Guinea fowl is a bird that gives tasty meat, eggs and has a beautiful appearance. Her meat contains 15% more hemoglobin than chicken, and her eggs have a thick shell and a long shelf life. However, she does not need special conditions of detention. It is these reasons that made guinea fowl popular among farmers and ordinary lovers.
Description of the breed and characteristics
An ordinary guinea fowl can be recognized by the following signs:
- about the size of a chicken;
- the body is oval, the physique is dense;
- the plumage is thick, blue, cream, gray or light brown in color: white spots on gray and blue feathers, and shiny blots on cream ones;
- pink beak;
- paws are gray, sometimes may be pink;
- the tail is small, directed downward;
- the neck is long, above, near the head itself, there are no feathers on it, in this place there is rough skin of light blue color;
- on the head there is a growth similar to a horn and exactly the same is located on the chin, which makes the bird look like a turkey;
- the female and the male have the same color and differ only in the size of the head - in the female she is much smaller, except that she holds her straight;
- the chicks have brown down throughout their bodies, except for the abdomen (where it is light), they have red legs and a beak.
By nature - guinea fowls are very shy - they loudly react to the approach of a person whom they are not used to yet. They are very friendly and sociable among themselves, often talking to each other.
Also, birds are very hardy - they tolerate both cold and heat.
Specifications:
- adult weight - from 1.7 to 3 kg;
- in length, the bird grows to 53-58 cm;
- start racing from about 30 weeks;
- the laying time is approximately 7-8 months (from March-April to October);
- for one cycle, approximately 100 pear-shaped eggs weighing 45 grams each are obtained from a laying hen;
- eggs may vary in color from brown to blue-gray;
- the egg shell is very thick and strong, which is a definite plus during transportation.
Maintenance and care
Guinea fowl do not need any special conditions of detention. For them, an aviary, a walking yard and a house for the winter are equipped according to the following rules:
- guinea fowls need a lot of freedom, so they better live in a large aviary - 1 square. m for 2 birds;
- it is advisable to make a roof over it of transparent material so that precipitation does not get inside;
- a fence is built from a grid with small cells into which the bird’s head does not crawl;
- A fence 2 meters high is installed around the enclosure and a walking yard is arranged;
- on a walk site, it is best to plant bushes and build small houses, as well as install baths with ash and sand to clean feathers;
- in winter, birds live in hen houses similar to chicken coops, and walk them on a warm litter near the house;
- in the house make perches at different heights, but not less than a meter from the floor;
- on the floor it is necessary to lay a bed of straw, sawdust and hay with a layer of 10-15 cm so that the birds do not catch a cold;
- need to be cleaned in the house every 30 days;
- in winter, additional lighting is installed, it must be turned on until 10 pm;
- an aviary / winter house and a walking yard are connected with a manhole if necessary;
- nests for laying eggs are arranged in a secluded place at the rate of 1 nest for 6-8 layers.
Often the birds do not want to lay eggs in a comfortable place, then they need to be collected on the floor of the aviary or on the territory of the walking yard.
We suggest you watch a video clip to see how guinea fowls look like. And also from it you will learn how to equip an aviary, a closed poultry house, and what should be a hole for going to a walking yard:
Guinea fowl are kept in packs - 5-7 females and 1 male.
Adult birds are trimmed with feathers 2 times a year on one wing by 10 cm to avoid trying to fly away.
Hold guinea fowl 1-2 years. In the second year, only those who have shown maternal instinct and high productivity are selected. On the third, it makes no sense to leave them, since laying hens are greatly reduced in laying hens.
Feeding rules
The main diet of guinea fowl includes:
- Cereal crops. Can be replaced with boiled potatoes and cereals.
- Vegetables. In the harvest season, you can give zucchini, watermelons, melons.
- Compound feed. Based on 130-150 grams per day for 1 bird.
- Greenery. 50 grams per day for 1 individual.
Basic rules and features of feeding:
- Guinea fowl is fed 4 times a day.
- In food, you need to add crushed shell or chalk to provide calcium.
- In winter, fish oil, milk and meat waste should be in the diet to maintain good health. They also make mixers on a warm broth of grass, porridge or potatoes.
- In addition to pure water, it is useful to water birds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Birds like to eat insects, especially Colorado beetles, while they do not spoil the beds and behave neatly. This is another advantage of the content, especially for those who have their own garden.
For more information on feeding guinea fowls, look here.
Breeding chickens
There are several ways to breed guinea fowl. Let's consider each of them.
Naturally
The period of chicks hatching occurs in mid-spring and early summer. This type of reproduction includes the following steps:
- Fertilization. Mating occurs only during walking. Birds will not mate in the aviary.
- After fertilization, the female begins to lay eggs.
- So that she begins to incubate them, for the period of egg laying she is placed in a separate room and is not allowed to walk.
If the female continues to go for a walk, she will continue to lay her eggs and will not hatch them.
- In one clutch, there are up to 8 eggs. The bird hatches them 25 days. Since the guinea fowl is not a very caring mother, often her eggs are laid under chicken or turkey.
Despite the fact that guinea fowl have a hatching instinct, at the slightest fright they can throw eggs.
Incubator method
For incubation, eggs are selected that are no more than 5 days old and which:
- medium in size;
- no pollution;
- without growths.
The material should be stored in cardboard trays with the sharp end down in a cool dark place - not more than +10 ° C and humidity up to 80%.
Check the eggs gently hitting each other. If a rattling sound is heard, then there are microcracks, and such material is not suitable for incubation.
When breeding chickens using an incubator, observe the following rules:
- Install the device in a room where the temperature is not more than + 18 ° C.
- Turn it on and select a temperature of 38 ° C a few days before the start of incubation.
- A few hours before laying, lay the eggs in the same room so that they warm themselves, and then lay them in the incubator horizontally, if the incubator is manual, and if automatic, then with the base up.
- The first 14 days they keep the temperature at 37.8 ° C, and then lower to 37.5.
- Up to 24 days, the eggs are turned over 6 times a day (with a manual incubator). This is necessary so that the embryos do not adhere to the wall of the shell.
Chick survival is at least 90%. Read more about incubation of guinea fowl eggs here.
After birth, the chicks are planted in a box, the bottom of which is covered with paper, and the top is covered with a net. At first, additional heating is needed to comply with a certain temperature regime:
- the first 3 days - 35 ° C;
- 4-11 day - 31 ° C;
- 12-21 days - 27 ° C;
- 22-30 day - 21 ° C;
- from a month of age - 18 ° C.
Also, establish the additional light that the chicks need for development and growth:
- up to 30 days it should be included 20 hours a day;
- up to 10 weeks - 16 hours;
- 10-13 weeks - 12 hours;
- 14-27 - 8 hours.
Further daylight hours increase again:
- 28-43 weeks - in order to bring the onset of puberty closer, extend the daylight hours from 8 hours to 16 hours;
- from 43 weeks - 17 hours;
- from 51 to the end of oviposition - 18 hours.
From the age of 3 weeks, chicks can be walked.
Feeding
Basic rules for feeding young animals:
- At first, the chicks may not find food and water, so food is served on a wooden plate and lightly tapped on it to attract attention, and water is poured in a saucer. In order for the birds to drink, they can be carefully dipped with their beaks in water.
- Newborn chicks are fed every 2 hours with a crushed hard-boiled egg mixed with porridge, millet and cottage cheese.
- From 3 days, compound feed for chickens and greens are added.
- From a weekly age, feeding occurs every 3 hours.
- From the second week, salt, fish oil and yeast are introduced into the diet.
- On the third - boiled potatoes and other vegetables.
- From the age of one month, chicks are usually transferred to four meals a day.
- From 3 months they begin to eat, like adults.
Demand for eggs and guinea fowl meat is quite high, and its care is simple, almost the same as for chicken. Having spent a little time studying some breeding features, the farmer gets high productivity and profitability from birds.