6. INTRODUCTION
Guinea fowl are birds of the family Numididae in the
order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and
rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds.
Phylo-genetically, they branch off from the core
Galliformes after the Cracidae and before the
Odontophoridae. Major available Guinea fowl in srilanka
and their characteristic , major management practices
during brooding, growing, and layering. The lifespan of a
guinea fowl is approximately 10 to 15 years although they
can live beyond this. I currently have guinea fowl on the farm
that are 7years old.8/5/2019 6
8. CHARACTERISTICSOFAGUINEAFOWL
• Thehead and neck are bare
• It istimid
• more gregarious behaviour than chickens
• Theguinea fowl is extremely noisy
• Guinea fowls cancausedamage to crops in free range
• guinea fowl is more resistant to heat
• It withstands transportation better than thechicken
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9. Uniqueness of Guineafowls, Thanother
Poultry Birds
•Guinea fowl hasataste similar to other gamebirds
•many nutritional qualities
•guinea is tender and of especially fineflavor
•Themeat is rich in essential fattyacids
•yield of 80%after processing withexcellent meat to
bone ratio
• unique ornamental value of domesticvarieties
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10. Somespecial features of guinea fowls
• Hardy birds
• Suitable to many agro-climaticcondition
• Resistant to many commondiseases
• No requirement of elaborate and expensivehousing
• Excellent foraging capabilities
• Consumesall non-conventional feeds not used inchicken
feeding
• More tolerant to mycotoxin andaflatoxin
• Hard shell provides minimum breakageand low keeping
quality
• Guinea fowl meat is rich in vitamin and low in cholesterol8/5/2019 10
11. Different between Male &Female
Guineafowls
Male
Female
Male's wattles and
casque(horn on top
of head) are larger
than the female's
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12. Breedsof guineafowls
• Pearl Gray
• White
• Lavender
• Royal Purple
• Coral Blue
• Buff Dundotte
• Brown
• Bronze
• Pewter
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13. PEARLGRAY
•Theseare adark gray with white dotsthrough
out their plumage.
•Theyare the old fashion original colorof
Guineas,
•afavorite, prized by many for theirbeautiful
dotted feathers.
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14. White
• Theseare pure white
• with afew black hairs onthe
back of the neck.
• Thewhites have lighter colored
skin and the meat is lighter
color also.
• Keets are snow white with
orange beak, lets, andtoes
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15. Lavender
Thisguinea fowl also resemble
the pearl variety, but the
plumage is light gray or lavender
regularly dotted with white
markings
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16. RoyalPurple
• Theseare avery dark black color with alovely purplishsheen.
• Theydo not haveregular dotting,
• but do have some dotting and barring in the flank area.
• Theseare magnificently handsome beauties.
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17. CoralBlue
Theseare amedium blue which
tend to adarker beautiful coralblue
on the neck, breast, andback
Sometimes referred to asthe only
poultry with atrue skybluecolor
Theseare not dotted, but dohave a
few dots and bars in the flankarea
Theyare very colorful.
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18. Brown
•Theseare dark brown
with white dots.
•Themales are slightly
lighter than thehens.
•Keets are similar in
color to the PearlGray
keets
•Theseare very rare and
beautiful.
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19. Bronze
• Theseare adark black color with a
cast of bronze or brown over the
shoulders,
• back and on the neck andchest.
• Theprimary wing feathers havea
reddish color.
• Theseare very similar to the Royal
Purples but have lost most of the
purple sheen and taken on the bronze
cast
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21. FreeRangeSystem
,
Birds are free to go anywhere
Thebirds are not confined
Freeto fend for their own feed and roost
Birds find their own foodand shelter
No any special Housing
8/5/2019 21
22. Advantagesand DisadvantagesOf
Freerangesystem
Advantages Disadvantages
Suitable for poorfarmers
almost at no cost tothe
farmer
No need of technical
knowledge
Well nutrition
Need lot of land andfields
of pasture
cannot be practiced on an
intensive commercialscale
easily revert to theferal
state
might not be easilycaught
when needed
Harming from predators8/5/2019 22
23. SemiIntensive System
•Thissystem requires a
permanent housingwith
attached fenced runs or
pasture
•There is alimited area for birds
•Should supply water andextra
feeds
•Birds are not allowed togo
every ware
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24. Advantagesand DisadvantagesOf
Semi- Intensive
Advantages Disadvantages
particularly suitable
where land is limited
and small holder farms
Safefrom Predators
Low feeding cost Than
Intensive system
Low labor Cost
disease conditions
could becommon
requires close
monitoring andcontrol
Need more land than
Intensive system
Competition for foods
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25. IntensiveSystem
• Thisis the system, which is used commercially and involves
confining the birds in doors either in battery cagesor on deep
litter within alarge controlledenvironment
• Thefood and water requirements of the birdsare made
available all thetime
• allows high stock density
• efficient management of resources and labor, resulting inhigh
production output
• Thissystem is recommended for large scale commercialguinea
fowl production8/5/2019 25
27. Advantages & Disadvantagesof
Intensive System
Advantages Disadvantages
SaveLand
SaveFeed
Cancontrol farming
conditions asfarmer likes
No any harm from bad
weather Conditions
Birds can haveenough
nutrient
Need Technical
knowledge for farming
Need to spend toomuch
money for buildings
Birds are stressful
Easilyinfect diseases
Need especial carefor
birds8/5/2019 27
28. EggProduction
ce
• Guinea fowls come into lay at about 25 to 28 weeks of age
• Theeggproduction efficiency however, depends on breeding
stock and management
• Eggcollection should be done daily but do not disturb the hens
while they arelaying
• Guinea fowl eggsare smaller than chickeneggs
• weigh between 35 to 40g
• Theeggscollected should be stored in cool drypla
• collect
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29. EggIncubation
• Natural Incubation
1. Theincubation period of guinea fowl eggis between 26 to28 days
2. This method is used by farmers with smallflock
3. Thechicken hens are usually used
• Artificial Incubation
1. useof machines calledincubators
2. controlled heating at recommended temperature,controlled
humidity level and eggturning ability
3. Eacheggshould be turned at least 4 to 5 times daily for the first 24
daysof incubation
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31. Management OfBrooding
• Cleanthe brooding housewell
• Cleanall the equipment that useinbrooder
• Prepare the brooding ring
• Put the litter into brooderring
• Light the brooder for bring aheatsource
• Laypapers on litter
• Then place feed trays and drinkers
• Count the keets and keep the records
• Relesethe keets into brooder
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32. Brooding
•round sheet container is simple to clean and to store
equipment in between uses. No corners for keets to get
squished in
•Temperature need to start at95 degrees
•drop 5 degrees weekly untilthe keets are fully feathered
•Beware of temperature increases during the hot hours of
the day8/5/2019 32
34. SpaceRequirement/Stock
Density
• Floor spacerequirement of about 0.06m shouldbe
allowed per bird from day old till maturity
• Stocking density is at the rate of 100 birds per 55-
65m2
• Astocking rate ofmore than 16 birds per meter is
over crowding and canresult to heavylosses
• Up to 50%of the entire flock could be lost through
suchover stocking
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35. Equipment for rearing of guinea fowls arethe same
with that of chickenswhich includes drinkers,
feeders, and nest boxes,eggcollectors
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37. Thefeed intake of guinea fowl isbetween 25-30g per day
between the agesof 0-6
50-60g between the ages6-12
70-80g between the ages12-16
• Thestarter diet should contain 24%protein and should be fed for the
first 4weeks
• Grower ration of 20%protein should then be fed until 8 weeks of age
• finisher diet containing 16%protein fed until marketage
• In intensive rearing conditions, feed conversion ratios (FCR)are
between 3.1
• feed wastage could be minimized by feeding the required feedtwice
daily
• Cleanwater should be made available always.
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42. Health ManagementPractices.
1. Cleanliness
•feed and drink containers are keptclean
•Cleanstock house regularly and place fresh litter in
nest boxes
1. Adequate Feeding
2. Action Against Lice, Mites and OtherPests
3. Dusting Guinea Fowl against Parasites
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43. MARKETING
•Guinea fowls are almost always ready at 15 weeks and
usually 16 to 18 weeks of age.
•At this age their live weight is 1.25 to 1.47 kg
•Guinea fowl meat is drier and leaner than chicken
meat and hasa gamey flavor.
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