Guinea fowl were introduced to Europe from Africa in the 16th century. After some time, this beautiful productive bird became interested in Russia. Initially, it was bred only by wealthy people as decorative. Hence its name. "Guinea fowl" means "royal." Later, these close relatives of domestic chickens began to be bred as household animals. In this article, we will fully understand what kind of guinea fowl bird is and how to care for it.
general description
In appearance, guinea fowls are somewhat reminiscent of humpback hens with a small head and a rounded body. The shortish tail of this bird is directed downward, and the plumage is thick. One of the characteristic features of guinea fowl is the presence of a horny growth on the head. The legs of this bird are thick, powerful and hardy. The wings of chicken guinea fowl taken to trim at an early age. The fact is that these birds are able to fly.
As you can see, guinea fowl (bird) is very unusual and interesting. The male and the female are very similar in appearance, so much so that inexperienced poultry farmers often cannot accurately determine the gender of the bird. However, it is still possible to distinguish between females and males of guinea fowl. The latter are more active and aggressive. In addition, males have a lighter color and larger earrings.
Guinea fowls tolerate both heat and cold. Therefore, they can be bred in almost all regions of Russia. The only thing to take care of is to keep the bird dry in the barn. High humidity guinea fowl tolerate very poorly.
This bird is sick much less often than hens and ducks. However, if an individual nevertheless becomes infected with something, it will be practically impossible to cure it. Therefore, care for this bird should be in strict accordance with all the required technologies.
Behavior features
So now you know what a guinea fowl bird is. This is a domesticated African chicken, hardy and active. Guinea fowl can be kept in an ordinary barn along with other feathered animals: chickens, ducks, turkeys. This bird gets along very well with its neighbors - it does not fight, but if necessary, can stand up for itself. The main feature of guinea fowls in terms of behavior is timidity. Better if you feed them will always be the same person.
In addition to timidity, this bird is also notable for noise. She notices other people and animals immediately and raises a cry. So guinea fowl are also excellent guards.
One of the important conditions for the successful maintenance of this African chicken is the presence of a large range. The bird shed should also be spacious enough. If there is no walking near him, it will not work to breed guinea fowls. In this regard, they are very finicky poultry. Guinea fowl is unlikely to mate with a male indoors.
Sometimes these representatives of birds are also kept in cells. This limits the movement of young animals and helps accelerate weight gain. However, the cells for guinea fowl must be sufficiently free. This active bird should be able to freely move around its home.
Economic value
Guinea fowl bird is bred, the photo of which, presented on the page, clearly demonstrate its unusual appearance, primarily to obtain:
Modern guinea fowl breeds are characterized by early maturity. They gain slaughter weight by the age of 45-50. Oviposition in these birds lasts from early spring to autumn. In one year, one chicken can bring 90-120 eggs. Guinea fowl meat resembles game to taste and is considered much more useful than chicken and duck. The fact is that it contains much less fat and water. A huge amount of minerals useful for health is also what characterizes guinea fowl meat. The weight of an adult bird can reach 1.7–2.2 kg.
Guinea fowl eggs also have excellent taste. At the same time, they contain much more vitamins than in chicken.
African chickens are planted in a private compound, not only for eggs and meat. These birds, among other things, can save the garden from all kinds of harmful insects. They eat, including the Colorado potato beetle, which no bird does. In most cases, guinea fowl can be let out without fear. She never digs out beds, and does not peck vegetables.
Propagation Features
When answering the question of what kind of guinea fowl bird is, it is worth paying a little attention to the methods of its breeding. As already mentioned, in order to get the fertilized eggs of this bird, the owners of the household should arrange for it a spacious aviary. If the wings of guinea fowls are not trimmed, it should be fenced with a fence not less than 2 m high. Experienced poultry farmers are advised to plant several bushes in the aviary. This will create an imitation of natural walking, and the bird will feel more confident. 5-6 females usually leave one male.
Guinea fowl bird (photo below confirms this) can sometimes hatch eggs and nursing chickens. However, this African chicken is considered not very good by mom. Owners of private households usually do not allow guinea fowl to incubate masonry on their own. The fact is that this bird is very shy and can easily throw eggs.
In order to get young, caesar's eggs are placed under chicken or turkey. Also, chicks can be hatched in an incubator. The operating mode of the apparatus in this case is set to the same as for the chickens. The only thing is that the humidity parameter inside the incubator should be slightly higher.
Guinea fowl, a bird, the description of which was given by us above, is carried about once every 3-4 days. In this case, eggs that have been stored for no more than five days are laid in the incubator. Before placing them in an incubator, a small test should be performed. For this, the eggs hit each other. Of course, only slightly. They make a rattling sound at the same time reject because there are microcracks in their shell.
Care for little guinea fowls
Features of the cultivation of guinea fowl and other pedigree (birds on the farmyard usually contain a lot) of living creature. This is especially true for young animals.
Guinea fowl eggs are incubated for approximately 28 days. Care for hatched chicks is carried out in approximately the same way as for chickens. That is, the babies that appear are first put in a box with a paper spread over the bottom. From above, such a house for guinea fowls is covered with a net. For heating, a plastic bottle of hot water wrapped in a thick cloth can be put inside. Be sure to arrange the guards and lighting. In the dark, this bird develops much worse.
Guinea fowl chicks are fed after hatching with a boiled egg, cottage cheese and millet. After a few days, they begin to give greens. In the first two days after hatching, the guinea fowls are still poorly oriented in the box and may not find food and water. Therefore, they need a little help - to tap a plate with millet or eggs with your finger, dip the beaks in the water. Until the age of one month, food is given to the guardsmen every three hours. After 30 days, they switch to 3-4 single meals. Starting from the second week, yeast, salt and fish oil are introduced into the diet of the chicks. A small container with fine gravel should also be put in a box or in a cage for guardsmen. From the third week of life, you can begin to feed the youngsters crushed, boiled potatoes and root crops. There should be a lot of greens in the diet of chicks. Go to the adult menu at the age of three months.
Useful advice
In order to succeed in breeding, it is not enough to know what a guinea fowl is, what kind of bird (photos of these birds demonstrate their strong physique quite clearly). It is also important to have an idea of some features of its cultivation. Guinea fowls very much get used to each other over time. A rather complex hierarchical relationship is established in the flock. Therefore, you can’t plant outside chicks in the box. Members of the flock will be extremely hostile to him.
Another rule that must be observed by the owners of the guinea fowl is absolute cleanliness in the box. African chicks are very curious. Especially regarding what you can feast on. Therefore, they often swallow threads, gum, pieces of rags, etc. Moreover, the consequences for them can be the most deplorable.
Up to 4-6 weeks of age, it is advisable to keep the chicks in the cells. Then they are transferred to the floor - on the litter.
What should be a barn
Thus, you now understand the features of such a feathered living creature as a guinea fowl. What kind of bird (reviews of the owners of household plots about it are mainly as very unpretentious), you know. So, for example, in the shed for this bird does not require any special equipment. All that is needed is to place a standard set here: a long feeder and several drinkers. Like chickens, guinea fowls need perches. However, they are placed in this case lower - at a height of 60 cm and at a distance of at least 40 cm from each other. Straw bedding should be laid on the floor of the shed. Nests are made to the size of birds and nailed next to perches.
Without good lighting, as already mentioned, guinea fowls grow very poorly. Therefore, the shed must have a window. It is also advisable to arrange ventilation. If you are supposed to keep a guinea fowl in winter, the shed must be insulated. These birds tolerate low temperatures well. But in the insulated barn they will still feel more comfortable. Of course, the barn should be dry.
Guinea fowl walking
An aviary is usually arranged near the barn. You can fence the walk with the help of a usual net-chain-link. Tree branches should not enter the enclosure. Otherwise, guinea fowls will fall for them to sleep and run wild. It is very good if grass grows in the enclosure. Guinea fowl love various kinds of bugs and worms and absorb them in large quantities.
Adult bird feeding
Guinea fowl is well known to many domestic farmers. In this case, one of the features of guinea fowls is the accelerated metabolic processes. Therefore, food for this bird requires a little more than chickens. Guinea fowl, however, are completely picky. With great pleasure, this active bird eats both mishmash and grain. The basis of the diet is usually bird feed (130-150 g per head). In addition, the bird is given a lot of greenery (30-50 g per day). Grass and tops are fed only fresh.
Cereals are sometimes replaced with table waste. This can be boiled potatoes, cereals, etc. Wet mixers are prepared not on water, but on the back. You can also use a solution of baker's yeast. In this case, the egg production of guinea fowl will increase. Be sure to include in the diet of this bird and meat and bone meal. Guinea fowl can do without this product only if they are regularly released for walking. Instead of flour, you can use fish waste, low-fat cottage cheese or some other protein food.
Mineral supplements should also be included in the guinea fowl diet. It can be chalk, grated shells or wood ash. With a lack of minerals, caesar's eggs will thin out the shell. Adult guinea fowls, like chickens, are fed 3 times a day (sometimes 4 times). At the same time, in the morning and at lunch they give greens, and at night - feed.
Features of the content of adults
Guinea fowl have one feature, which the poultry breeder should be aware of. "Guinea fowl - what kind of bird?" - We answered this question above. This chicken brought from Africa, unfortunately, still remains quite wild. Therefore, it is necessary to form a herd of young individuals. It is enough to hold a group of one cockerel and several chickens together for about a week, and they form a very strong group. It is almost impossible to form a herd of adult birds. If guinea fowl will live on their own, this will negatively affect egg production. The productivity of birds living in a group is usually 1.5–2 times higher in this regard.
Some poultry farmers do not keep guinea fowl in the barn and aviary constantly. After the second feeding, the bird is released on a free range (of course, if its wings are cut). Stray dogs and cats are not particularly dangerous for guinea fowls. This bird is very nimble.
What breeds exist
Guinea fowl bird, the cultivation of which is a relatively simple matter, usually pleases its owners with high productivity. However, egg production and weight gain may vary by breed. Most often, domestic poultry farmers contain:
Siberian white guinea fowl. This breed is characterized by high egg production and resistance to low temperatures. The main distinguishing feature of this bird is the dull-white plumage. Siberian white guinea fowls are calmer than representatives of other breeds. The advantages of these chickens include unpretentiousness.
Gray-mottled. This breed is by far the most common. She gained popularity mainly for very tasty meat. Such hens can carry up to 90 eggs per year. The head of representatives of this breed is practically not feathered.
Blue Guinea Fowl. Parent for this breed is gray-mottled. Productivity in blue is very good. In terms of egg production, it surpasses gray-mottled. One chicken can carry up to 120 eggs per year.
Volzhskaya. Chickens of this breed can carry up to 120 eggs per year. The advantages of the Volga guinea fowl also include precocity. The survival rate of chickens reaches 86%. The color of this breed is very beautiful - cream.
Guinea fowl is a bird whose eggs are distinguished by remarkable taste, thus, it can have a different color and breed, including as a decorative chicken.
Disease
Most often, the reasons for various kinds of health problems in guinea fowl are unsanitary conditions in the house and errors in care. Of the most common diseases of this African chicken, one can distinguish:
Trichomoniasis The causative agent of this disease is unicellular protozoa. Trichomonads enters the body of a bird along with dirty water or food. Most often, young animals become infected with it. Symptoms are yellow feces of yellow color, lethargy of the bird, the presence of plaque on the mucous membranes. Affected individuals in most cases die from suffocation.
Dyspepsia. Youngsters up to three months also suffer most often from this disease. Overheating and poor-quality feed usually become its causes.
Well, we hope that we answered the question quite clearly what kind of guinea fowl bird is. Breeding these nimble African chickens, perhaps, is not as profitable as some other representatives of birds. However, the excellent tastes of meat and unpretentiousness earned them a well-deserved popularity among the owners of household plots.