ADVANTAGES OF GUINEA FOWL FARMING
Hardy disease resistant birds
Weed control
Pest control
Snake control
Tolerate weather extremes
Low input housing
Consumes nonconventional feed
Resistant to mycotoxin
Premium meat quality
Ornamental nature
Adopted to backyard rearing
Origin and History
* Domesticated about 5000 years
* Native of West Africa
* Guinea - part of West coast of Africa
* Egypt - Garden aviaries
* Rome - 30BC - for both egg and meat
* Greeks and Roman -table birds
* Found as wild and semi-domestication
* Large market - game flavor
Characteristics of Guinea fowl�
* It has a more gregarious behaviour than that of chicken
* Νervousness and timidity - reduced by darkness
* Darkened building with reduced artificial light are recommended
* Εxtremely noisy and cannot be reared in the immediate vicinity of dwelling places
* In wild state the plants play an important part of its feeding
Sexing
* Not easy to do by looking the birds
* In keets vent sexing is difficult
* In adults -helmet, wattles and voice
* After 12 weeks of age
Sexing
Male (Jacks)
* Wattles - larger and thicker edge
* Helmet - larger
* Head - coarse
*Crying noise - Only during excitement
* Sound - one syllable sound
as “CHI- Chi - Chi-..”
Female (Jennies)
* Wattles - smaller and thinner edge
* Helmet - smaller
* Head - soft
* Crying noise - usually
* Sound - two syllable sound as “ buck-wheat, put-rock”
Pearl
Adult
* purplish grey or dark grey with white dots
Keets- Pearl variety�* brown with black markings�* head to center- black stripes with narrow orange stripe between blacks�
Lavender
Adult
* light blue with white dots
* popular colour
Keets
* light blue with dark blue stripes
* belly light blue
* head to center - two narrow dark blue stripes on side with one broad at center
White
Adult
* pure white with few black hairs on the back of the neck
* lighter coloured skin and meat
Keets
* snow white with orange beak, legs and toes
* many will have a small black spot on back of their head
According to the wattle colour�Red wattle- Numida meleagris �Blue wattle - Numida ptilorhyncha
Vulturine guinea
* native of sub- Saharan Africa ( from Uganda south to eastern Kenya)
* taller than its relatives
* travel in flocks (20-50)
* voice - creaking wagon wheels
* clutch - 8-15 eggs
* well in captivity and need protection from cold weather
Management of Breeding Stock
* Seasonal breeders (March-September)
* Elimination by continuous supply of protein
* They mate in pairs
* Monogamous in wild
* Under captivity they restrict reproductive activities to the rainy season
* Attention to elimination of permanent pairs
* While selection - good size and uniform colour are important
* Artificial insemination
Crossing varieties
* Pearl or Lavender guinea cross with white guinea =“Splashed” guinea
- its breast and flight feathers are white, rest of plumage are pearl or lavender
* Barred Rock rooster with Pearl guinea hen
= “Guin - hen” - as large as chicken parent
Egg Production
* number depend on breeding management
* start laying around 26 to 28 weeks
* good stock lay 100 or more eggs/year
* generally for 2 to 3 years
* usually 30 eggs (in broken broody 50 - 100 eggs)
* Selection can improve the number of eggs
* smaller than chicken egg
* thick shell and less porous
Meat
* darken meat
* young guinea meat - delicious and tender
* highly priced in large restaurants
* rich in game flavour
Incubation
* period - 28 days
* natural methods generally followed
* chickens are commonly used for hatching
* guinea hens can brood 12- 15 eggs
* in incubator- same as chicken eggs
* setter - temperature - 37.7 0C
humidity - 55-65 per cent
* hatcher - temperature - 36.2 0C
humidity - 70-75 per cent
Brooding and Rearing
* chicken hens - best mothers
* two or more hens set at one time-mingle the keets
* after 6 to 8 weeks allow for roosting
*roosting in enclosed place is better for catching
Commercial Rearing
* same as chicken brooder
* half inch wire mesh
* temperature - start with 95
*not to be reared in slippery surface - newspaper
* use plastic mesh or wire mesh
* spraddle legs, curled toes
* fresh water and feed
Housing and Management
*Hardy, gregarious and heat resistant
* Well in tropical
* Free range
* Semi-free rearing
* Intensive system
Feeding Management
* mostly raised as backyard - scavenge on insects, earthworms, waste grains etc
* feeding not much different from turkey
* morning and evening feeding
Nutrient Requirement
Diseases
* Protozoan - Trichomoniasis and Histomoniasis
* Helminthes- round worms and tape worms
* Bacterial- Salmonella, E.coli etc
* Fungal - Candida albicans
* Ectoparasites -Lipeurus numidae, numidicola and geniodes numidae
Conclusion
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