry season lose the majority of their leaves. The mangrove is another type of vegetation located to the east of the community, made up of Rhozophora mangle mangrove trees, which provide firewood that the families use as fuel (^{García, 2013}).

Methodology

Visits were carried out to the community to inform the residents about the purpose of the project and to gain their participation in answering the surveys. Subsequently, visits were made with local guides to the homes of the families with backyard aviculture with the presence of turkeys, under the criteria proposed by ^{Aquino et al. (2003)}, consisting in the identification of productive family units which breed native turkeys and willing to collaborate with the research. In addition, based on the proposal by ^{FAO (2001)}, the morphology (plumage color) of the Meleagris gallopavo Linn was described. To collect information about traditional knowledge, ethnobiological techniques were applied such as open interviews and semi-structured surveys; the women from the chosen backyards were surveyed (^{Barrera, 1983}; ^{Martin, 1997}).

Semi-structured interviews were carried out based on a previous questionnaire in which data was obtained including the common name, interest in breeding, ways of management and use, diseases, treatments, commercialization, and destination of the production. The first women interviewed were asked to guide the visits to other houses, which they accepted. The language used during the interview was colloquial, which generated confidence in the people interviewed. Some interviews were recorded with the consent of the informant (^{Sturtevant, 1964}; ^{Bellamy, 1996}; ^{Costa-Neto, 2000}). Complimentarily, fieldwork relied on participant observation and directed dialogue techniques (^{Rodríguez et al., 2012}). The information gathered was analyzed with descriptive statistics.

Thirty-three backyards were sampled, where 31 interviews were applied to housewives and to two heads of family, using as a basis the semi-structured questionnaire.

The family production strategy

The study of peasant groups and their production systems has current validity to comprehend the complexity of relationships and their persistence in society. The importance lies in the consideration of local knowledge, in the role that it plays in food production, in the use of natural resources, and in the new functions that have been assigned to rural landscapes for human recreation and alternative lifestyles (^{Delgado, 2008}).

The productive strategy is constructed by having the domestic or family unit as a basis, with the objective of the maintenance and social reproduction of its members. The activities that comprise the strategy have different objectives, both in use and in market destination, to respond to different family needs. The family organizes itself by developing the tasks that are proposed according to sex and age in a hierarchical structure (^{Martínez and Domínguez, 1992}; ^{Cragnolino, 2002}; ^{Lanza and Rojas, 2010}). In the Playa Ventura community, the production units comprise a strategy made up of backyard production, agriculture (maize and associated crops), major and minor livestock, riverside fishing, subsistence hunting, plant recollection (fruits, medicinal plants, firewood), and tourism and ecotourism services. Through this strategy, the family uses, manages, and reproduces natural resources, in addition to transmitting in everyday processes their ancestral knowledge inherited from parents to children, while traditional tools allow them to carry out the integrated management of resources (soil, water, plants, animals, and marine resources) present in their territory.

Backyards as integral subsystems

Within the family strategy of the community of Playa Ventura, it is worth highlighting the role that the backyard plays as an environment for turkey reproduction, the object of this study.

The backyard (BY) (^{Jerez, 1994}; ^{Steinberg, 1998}), family garden (FG), solar (^{Estrada et al., 1998}) or also called home vegetable garden (^{Lok, 1998}) is the space distributed in rural areas of México where the physical area surrounding the property where the peasant family resides is exploited (^{Lerner et al., 2009}).

Members of the family actively participate in the establishment, care, and management of these backyards; in this way they obtain fruit, seeds, legumes, flowers, tubers, and stems (^{Juan and Madrigal, 2005}). Backyard work in the Playa Ventura community is divided between members of the family, where the woman, apart from other tasks assigned to her gender such as cleaning the house, preparing food, and caring for children, is responsible for its organization and general operation, which is relayed in a sphere of confidence and decision-making, both in performing productive tasks, selling products like eggs and animals, or trading plants or animals with other women.

With regard to the components and production in the backyard, these turn out to be highly productive, considering that in its limited surface area (200 m² on average), it makes constant and diverse contributions to the domestic unit; it involves work based on vast biodiversity, alternating during the productive cycle various traditional crops. In the backyard, domestic animals are raised and traditional knowledge and available resources are taken advantage of for the general management of this space in the production unit. The contributions that the backyard yields to domestic economy are multiple and considerable, and these are present as savings or small monetary incomes, in addition to the basic contribution of products for the traditional family diet, and from time to time, the harvested products are traded with neighbors and family members, or they are even commercialized in local markets (^{Rodríguez, 2006}; ^{Rodríguez et al., 2010}).

In the work day, the woman combines tasks including attending to her husband and children, maintaining the house, and maintaining the backyard. She lets the birds out of the henhouse so they may take sun baths and search for insects or grass to eat, she lets the cochis and goats out of their pen, and takes them to graze for a few hours on the underbrush; while the goats feed, she takes advantage of this time to gather medicinal plants, fruits, and firewood. In the afternoon, she cleans the plants, removes soil, cleans the animal pens (chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats) and harvests some produce. The women share products such as coconuts, medicinal plants, eggs, chickens, pípilos or turkeys, or seasonal fruit. Their tasks also include selecting food for the animals, healing with home remedies, directing the construction of pens, and selling animals.

The community’s backyard products contribute consumer goods for foo security and family income, favoring opportunities to improve the family’s quality of life. In this way, women perform activities in this space based on their tastes and preferences in benefit of the family. They know that the backyard is their alternative for support during times of economic and food crisis. The knowledge generated is transmitted from one generation to another, and education and learning are continuous.

Breeding turkeys as a subsystem of the backyard

The women and men of the community call the turkey pípilo or totol. In other communities or regions of México, turkeys are known as cocono, huilo, kunito, and picho, among other local names (^{Llamas, 2005}).

Aviculture in the community studied is a popular activity that is related to the breeding of domestic animals, among which turkeys, chickens, cochis (pigs), goats, and to a lesser degree cows, are prominent. Ninety-four percent of the interviewed women are in charge of breeding the turkeys and it is they who direct the work. These results coincide with other studies done with producers of Xoxocotla, Morelos (^{García et al., 2012}), Dzununcan, Yucatán (^{Rodríguez et al., 1996}), and Texán and Tzacala in Mérida, Yucatán (^{Rejón et al., 1996}). Six percent of those interviewed corresponded to heads of households, since the housewife figure is not present and it is the male (father) who organizes tasks involving management of the turkey and backyard, with help from daughters and grandchildren.

The Creole turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) production system in the community, identified based on data from ^{FAO (2002)}, is of a traditional type, developed by the family units in the backyards of their homes, and for which the family members (head of household, woman, children, grandchildren, and daughters- in-law) contribute with labor. This coincides with ^{Soler (2010)}, who suggests that the peasant livestock production systems, also known as backyard production, are activities developed by the domestic family unit, which consists in the breeding of various species of birds in the household yards of rural communities, where few supplies are utilized, the workforce for animal breeding is provided by the family members, and the products obtained are destined primarily to personal consumption.

A total of 385 turkeys were registered, bred by 31 women and 2 men (heads of households) from the community. Of the total animals registered, 39.5 % (n=152) were adult females, locally called pípilas, 22.4 % (n=86) were adult males, and 38.1 % (n=147) were pipilitos, without differentiating their sex. The average number of turkeys per family unit or backyard was 11.6, with a variance of 6.5, reaching a maximum of 25 turkeys for one backyard and a minimum of three for four backyards.

The average of male turkeys per backyard was 2.60, with a variance of 1.49, a maximum of 5.9 turkeys and a minimum of 1 per backyard. The average of females per backyard was 4.60, with a variance of 5.24, a maximum of 9 and a mínimum of 2 individuals per backyard. The average of pipilitos was 4.45, with a variance of 43.22, a maximum of 12 and a minimum of zero registered per backyard.

The magnitude of variance shows the great dispersion there is between backyards in the number of turkeys with respect to the average. Sixty-five percent of backyards have fewer individuals (males and females, as well as pípilos), with a minimum of one for the males, two for the females, and zero for the pípilos. Relating this data with the fact that in 14 backyards there were no offspring at the moment of the interviews, it stands out that there are difficulties in reproduction or breeding because of propensity for disease. Therefore, a better option is to avoid egg-laying during the rainy season, maintaining the presence of at least one male and two females, something that signals an interest in continuing to breed the bird. When a production unit is left without any turkeys, the women ask to borrow, they buy or they trade other products for a pair of turkeys to once again begin the breeding process.

The 15 backyards that have more individuals than the average represent less than half of the total. That is, there are more backyards (65 %) with fewer individuals, indicating a lack of interest or difficulty in increasing or sustaining the animals’ productivity.

Preference for having more adult female turkeys or pípilas (n=152) is due, according to the women interviewed, to the provision of eggs and meat that are utilized for the family diet. Also, the eggs are used in traditional medicine.

Two plumage colors (phenotypes) were registered in the turkeys, based on the methodology laid out by ^{FAO (2001)}: 55 % of turkeys had grey plumage (n=212), observed mainly in adult females, and 45 % were black, observed in adult males (n=173); the same colors are reported by ^{Allende et al. (2012)} for the turkeys in the locality of Zompantle, municipality of Asunción Cacalotepec, Oaxaca. Regarding the colors of turkeys, ^{García et al. (2012)} also report white and brown for the Xoxocotla community in Morelos. When asked if there was some color preference, Reina Pérez stated: “we prefer the colors black and grey because the meat is tastier, and also because those pípilas are good egg-layers; in Copala I have seen other colors like white and brown, but those are improved; we are used to the black and grey”. It seems that these types of turkeys are the ones better adapted to the management and climate conditions of the community.

^{Aquino et al. (2003)}, ^{Camacho et al. (2008)} and ^{García et al. (2012)} recommend considering the plumage color for subsequent studies, as a useful element in designing genetics programs, because the color mosaic in the feathers indicates the degree of crossbreeding that the turkeys have.

Work organization and management of the turkey subsystem

The work of the woman is emphasized, since it is key to the development and preservation of this backyard activity. In that regard, ^{Gutiérrez et al. (2012)} also mention that tending to animals in the backyard is an activity executed principally by women; they allot 30 minutes to 2 hours of work with the turkeys for this activity. Similar results have been reported by ^{Hernández and Jaimes (2003)}, ^{Vieyra et al. (2004)}, and ^{Losada et al. (2006)}, who in addition underline the importance of women in maintaining the backyards. Thus, 74 % of the women interviewed organize the food that will be given to the animals, while 15 % of the men help with the transportation of food from the plot. Managing diseases and preparing home remedies to cure them, as well as the sale of animals or their products like eggs, are activities belonging to the housewife. Cleaning the pens is divided between the housewives (80 %), children (10 %) and daughters-in-law (10 %). The head of household builds the henhouses (80 %) or enclosures for the turkeys and other backyard birds; however, 20 % of the women assist in building, selecting the allotted space and materials to be utilized. The children and daughters-in-law also participate in different tasks but in to a lesser degree; for example, they assist in feeding or providing water for the turkeys, and collecting eggs. Moreover, the women (100 %) are the ones who supervise and quarantine the sick animals (Figure 2). It is worth mentioning that the women at all times supervise the work carried out by every other member of the families.

Figure 2 Distribution of tasks per member of the family units that breed wild turkey in Playa Ventura, Copala, Guerrero. 

Concerning management, it is considered of a traditional type, since there are no technological elements oriented towards feeding the animals, handling disease, genetics, reproduction, and commercialization. The traditional pen (89 %) is the method for turkey enclosure preferred by the women, and these are built by the heads of the household with palm leaves and branches from different plants from the underbrush (quebrache, palm, zopilote or Mexican Mahagony, parota, and huizache). The pen covers an area of approximately 15 m² with an access door that permits passage of members from the family unit to carry out various tasks. Within the pen, women set up spaces constructed with materials from the region (reeds or vines), so that the animals can rest, and chitas, so that the pípilas can deposit their eggs and brood. Other supplementary materials in the pen are chicken wire (11 %), and entwined branches for the roof which is built with fresh and dry palm branches. It is also common to observe the animals loose in the backyard adjoining the house, where they feed on herbs and insects. When afternoon arrives, the women find and herd the turkeys, hens and pigs, along with their young, back to their pen enclosures. To avoid confusion with animals regarding their ownership, a colored string is tied to one of their legs; the same is reported by ^{Bautista (2006)} for the Mixe region in Oaxaca.

The turkeys’ diet is traditional: it consists of crushed maize, soaked tortilla, mostly vegetable scraps from the house, and termites. In the state of Morelos, ^{García et al. (2012)} also report maize, squash seeds, peanuts, and mango fruit. ^{López et al. (2008)} mention that maize grains are the traditional food for turkeys, along with soaked tortilla and regional fruit. The use of balanced meals is not present because it is expensive, according to one of the informants; also, by feeding the turkeys with natural fodder, the residents of the communities of El Papayo, Las Salinas, and Marquelia in the Costa Chica of Guerrero resort to the community of Playa Ventura to buy turkeys and hens, because in their opinion, the meat is cleaner and more flavorful. Another way of feeding the turkeys is by having them graze the wild plants and invertebrates that are found in the backyards or areas surrounding the house. This means it is a system that does not necessitate the investment of money for its maintenance, and that the possibility of sale is based on the recognition of the product’s health, a result of being fed naturally.

Two types of frequent diseases are reported during the rainy season: turkey pox (75 %) and diarrhea (25 %). ^{López et al. (2008)} also report them in the region of the Balsas, and ^{García et al. (2012)} in Morelos. During the cold season, catarrh and avian flu are reported. The complete lack of vaccination and de-worming is evident. Treatment of the diseases is performed with home remedies (91 %): they slather grilled tomatoes, lime juice, or “mud” that they obtain from the Cabeza de Charco lagoon onto the affected area or entire body of the animal to cure the turkey pox. To combat diarrhea, they give the turkeys coconut water (Cocos nucifera) to drink, or water with lime (calcium hydroxide). Only those producers (9 %) who allot their production exclusively for sale utilize vaccines or pay for veterinary care. The lack of vaccine application in the turkeys by the women of the Playa Ventura community is similar to that reported in Morelos (^{García et al., 2012}), Michoacán (^{López et al., 2008}), Oaxaca (^{Bautista, 2006}), and Puebla (^{Hernández et al., 2005}). It is worth noting that some women (n=4) mentioned the practice of placing a piece of rattlesnake meat in water, which is then given to the animals to drink. According to these interviewed people, this prevents the turkeys from getting sick. Others stated that it is better to allow free foraging, because eating wild plants protects them against disease; one informant mentioned allowing her animals to forage freely during the rainy season so that they can feed on tadpoles, which also allows them to prevent sickness. Lime or ashes are also used, scattered in the pens to counteract diseases and contagion from other animals. When there are sick animals, they are taken out of the pen and tied separately until they are cured. The use of herbal medicine to treat diseases that attack backyard livestock is also registered by ^{Jiménez et al. (2012)}.

Traditional knowledge regarding the use and management of the turkey is passed on from one generation to another, where women (housewives) take on a fundamental role in maintaining the significance of rearing pípilas, chiefly for family sustenance; the backyard is also a space where the family can gather together, converse, and pass on knowledge. Moreover, the turkey breeding practices are recreated in the exchange of experiences and animal trade inside and outside the community.

For the women, the reasons why breeding turkeys and other backyard animals, such as hens, is still current, are: they serve as a source of meat and eggs for the family diet (89 %), because of family tradition (65 %), for their sale (9 %), and to be presented as gifts at community festivities (10 %). Similar motives are reported in Morelos (^{García et al., 2012}) and in the Mixe region of Oaxaca (^{Bautista, 2006}). Also, ^{Rejón et al. (1996}) mention that backyard livestock production has the objective of creating a lifeline that allows the family to subsist in times of crisis, ensuring basic minimal sustenance (calories) to replace the energy spent in labor. Likewise, it represents a source of savings and economic income for emergency situations.

Some women (n=35) expressed that formerly, the breeding of other pen animals like pigs, goats, and cows was part of their backyard livestock production, but due to the lack of space at home they have been gradually eliminated. Other causes are the lack of interest displayed by the younger generations, who mention that livestock requires too much care and it is better to devote their time to tourism or fishing. ^{Aquino et al. (2003)} report other causes for the state of Veracruz, such as diseases or depredation, non-meat consumption, and the lack of enclosures.

Product destination

In the community of study, two types of turkey production units were registered according to their final destination:

Thus, production destined for family self-sufficiency stands out. Comparatively, in the coast of Oaxaca, 68 % of the producers use their birds for personal consumption, 29 % for sale, 1.5 % as gifts, and an equal amount for betting (^{Camacho et al., 2006}).

The backyard bird system is distributed widely throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa, satisfying social and religious needs, in addition to contributing meat and eggs (^{Sonaiya et al., 2002}). In México, the breeding of the native turkey (M. gallopavo Linn.) in the backyard is, for peasant populations, a traditional activity that constitutes an important contribution to the diet and economic income (^{Medrano, 2000}). The uses registered for this activity are: food (80 %), gifts (15 %), medicinal (5 %), and 100 % mentioned using the excrement as manure.

The dietary use refers to the consumption of eggs and meat, which is prepared in mole rojo or mole de pipián, roasted with pepper and garlic, in soup or fried. ^{Lafòn (1997)}, ^{Losada et al. (2006)}, ^{Camacho et al. (2012)} and ^{García et al. (2012)} mention the importance of the use as food and the variety of forms of use that women give native turkey. ^{Llamas (2005)} points out the importance of turkey in the family diet because it contributes more proteins than pork and chicken, less fat than chicken, beef, pork and quail. In addition, it is rich in vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6 and B12, biotin, folic acid, phosphorus, iron and zinc. This supports what was stated by ^{Guèye (2003)} and ^{García et al. (2012)}, with regard to backyard livestock production in rural communities contributing to mitigate the lack of economic resources through the sale of turkeys and their byproducts, and also ensuring the diet of the peasant families.

The use as a gift presents three destinations:

In medicinal use, eggs or live animals are used to cure certain syndromes of cultural affiliation, such as “air”, “damage”, or “evil eye”, mainly in children. This consists in taking an egg or the animal and rubbing it on the child with the ailment, asking God for a cure. ^{Camacho et al. (2012)} report the use of turkey fat and feathers in the traditional medicine of the cultures of the Ayuuk, Chinantecos and Zapoteco peoples, in the Sierra Juárez mountains in Oaxaca. In all backyards, it is common to use hen and turkey excrement as fertilizer for crops or edible and medicinal plants.

Other uses that have been recorded in México include the utilization of feathers to make ceremonial blankets, head ornaments, and arrow fletching; likewise, the turkey’s spur is used for arrowheads. In ceramics, images of this bird are commonly depicted (^{Llamas, 2005}).

There were three women who breed turkeys exclusively for sale, who were in charge of commercializing them in local restaurants or in the markets of Marquelia and Copala, along the Costa Chica coast of Guerrero.

The products that are destined for sale are eggs, with a price per unit of $2.00 to $5.00 pesos, juvenile animals with a price of $30 to $60 pesos, live adult animals that sell for $150 pesos during low season and $250 to $350 pesos depending on the season and occasion; for example, for baptisms, weddings, and the month of December when tourists arrive in the community to celebrate Christmas. The contribution that family livestock production makes to the income is based on the role in savings that native turkey breeding provides, also facilitating certain basic necessities of the family from selling or exchanging. Women from other towns visit the community: from Las Salinas they trade sea salt, from Papayo they trade maize, beans, watermelons, and papayas, and from Marquelia they trade fish for backyard animals. The pípilas are put on sale after at least three periods of reproduction (puestas, egg-laying), that is to say between 1 and 3 years of permanence in the family unit, in order to take advantage of their reproductive capacity and to maintain the system current.