Many farmers argue that breeding guinea fowl at home is not difficult if you responsibly approach this occupation. If the breeding of birds is based on income, then after a few years you can recoup all the costs and start to get a "net" profit.
Bird characteristics
Guinea fowl are distant relatives of turkeys and chickens. The guinea fowl has an elongated, oval body, on which is a small head with an unusual decoration. In private households, gray-speckled bird is often found, but there are other varieties of guinea fowl.
An animal at the age of one day weighs about 29 g; by 3 months, their weight varies between 1-1.2 kg. Adults weigh about 2 kg.
Guinea fowl delight with tasty and healthy eggs, giving about 120 pieces per year. The weight of one egg reaches 50 g, the color of the shell is dark creamy. The distinctive features of egg products are the presence of small speckles on the shell, a pear-shaped form, the content of a large amount of vitamin A.
Guinea fowl breeds
Today, farmers prefer to breed several varieties of guinea fowl. Breeders have more than once engaged in improving the productive qualities of a guinea fowl. It was possible to derive four subspecies. The most popular variety is the white-breasted Zagorsk guinea fowl.
Speckled gray
The taste of diet meat is very tender and at the same time pleasant. According to the name, the bird has a gray color and specks scattered throughout the body. Females gain weight up to one and a half kilograms, males weigh about two kilos. Layers produce about a hundred eggs per year.
Zagorsk
The most valuable breed that farmers prefer to choose for breeding, due to its excellent weight and high egg production. Large guinea fowl can bring up to 140 eggs during the year. An adult male weighs about 2 kg, a female - up to 2.5 kg. The breed was bred by crossing the Moscow cock and gray-speckled guinea fowl. A distinctive feature of the bird is a white breast.
White Siberian
The bird was bred not so long ago. It is characterized by a white color with barely noticeable dots throughout the body. These birds show the most excellent egg production rates - laying hens in a year can bring up to 170 eggs. The mass of an adult female reaches up to 2.1 kg, the weight of the male varies within 2 kg.
Cream
Cream guinea fowl is very similar in appearance to the Siberian white species of bird, but has significantly smaller dimensions and a darker shade of the carcass. This breed has a white-cream color, sometimes a yellowish tint is visible.
An adult male weighs up to 1.75 kg, a female - 1.65 kg. Egg production of birds is lower than in other breeds, but females reach puberty much earlier. For a year, one laying hen gives 80-100 cream or brown eggs weighing no more than 44 g. Egg hatchability reaches 70%.
Blue
The blue guinea fowl has the same body shape as its ancestors. It features a characteristic color - light brown plumage with purple and blue tint. There is a purple plumage on the neck and stomach of the bird, and the feathers on the back and tail have a gray-blue hue with small white blotches. On the tail feathers of the tail, white spots merge, due to which a transverse line forms.
The weight of an adult male can reach 2 kg, females - up to 2.5 kg. For a year, one layer gives from 100 to 150 brown eggs with a yellow or reddish hue. One egg weighs about 45 g.
Blue guinea fowl breed naturally or artificially. Fertilization of eggs reaches up to 75%.
Yellow
The color of feathers in birds of this breed is pale yellow. On the feathers of the neck and chest a yellow-red tint. The weight of an adult female is 1.8 kg, male - 1.5 kg. For a year, one layer brings up to 100 yellow-brown eggs weighing up to 45 g.
Volga white
When crossing used gray-speckled guinea fowl. The difference between these two birds is only the color of the plumage. This breed was bred in several stages. Today, there are more than 20 thousand adults. The birds have an elongated body and short legs. The head is small, pale pink catkins and a pink beak.
An adult male weighs up to 1.6 kg, and the female weighs up to 1.9 kg. Volga White Guinea Fowl in one cycle gives 85-90, sometimes 100 eggs. Egg hatchability - up to 80%.
Blue lilac
Guinea fowl of this breed differ from blue in color. The bird has feathers of saturated indigo color, there are white blotches. There is a lot of gun on the neck and chest.
The weight of an adult guinea fowl is 2.5 kg, the guinea fowl is 2 kg. On average, one adult female brings up to 150 eggs weighing about 45 g per year. The eggs have a hard shell.
White
A distinctive characteristic of this species is the completely white color of the feathers, the absence of any dots and spots. The shade of beak and earrings is interesting: from bright pink to white at the very end.
The male on average weighs 1.5 kg, guinea fowl - up to 1.8 kg. For one period of egg laying, the guinea fowl gives 90-100 yellow-brown eggs with a dense shell, studded with small dots. The weight of one egg is 42-45 g.
Conditions for poultry
Only compliance with certain requirements for the maintenance of poultry will allow you to get healthy guinea fowl, pleasing with good performance indicators. Birds are required to equip the house for overnight stay and territory for walking.
Facilities for the poultry house and walking yard
Breeding guinea fowl begins with the arrangement of the premises where they will be located. To do this, use an economic building or build a building, be sure to insulate it and protect it from drafts. Everything should be conveniently arranged in the room so that the birds can lay eggs.
To increase the laying of eggs in the room provide litter - it should not only perfectly absorb moisture, but also warm. It is desirable to process the floor with slaked lime. For this, a kilogram of funds is used per 1 square meter. Only after that it is permissible to lay dry litter on the floor using sawdust, dried grass or straw.
Females will need perches, they will be equipped 50 cm higher from the floor. Five females should have at least 1 meter perch.
Guinea fowl are birds that prefer free space and plenty of space for walking, because of which it will be necessary to equip a large aviary. It is especially important that birds have access to the range during the mating season, because the cramped space will cause mating to be abandoned. The enclosure in which the birds will walk is covered with a net up to two meters high - this is necessary so that the birds do not fly over it. Experienced farmers recommend making a canopy - it will protect birds from the scorching sun and protect it from rain.
Living conditions
In each enclosure or cage, feeders and drinking bowls are required. Birds should always have access to clean, fresh water. In the summer, it protects birds from overheating.
It is very important to observe the sanitary and hygienic procedures necessary for growing guinea fowl. To do this, once a month, the house should be disinfected, the feeders and drinking bowls, the places where the birds live, regularly washed.
Some varieties of guinea fowl need to be separated when breeding and growing, because they are prone to rivalry and fights. They must be provided with space, otherwise it threatens to reduce egg production. When growing, it is desirable that the farmer monitors the behavior of his wards in order to take appropriate measures in time.
In cooler times, birds tend to group. The birds themselves will notify that the temperature has dropped and it is necessary to ventilate the house - they begin to open their beaks, open their wings and lie down in this position.
How is a parent herd formed?
The acquisition of chicks should begin with the selection of the best individuals in terms of external qualities. Crippled, thin, emaciated birds are discarded. Not suitable for breeding birds in which there are signs of rickets, as well as if their weight is less than 1.3 kg at the age of 5 months.
It is easy to recognize a healthy bird: it has moving and shiny eyes, a strong beak. By color, males and females are no different, and it will be possible to determine gender by the following characteristics:
- the male has a large, tuberous and bright wax, the crest is located vertically;
- the female has a small wax, which does not rise above the beak, a small crest directed toward the tail;
- males - possessed larger earrings;
- in a 5-month-old female, one finger is placed between the pubic bones.
Some farmers use the cloacal method of determining gender. To do this, turn the bird upside down and gently push the cloaca apart. The male has a cylindrical penis, up to one centimeter long. Such a procedure is very worrying for birds, which is why it is extremely rare to use this method.
Feeding Features
To feed the guinea fowl, it is permissible to use any feed: combined, green, juicy, food waste. In the summer, the guinea fowl receives almost everything on a walk. Birds enjoy eating fruits and vegetables.
Some breeders recommend adhering to the diet, giving food strictly by the hour - 3-4 times a day. Other poultry farmers advise keeping the feeder always full so that the bird itself can determine when to eat. Everyone tries their own schemes in nutrition.
The table below shows the feed and its volumes depending on the age of the bird:
Stern | Age from 1 to 20 days | Age from 21 to 40 days | Age from 41 to 60 days | Age from 61 to 80 days |
Crushed shell | 0.25 g | 0.5 g | 1 g | 1.5 g |
Wheat bran | 1 g | 10 g | 18 g | 25 g |
Baking yeast | 0.2 g | 0.5 g | 1 g | 1.5 g |
Oats | 1 g | 7 g | 5 g | 5 g |
Greenery | 3 g | 8 g | 20 g | 20 g |
Barley | 1.5 g | 8 g | 12 g | 5 g |
Reverse | 5 g | 7.5 g | — | — |
Millet | 2 g | 5 g | 7 g | — |
Fresh cottage cheese | 1 g | 5 g | 5 g | 2.5 g |
Meat and bone meal | 0.5 g | 1 g | 2 g | 3 g |
Wheat flour | 4,5 g | 7 g | 10 g | 20 g |
Guinea fowl breeding conditions
The birds reach puberty at the age of 7-8 months. The brood hens hatch for 28 days. The same amount is required to remove chicks in an incubator with high humidity. There are six females per male. In the tribal period, a laying hen lays 20 fertilized eggs.
Typically, farmers purchase daily chicks for growing in a brooder - it replaces the brood hen. From the first day, nimble chicks are ready to fly, because they need to immediately trim the tassels of the wings. But it’s much more interesting to get your own brood on your own, so that in the future there is the opportunity to observe the family. But very rarely there are good mothers among guinea fowls, which is why you have to remove chicks with an incubator.
Incubation and removal of young
Getting young animals with an incubator is much easier than waiting for the laying hen to hatch eggs. For incubation, only those eggs are used that were stored with the sharp end down for no more than 6 days at a temperature of 2-6 degrees. Be sure to use eggs stored indoors, protected from light. It is also important to take eggs weighing at least 40 grams, with a pear-shaped shape, with the absence of any flaws, defects, flaws.
Before sending the eggs to the incubator, they must be washed in a solution of manganese, and then dried. After that, they are irradiated with ultraviolet light for several minutes, which will allow to destroy all pathogenic microflora in the shell, and also increase the hatchability of the chicks.
In the first 6-7 days in the room, it is necessary to observe a temperature regime of 35 degrees, then reduce every week by 3 degrees. After 20 days, the temperature should be 20 degrees.
After hatching and drying of the chicks, they need to be transplanted into special boxes intended for daily young animals. Place up to 25 chicks in each drawer. The first day of the guinea fowl should be under a quartz lamp for several minutes.
Care and feeding guinea fowl
The diet of the chicks for the first three days will consist of a boiled chopped egg. From 4 to 8 days, ground wheat groats, chopped greens, fresh cottage cheese are added to the egg. Guinea fowl is recommended to drink liquid yogurt or whey. At this age, the number of feedings is 8 times a day.
From 8 days in the diet of the chicks, moist mixes are introduced, prepared on the basis of various cereals with the addition of greens. Chicks from this age are already allowed to accustom to dry food. To do this, in the morning they should be given a dry cereal mixture in powdered form. In the daytime, feed the babies with a wet mash, and for dinner give the same as in the morning. By the time the guinea fowl turn 1 month old, the number of feedings should be up to 5 times a day. In two months, the chicks are fed no more than three times a day.
For the prevention of diseases, it is advisable (from 2 to 6 days after the birth of the chicks) to add Enroxil or Baytril to them in the drink. The lack of vitamins can be filled with yeast solution. A weak solution of potassium permanganate will help prevent the development of intestinal infections.
In the summer, when the chicks turn 10 days old, they are released for a walk. Mandatory only on a warm, sunny day when there is no wind. Guinea fowl cannot be let out on grass wet from rain or dew. It is best for the first walks to highlight the area covered with sand - this will allow the chicks to quickly adapt to a solid surface.
Development from birth to adult bird
Chicken or turkey can sit and grow small guinea fowl. They are more caring towards babies than guinea fowl. They can walk with kids, but if they learn danger or rain, they will only take care of themselves.
If the brood was entrusted to the guinea fowl, the poultry breeder will need to organize a special cage, putting a temporary house, which will serve as a shelter from the weather and an overnight stay for the family. In the cage there should be perches in which the feed is brought. A mother with a brood is patronized for several days until the chicks acquire a herd reflex and understand that the teacher is the leader who needs to be followed.
If you keep the kids in a brooder, then in this case you will need to take care of the proper lighting, feeding, and warmth. The first three months of the chicks need to be fed according to a special diet. Fresh water should always be present in the drinking bowl, and gravel and shells should be present in a separate container.
It is necessary to observe the temperature regime in the brooder:
- the first three days - 36 degrees;
- from 4 to 10 days - 30 degrees;
- from 11 to 20 days - 27 degrees;
- the rest of the time is not lower than 18 degrees.
Up to three months in the brooder should be light, then shorten the day by an hour, and so on until the birds are 5 months old. Then you will need to add an hour every week again, regardless of the time of year. The day should be 17 hours.
Winter keeping and breeding
In winter, guinea fowls should warm the room and take care that it is warm and the air temperature does not drop below 18 degrees. It is necessary to clean the room once a month, it is imperative to change the old litter to fresh, as it becomes soiled.
Also, birds of this breed need a long and good light, because the light in the winter is not turned off for 12 hours a day. Guinea fowl are also allowed to take walks during this period, if the air temperature does not fall below -10 degrees, the walks are carried out for a limited time, or the poultry farmer will have to monitor the behavior of the birds. If they start to pile up in a heap, this indicates that they are cold. Then they are immediately driven into the room.
In winter, the diet of guinea fowl should be full. Birds are fed 2 times a day. In the morning, it is allowed to give a stirrer based on meat waste with sour milk and special means to increase egg production. In the evening, the bird should be provided with grain and animal feed. Indoors, it is imperative to install containers with a shell, chalk, small gravel.They also equip a box filled with ash and sand in equal proportions - guinea fowls will bathe in this mixture.
Guinea fowl diseases
When breeding guinea fowl, a farmer may encounter some bird diseases that may or may not be harmful to humans. Often the cause of the disease is the failure to comply with the growing conditions or inadequate nutrition. To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is required to monitor hygiene and sanitary condition, keep birds under the supervision of a veterinarian with many years of experience.
The reason for the development of pathogenic microflora is poor care and uncleaned bird droppings for a long time. Carriers of microbes are also mice and rats. Guinea fowl often suffer from trichomoniasis, pullorosis, mycoplasmosis, pasteurellosis. The doctor will prescribe treatment and prescribe a prescription.
Birds that have low immunity often suffer from helminths, so a specialist usually prescribes drugs that help solve this problem. Timely treatment will avoid complications and death. You can prevent the development of an infection with a bacterial nature by adding Baytril or Enroksil preparations to water.
How to choose healthy individuals when buying?
For the proper breeding of guinea fowl, an important point is the selection of healthy birds, with which there will be no difficulties in the future. It is recommended to purchase birds in a specialized poultry farm - this is a guarantee of the origin, health and productive qualities of the animal. At the time of purchase from the seller, a veterinary certificate should be requested, it should contain all the necessary information about the bird.
Acquire more often daily guinea fowl. It is during this period that the chicks are least affected by transportation. If you purchase guinea fowl older, you will have to transport birds in a special container. Sometimes, a long haul requires the birds to be provided with food and water. Adults are not recommended to be acquired.
In order not to make a mistake in choosing and buy healthy guinea fowl, the poultry breeder will need to pay attention to some features:
- Outwardly, the bird should look large, not limp, not have defects on the body, prevail with a characteristic color.
- A healthy animal has brilliant, mobile, bulging eyes, and the pupils are not reduced.
- You can not buy birds that have signs of rickets, for example, curved breast bone or wings. The source specimens with impaired coordination of movement, a swollen belly are not suitable for breeding.
- When purchasing an adult 5 months old, pay attention to its weight. Females in this period should weigh at least 1.3 kg, males - about 1.4 kg.
If you plan to raise birds to get meat carcasses and egg products with a further increase in the number of livestock, it is advisable to purchase at least 20 chicks. From this amount, it will be possible to form a parent herd.
Revenues and expenses for the maintenance of guinea fowls
Breeding guinea fowl as a business can have its pros and cons. To understand how profitable such a business is, one cannot do without some calculations.
Suppose a farmer has a room with an area of 100 square meters. In it, at the same time, it is possible to maintain a livestock of birds of 400 individuals (200 adult guinea fowl and 200 chicks for fattening). In this case, the business begins with the acquisition of 500 day old chicks. Of these, 400 will be sent for slaughter in 4 months, and 100 will be left to the tribe until next fall.
According to the business plan for growing guinea fowl, the costs in the first year will be as follows:
- About 400 thousand rubles will be needed to equip the farm.
- For the purchase of 500 chicks, where one individual costs 150 rubles, it will take about 75 thousand rubles.
- The price of 1 kg of feed is 55 rubles. To feed 400 birds, 22 thousand rubles will be spent.
- Feed for the breeding herd will cost 240 rubles. Feeding hundreds of individuals will cost 24,000 rubles.
- The farmer will spend 1,400 rubles per ton of straw for bedding.
- Electricity also requires payment. To pay for 5100 kW of light at a price of 4 rubles per kW, the waste will amount to 20,400 rubles.
- An examination of 400 meat carcasses (one carcass - 25 rubles) will amount to 10 thousand rubles.
As a result, the first year of business development will cost the poultry farmer 552,800 rubles.
At this stage, the farmer will profit from the sale of 400 carcasses weighing 1.3 kg each. The wholesale price of meat is 400 rubles per kilo. The sale of all carcasses will allow you to get 208 thousand rubles. So, the expense will be 344,800 rubles.
In the second year of work, the situation looks a little different. With the beginning of the breeding season, 400 eggs are placed in incubators twice, from which 800 chicks should appear. Young growth is distributed as follows:
- one third are sold to other farmers at the age of 24;
- a third are fed up to 4 months;
- a hundred are sent for slaughter in 8 months with a weight of about 2 kg;
- I use the remaining birds to form the herd so that there are 160 females and 40 males.
The main expenses in the second year of business include spending on the purchase of feed for chicks, young animals and adult birds:
Name | Price | amount | Amount |
Feed for young animals | 55 rubles / individual | 200 pcs. | 11 000 rub. |
Breeding herd food | 240 rub / individual | 200 pcs. | 48 000 rub. |
Litter straw | 1400 rub / t | 1 t | 1 400 rub. |
Repair young | US $ 6.00 / piece | 10 pieces. | 4 500 rub. |
Electric power | 4 rub / kW | 5 100 kW | 20 400 rub. |
Egg Examination | 100 pieces / lot | 25 pcs. | 2 500 rub. |
Carcass Examination | US $ 1.00 / piece | 200 pcs. | 5 000 rub. |
Total will be spent 92,800 rubles. At the end of the breeding season in September, the parent herd is sent for slaughter, because in the second year of life, the guinea fowl decreases in egg production. But from the beginning of spring, these females will give about 10 thousand eggs, which can be sold at a price of 200 rubles per dozen. So, the income in the second year will be as follows:
Name | Price for one | amount | Amount |
Daily Chicks | 200 rub | 200 pcs. | 40 000 rub. |
Young carcasses (1.3 kg) | 450 rub | 200 pcs. | 90 000 rub. |
Carcasses of adults (2 kg) | 650 rub | 200 pcs. | 130 000 rub. |
Eggs | 20 rub | 10 000 pcs. | 200 000 rub. |
Total revenue will amount to 440,000 rubles. Taking into account the costs, it will be possible not only to fully recoup the investments in the business, but also to get a “net” profit of 347,200 rubles. In the future, the farm will generate income of about 255-300 thousand rubles every year.
Advantages of breeding guinea fowl
Breeding guinea fowls, which for personal needs, as well as for profit from business development, has many advantages. All advantages relate to the birds of this breed:
- Guinea fowl is allowed to graze in any areas for walking, including in vegetable gardens, pastures, meadows. Birds are able to independently get their own food, and in the evening, when it becomes dark, return to their home.
- Guinea fowl show high rates of egg production. They give large enough eggs throughout the year - from 90 to 160 pieces.
- There is no need to feed guinea fowl with special feeds or synthetic vitamins. They are unpretentious in nutrition.
- Egg products are of high nutritional value. Eggs contain nutrients.
- Unlike chicken chickens, guinea fowl have a high survival rate. From litter up to 7-8 months, more than 95% of young live.
- Guinea fowl are appreciated for a delicious, dietary meat resembling turkey.
- Farmers can safely let birds out for a walk in the garden. Guinea fowl are not prone to raking beds, but they tend to hunt ground beetles, beetles and other insects that harm plantings.
- Birds have good health and increased resistance to adverse climatic conditions. Guinea fowl can survive at temperatures from +45 to -50 degrees.
- Guinea fowl can get along well with various farm animals. The house is equipped in a barn where hens, geese and other birds live.
- Adult guinea fowls practically do not get sick, rarely undergo diseases common among chickens and turkeys.
The meat carcasses are slightly darker than chicken meat, due to the fact that the product contains hemoglobin in the muscles. The composition of meat contains a lot of iron, vitamins A and E, amino acids.
Breeding guinea fowls as a business is a profitable business that can ensure a decent existence for the farmer and his family. The income from the business will be such that the expansion of the farm will be likely in the third year of raising and rearing birds.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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