Tips for breeding guinea fowl: how to set up a profitable business

The benefits of raising guinea fowl are obvious: the bird is quite unpretentious, consumes little feed (fewer chickens), and the meat yield is comparable to chicken. Guinea fowl meat is several times more expensive than chicken. On the market, the price for guinea fowl starts from 600 rubles/kg, and in restaurants they will serve you ready-made guinea fowl for 2,000 rubles. and higher.

Guinea fowl grow very quickly and, with proper feeding, reach a weight of 1.0-1.2 kg by 3 months of age. Feed consumption per 1 kg of bird growth is about 4 kg. Guinea fowl meat is very tender and dietary, containing 27% protein and less than 1% fat. Guinea fowl eggs, unlike chicken eggs, contain 2 times more vitamin A and carotenoids.

Characteristics of the bird

Guinea fowl are distant relatives of turkeys and chickens. The guinea fowl has an elongated, oval body, on which is located a small head with an unusual decoration. The gray-speckled bird is often found on private farms, but there are also 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, producing about 120 eggs per year. The weight of one egg reaches up to 50 g, the color of the shell is dark creamy. Distinctive features of egg products are the presence of small specks on the shell, pear-shaped shape, and the content of a large amount of vitamin A.

Sales channels

When thinking about how to sell finished products, you can choose the following options:

1. Sale of young animals. Seasonal sales, usually farms buy chicks at the beginning of the season. One of the ways of implementation is outbound trade.
2. Sale of eggs. The ideal solution is to enter into a supply agreement with certain establishments, such as supermarkets or kindergartens.
3. Sales of meat. Guinea fowl carcasses are in good demand in restaurants and supermarkets. You can try selling dietary meat on the market - this option can also be very profitable.

Starting any business is not easy, breeding guinea fowl is no exception. In addition, there is always the danger of losing young animals. However, if you approach the process of implementing a business thoughtfully and seriously, the profits will definitely outweigh all the costs and possible risks. In addition, you will have the opportunity to feast on tasty and healthy meat and nutritious eggs of these exotic birds.

Guinea fowl breeds

Today, farmers prefer to breed several varieties of guinea fowl. Breeders have repeatedly improved the productive qualities of the guinea fowl. It was possible to breed four subspecies. The most popular variety is considered to be the white-breasted Zagorsk guinea fowl.

Grey-mottled

The taste of dietary meat is very delicate 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. Laying hens produce about a hundred eggs per year.

Zagorskaya

The most valuable breed that farmers prefer to choose for breeding due to its excellent weight and high egg production. Large guinea fowl are capable of laying up to 140 eggs throughout the year. An adult male weighs about 2 kg, a female – up to 2.5 kg. The breed was developed by crossing a Moscow rooster and a grey-speckled guinea fowl. A distinctive feature of the bird is its white breast.

White Siberian

The bird was bred not so long ago. It is characterized by a white color with barely noticeable speckles throughout the body. These birds show the most excellent egg production indicators - laying hens can produce up to 170 eggs per year. The weight of an adult female reaches up to 2.1 kg, the weight of a male varies within 2 kg.

Cream

The cream guinea fowl is very similar in appearance to the Siberian white variety of the bird, but has a significantly smaller size and a darker carcass color. This breed has a white-cream color, sometimes with a yellowish tint.

An adult male weighs up to 1.75 kg, a female – 1.65 kg. The bird's egg production is lower than that of other breeds, but females reach sexual maturity much earlier. Over the course of a year, one hen produces 80-100 cream or brown eggs weighing no more than 44 g. The hatchability of eggs reaches 70%.

Blue

The blue guinea fowl has the same body shape as its ancestors. It has a characteristic color - light brown plumage with purple and blue tints. The bird has purple plumage on its neck and belly, while the feathers on its back and tail are grey-blue with small patches of white. On the tail feathers, the white spots merge, forming a transverse line.

The weight of an adult male can reach 2 kg, females – up to 2.5 kg. Over the course of a year, one hen produces from 100 to 150 brown eggs with a yellow or reddish tint. One egg weighs about 45 g.

Blue guinea fowl reproduce naturally or artificially. The fertilization rate of eggs reaches up to 75%.

Yellow

The color of the feathers of birds of this breed is soft yellow. The feathers of the neck and chest have a yellow-red tint. The weight of an adult female is 1.8 kg, a male is 1.5 kg. Over the course of a year, one hen produces up to 100 yellow-brown eggs weighing up to 45 g.

Volzhskaya white

When crossing, a gray-speckled guinea fowl was used. The only difference between these two birds is the color of their plumage. This breed was bred in several stages. Today there are more than 20 thousand adult individuals. Birds have an elongated body and short legs. The head is small, pale pink earrings and pink beak.

An adult male weighs up to 1.6 kg, the weight of a female reaches up to 1.9 kg. The Volga white guinea fowl produces 85-90, sometimes 100 eggs in one cycle. Egg hatchability is up to 80%.

Blue lilac

Guinea fowl of this breed differ from blue ones in color. The bird has rich indigo colored feathers with white spots. There is a lot of fluff on the neck and chest.

The weight of an adult guinea fowl is 2.5 kg, a guinea fowl is 2 kg. On average, one adult female produces up to 150 eggs per year, weighing about 45 g. 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 or spots. The shade of the beak and earrings is interesting: from bright pink to white at the very end.

A male weighs on average 1.5 kg, a guinea fowl – up to 1.8 kg. During one period of egg production, a guinea fowl produces 90-100 yellow-brown eggs with a dense shell strewn with small dots. The weight of one egg is 42-45 g.

How much can you earn from breeding guinea fowls?

A guinea fowl breeding business should begin with sales planning. There are several options for generating income from poultry:

1. Raising guinea fowl to slaughter weight (1-1.5 kg) and subsequent sale of poultry meat. Poultry meat can be sold both at your own retail outlets and in small wholesale (shops, restaurants, kiosks, markets, wholesale resellers). The price of guinea fowl meat starts from 500 rubles per kilogram.
2. Incubation of guinea fowl eggs and sale of day-old young animals to subsidiary farms and private farmers. Day-old young animals are readily purchased by beginning farmers and owners of private farms who want to breed this bird. The price of a daily guinea fowl is 150 rubles per piece;
3. Raising young guinea fowl and subsequent sale of the breeding stock to other farmers for breeding.

When selling poultry meat through retail points of sale, a veterinary certificate of Form No. 2 must be issued for all products.

Conditions for poultry

Only compliance with certain requirements for keeping poultry will allow you to get healthy guinea fowls that will delight you with good productivity indicators. Birds need to be equipped with a roosting house and a walking area.

Arrangement of poultry house and walking yard

Breeding guinea fowl begins with arranging the room where they will be located. To do this, use an outbuilding or build a building, making sure to insulate it and protect it from drafts. Everything in the room should be conveniently arranged so that the birds can lay eggs.

To increase egg laying, bedding is provided indoors - it should not only absorb moisture well, but also provide warmth. It is advisable to treat the floor with slaked lime. To do this, use a kilogram of product per 1 square meter. Only after this is it permissible to lay dry bedding on the floor using sawdust, dried grass or straw.

Females will need perches; they will be equipped 50 cm higher from the floor. There should be at least 1 meter of perch per five females.

Guinea fowl are birds that prefer free space and a lot of space for walking, which is why you will need to equip a large aviary. It is especially important that birds have access to a free range during the mating season, as cramped space will cause them to refuse to mate. The aviary in which the birds will roam is covered with a mesh 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 the birds from the scorching sun and protect them from rain.

Living conditions

Feeders and drinking bowls must be installed in each enclosure or cage. Birds should always have access to clean, fresh water. In summer, it protects birds from overheating.

It is very important to follow the sanitation and hygiene procedures required for raising guinea fowl. To do this, once a month you should disinfect the poultry house, regularly wash feeders and drinkers, and places where birds live.

Some varieties of guinea fowl need to be separated when breeding and raising, because they are prone to competition and fights. They must be provided with space, otherwise it threatens to reduce egg production. When growing, it is advisable for the farmer to observe the behavior of his charges in order to take appropriate measures in time.

In cool weather, birds tend to group together. The birds themselves will notify that the temperature has dropped and the house needs to be ventilated - they begin to open their beaks, open their wings and lie down in this position.

Keeping guinea fowl

Schematic layout of some poultry houses

The primary task facing a novice poultry farmer is to select the necessary premises for keeping birds. Guinea fowl can be kept in an ordinary barn, but it needs to be properly equipped and well insulated. The area of ​​the room is selected with the calculation: 1 sq.m. for 10 birds. It is recommended to divide the room into several compartments or cages, each of which will contain 20-30 guinea fowl.

Keeping guinea fowl at home

The egg production of guinea fowl is greatly influenced by the ambient temperature - if the room is too cold, the birds will not lay eggs well. The room temperature should not fall below 15°C. Drafts are very dangerous for guinea fowl and lead to colds in birds.

It is imperative to place a bedding made of sawdust, straw or sand on the floor, which will not only warm the birds, but also absorb excess moisture. It is recommended to first whitewash the floor with lime to create an obstacle to the growth of microbes. The litter needs to be changed monthly. You will also need to install perches for females: for 10 birds, a 2-metre perch is required, which is located at a height of about half a meter from the floor.

Guinea fowl need a roost

Each cage must have a drinking bowl and a feeder. The water in the drinking bowl should always be fresh and clean. During the hot season, guinea fowl cool down by swimming in water. If there is not enough water, they can overheat and suffer heatstroke. During the winter months, you will need to install additional lighting sources to extend the length of the day. The lights in the room should be turned on at 7 am and turned off around 10 pm.

Feeder for guinea fowl

An example of a homemade feeder

It is very important to maintain order and cleanliness in the poultry house. The premises must be cleaned every week and disinfected once a month. Dirty living conditions often lead to infection of birds with various parasites, the most dangerous of which are E. coli, worms and salmonella. If a guinea fowl does catch the disease, it is almost impossible to cure it.

It is important to keep the house clean

If several species of birds are kept in one barn, they should be separated from each other by high partitions. When releasing guinea fowl into the wild, you need to take care of a fence made of metal mesh, the height of which should be at least 2 meters. Guinea fowl are good at flying and, in the absence of obstacles, can easily cover quite long distances.

Fence the guinea fowl enclosure with netting

How is the parent stock formed?

The acquisition of chicks should begin with the selection of the best individuals in terms of external qualities. Lame, thin, emaciated birds are discarded. Birds that show signs of rickets or weigh less than 1.3 kg at the age of 5 months are not suitable for breeding.

A healthy bird is easy to recognize: it has moving and shiny eyes and a strong beak. Males and females are no different in color, and gender can be determined by the following characteristics:

• the male has a large, tuberous and bright cere, the crest is located vertically;
• the female has a small cere that does not rise above the beak, a small ridge is directed towards the tail;
• males had larger earrings;
• in a female at the age of 5 months, one finger is placed between the pubic bones.

Some farmers use the cloacal method of determining gender. To do this, you need to turn the bird upside down and carefully push the cloaca apart. The male has a noticeable cylindrical penis, up to one centimeter long. This procedure greatly disturbs the birds, which is why this method is used extremely rarely.

Business plan

To draw up a business plan, you will need information on the planned expenses and income of the enterprise, as well as on the state of the local sales market, including:

• cost of purchasing eggs and poultry;
• cost of meat and eggs for sale;
• the cost of down, feathers, young animals for sale;
• product markets (information can be obtained on the Internet);
• the cost of building a farm (rooms, barns, warehouses, refrigerators, etc.);
• the cost of the corresponding incubator;
• cost and quantity of feed, including protein (low-fat cottage cheese, skim milk, meat and fish waste), food additives (chalk, shells, gravel), vitamins;
• the cost of farm equipment (feeders, drinkers, etc. It is desirable that the equipment be automated);
• costs for removing litter;
• costs of transport and storage of products;
• expenses for veterinary medicine and vaccinations;
• expenses for wages and utilities.

Having calculated all income and expenses, payback periods, you can adjust the business plan in accordance with your capabilities, availability of funds, credit resources, etc. Think, act, implement your business idea and get a decent result!

Features of feeding

To feed the guinea fowl, it is permissible to use any feed: combined, green, juicy, food waste. In the summer, the guinea fowl gets almost everything from walking. Birds enjoy eating fruits and vegetables.

Some breeders recommend adhering to a diet, giving food strictly by the hour - 3-4 times a day. Other bird keepers advise keeping the feeder always full so that the bird can decide for itself when to eat. Everyone tries their own diet plans.

Below is a table showing the feed and its volume depending on the age of the bird:

Profit and expenses

To accurately calculate whether a guinea fowl business is profitable or not depends on many factors, in particular on the availability of food supply.

First of all, you need to find sources for purchasing feed at low prices. Under no circumstances should you buy them on the market, the price there is greatly inflated and you will not get a good profit. It is best to purchase both grain and vegetables directly from farmers. And, of course, it will be just wonderful if you have the opportunity to grow them yourself.

It is also better to sell products directly to consumers. Give it to restaurants, supermarkets, or sell it yourself at the market. In this case, your business will be as profitable as possible.

Let's try to calculate the profitability of the guinea fowl business. Let's say right away that prices may vary depending on the region, season and of course inflation.

Let’s say we bought a hundred daily guinea fowl for 70 rubles, spending 7,000. Until the bird reaches reproductive age (seven or eight), feed costs are small.

Let’s calculate the ideal option, when all the birds survive and all the individuals are healthy. In reality, of course, it’s a little different and the profit may be a little lower.

Sales of day-old guinea fowl chickens

Typically, in any given litter there are 40 percent females and 60 percent males. In accordance with this, after purchasing hundreds of chickens, with a 100% survival rate, we will have about forty laying hens, with each of them we can get about 40 chicks during the year. The price of one guinea fowl is approximately 260 rubles. The calculation is as follows: 40 laying hens producing forty chicks each produces 1,600 chickens.

If we manage to sell them at a price close to 260 rubles, we will get a decent amount of 416,000 rubles. It is also worth taking into account the profit received from the sale of 50 cockerels from each brood because We will leave ten to form a herd. If one weighs 1.5 kilograms, and we sell it for 400 rubles per kilogram, then this is an additional 440,000 rubles, not counting food.

Sales of an adult bird within a year can bring 960,000 rubles.

Day old guinea fowl chicks

Sales for meat

In this case, you need to purchase guinea fowl of meat breeds and feed them intensively. The calculation for a hundred birds is as follows. A hundred birds, if the average weight of individuals is about 1.7 kilograms, can be sold at a price of 400 rubles, then we will get an amount close to 68,000 rubles. This does not include food costs.

Guinea fowl carcass

Sales of adult birds

You can earn about 26,000 rubles from one-month-old guinea fowl. A yearling is about 60,000 rubles, if we add grown young individuals 1600 by 600, we get 960 thousand rubles plus 60 thousand rubles, approximately 1 million rubles. Even if you subtract the costs of maintenance and feeding, a decent amount remains.

Sales of eggs

A hundred laying hens can lay 15 thousand eggs during the year. The cost of one egg is approximately 19 rubles. We get - 285,000 rubles.

Eggs for sale

These are only average data, which may depend, as we have already said, on the availability of feed, the region and the method of sale. If we consider all the options, we can conclude that the combined sale of meat and eggs is the most profitable.

It is also worth considering the possibility of selling the remaining feathers after slaughter.

The main expenses are the purchase of breeding birds, the arrangement of a poultry house and the purchase of equipment, feed, veterinarian services, transportation and storage.

Guinea fowl breeding conditions

Birds reach sexual maturity at the age of 7-8 months. The hen incubates the chicks for 28 days. The same amount is required to hatch chicks in an incubator with high humidity. There are six females for every male. During the breeding period, a hen lays 20 fertilized eggs.

Typically, farmers purchase day-old chicks to raise them in a brooder - it replaces the hen. From the first day, the nimble chicks are ready to fly, so they need to immediately trim their wing tassels. But it is much more interesting to get your own brood yourself, so that in the future you will have the opportunity to observe the family. But it is extremely rare that guinea fowl have good mothers, which is why the chicks have to be hatched using an incubator.

Approximate benefit calculations

The efficiency of a guinea fowl business depends on several factors, including how accessible the food supply will be. This is the first thing to do. Try to find feed suppliers at affordable prices. Buying feed at the market is the last possible option, since feed there is much more expensive. You can meet with farmers living in the neighborhood and agree on regular supplies of grain, herbs and vegetables. You can also ensure the availability of food yourself - grow everything you need in your own garden.

Now let's talk about methods of selling products. Of course, it is much more profitable to sell it directly to customers, bypassing intermediaries: take it to restaurants or supermarkets, sell it in markets.

Let's try to estimate the likely profitability of the business. For example, you managed to buy 100 chicks at 75 rubles per one - so the first investment was 7,500 rubles. You won't have any big expenses for the next 6-8 months, since birds eat little before reaching reproductive age.

So we have 100 chicks. As a rule, in any litter there are about 60% males and 40% females. Thus, you will have 4 dozen laying hens, each of which is capable of giving 40 chicks during the year. The retail price of 1 guinea fowl chick is approximately 250 rubles. We multiply 40 laying hens by 40 chicks and the retail price - it turns out 40,000 rubles. Additionally, we take into account the income from the sale of males - we will leave 10 individuals for further breeding, the rest can be sold. The average weight of an adult male is 1.5 kg, and the cost of 1 kg is 400 rubles. This turns out to be another 440,000 rubles in income.

You can slaughter your own poultry and sell it for meat. Then you should give preference to meat birds. We calculate: we sell 100 guinea fowl with an average weight of 1.7 kg for about 400 rubles - we get 68,000 rubles (minus feed costs).

And let’s also calculate the probable income from selling eggs. Let's say you have 100 laying hens. Each of them will lay 150 eggs in a year, and all together - 15,000. One guinea fowl egg costs 19 rubles. Thus, the profit from the sale of eggs will be 285,000 rubles per year.

Incubation and hatching of young animals

Getting young animals using an incubator is much easier than waiting for a laying hen to hatch eggs. For incubation, use only those eggs 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 that have been stored indoors, protected from light. It is also important to take eggs weighing at least 40 grams, pear-shaped, and free of any imperfections, defects, or blemishes.

Before sending the eggs into the incubator, you need to wash them in a manganese solution and then dry them. After this, they are irradiated with ultraviolet light for several minutes, which will destroy all pathogenic microflora on the shell and also increase the hatchability of the chicks.

In the first 6-7 days, the temperature in the room must be maintained at 35 degrees, then reduced every week by 3 degrees. After 20 days the temperature should be 20 degrees.

After hatching and drying the chicks, they need to be transplanted into special boxes intended for day-old young animals. Place up to 25 chicks in each box. For the first day, the guinea fowl should be under a quartz lamp for several minutes.

Advantages of breeding guinea fowl at home

The most popular these days are three breeds of guinea fowl: gray speckled, Zagorsk white-breasted and Siberian white. The high profitability of breeding is due to a number of productive and physiological characteristics of this bird.

Advantages of raising guinea fowl:

• High egg production rate (150 pieces).
• Live weight is 15% more than chicken (from 2 to 2.5 kg).
• Dietary meat with excellent taste.
• Strong poultry immunity and resistance to viral diseases.
• Long shelf life of products (meat, eggs).
• Unpretentiousness of young animals and adults to the conditions of detention.

Where to start breeding guinea fowl in the country

The process of breeding guinea fowl at home begins with a thorough study of the physiological and behavioral characteristics of the bird. Collecting information helps to build optimal housing, feeding and breeding systems that will ensure the maximum period of productive use, quality and volumes of finished products at minimal costs. The preparation stage also includes the arrangement of an enclosure and shelter from bad weather. The herd is formed by purchasing young animals or mature adults.

Conditions of detention

Guinea fowl are unpretentious to their living conditions. In the southern regions and in the warm season, light shelters and canopies are provided for their maintenance. When constructing them, I take into account the optimal housing density: two adults per 1 sq.m. On the territory of the summer cottage they are given a chicken coop or barn.

The presence of a large walking area is the main condition for fertility and strong immunity of guinea fowl. If the area of ​​the local area is significant, the enclosure is designed at the rate of 30 sq.m per one mature individual. In nature, guinea fowl fly well, and even with clipped wings they can overcome a high barrier. Therefore, the height of the fence around the enclosure should reach 2 meters.

In the absence of a large open area, they create imitations of the natural landscape: shady canopies, sand or earthen embankments, and arrange ash baths. With their help, birds clean their feathers, control their body temperature in the hot months, and exhibit an instinct to search for insects and amphibians.

All types of guinea fowl have a well-expressed herd instinct, and habits associated with the frequency of feeding are easily developed. Thanks to these features of the nervous system, they are easy to keep in household conditions and accustomed to the presence of humans. Inconvenience can be caused by the loud cackling of guinea fowls, with which they react to any changes in the environment.

Maintenance during the winter months does not require large-scale capital investments and preparation. Perches and bedding are arranged in an unheated room. The floor is covered with straw or sawdust. A layer of dry natural materials provides an optimal microclimate. The litter along with the droppings is changed once a month. The spent mass is used as concentrated organic fertilizer for fields.

Guinea fowl tolerate cold well and ventilation windows are left open for air exchange in the room. The walking area is cleared of snow during cold weather.

The length of daylight hours directly affects the egg production of all poultry, including guinea fowl. In winter, when the period of natural saltation is short, it is artificially extended. To do this, lighting devices are turned on in the room from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. This technique reduces the influence of natural factors on poultry productivity and ensures uniform profitability of the enterprise throughout the year.

Purchasing young stock

To create your own productive herd, experts recommend buying about 20 guinea fowl. This quantity will allow us to select the most productive individuals for further breeding and internal selection. The optimal period for raising young animals is from April to mid-summer. At this time, the diet can be easily supplemented with cheap vitamin and mineral supplements.

When purchasing day-old young birds, it is difficult for a non-professional to determine the sex of the bird. Characteristic gender characteristics for guinea fowls are a tubercle above the beak, which in males has a bright color.

To assess profitability, it is better for novice poultry farmers to purchase several adult birds in the first year of practice. It is optimal when there are two or three females for one male. This approach will help to study the specifics of raising guinea fowl at home.

Diet preparation for young and adult birds

The basis of the diet of young guinea fowl is bread and boiled chicken eggs. First, all components are crushed and moistened in milk. Feeding three times a day ensures the replenishment of nutrients in the body of growing chicks. If guinea fowl are kept in natural pasture conditions, they do not need additional vitamin supplements. Raising poultry in the country requires adding chopped lettuce, dandelion, green onions and sprouted oats to the diet.

Standard diet for guinea fowl up to 3 months (per head):

• Wheat bran 1-7 g.
• Ground corn 1-6 g.
• Oatmeal 1-13 g.
• Millet 6-20 g.
• Fish meal 1-5 g.
• Boiled egg 1-2 g.
• Yogurt 3-14 g.
• Greens 2-37 g.
• Clover (hay) up to 13 g.
• Yeast 1-5 g.

Young animals at the age of 3 months are transferred to an adult diet. During this period, poultry fattening begins with meat specialization in production. A mixture of flour and steamed root vegetables is added to the feeders. The abundance of starch in the diet leads to a rapid gain in live weight.

In the conditions of domestic farms, the basis of the diet for sexually mature guinea fowls is grains. Vitamin supplements and impurities that increase the nutritional value of the diet vary depending on the regional and natural characteristics of the area, as well as the time of year. In warm months, invertebrates and small reptiles that are found in the walking area serve as an additional source of protein.

Feeding standards for adult guinea fowl:

• Cereals (oats, barley, corn) - 20 g each.
• Fish meal - 5 g.
• Carrots - 20 g.
• Clover (hay) - 25 g.
• Needles - 15 g.
• Yeast - 6 g.
• Salt - 0.3 g.

Lettuce and nettle leaves are a complete replacement for clover and spruce needles. During the egg-laying period, the rate of concentrated feed and animal products is increased: up to 100 g and 15 g per day, respectively. In order to avoid bird obesity, as egg production decreases, the amount of protein in the diet is gradually reduced. From mid-September, root vegetables, greens and clover hay are generously added to the feed mixture.

The optimal frequency of feeding guinea fowls does not change throughout the year: the bird is fed three times a day - at 6, 12 and 18 o'clock. In the first half of the day, the diet should be dominated by succulent feed with the addition of yeast; at night, concentrated grain mixtures are given: oats, corn and barley.

To calculate the cost of maintaining and feeding guinea fowl at home, standard feed consumption rates per head per year are used. So, for a sexually mature individual, about 35 kg of grain per year is needed, or 75 g per day, 3.5 kg. animal feed, 4 kg. root vegetables, 12 kg. fresh herbs, 2.2 kg. yeast and 2 kg. mineral feed. The diet of guinea fowls during the resting period and the egg-laying period is different.

To stimulate high productivity of guinea fowls, control the amount of vitamins in their diet. Fish oil is considered a valuable and cheap source of vitamins A and B.

The peculiarities of the guinea fowl's digestive system determine the rules for their feeding. Both young and adult birds are provided with free access to sand and fine gravel. Solid particles stimulate the grinding of food in the stomach, since birds do not have a chewing apparatus.

Care and feeding of guinea fowl

The chicks' diet for the first three days will consist of boiled chopped eggs. From days 4 to 8, ground wheat, chopped herbs, and fresh cottage cheese are added to the egg. It is recommended to feed guinea fowl with liquid yogurt or whey. At this age, the number of feedings is 8 times a day.

From the 8th day, wet mash prepared from various cereals with the addition of greens is introduced into the chicks’ diet. Chicks from this age are already allowed to be accustomed to dry food. To do this, they should be given a crushed grain dry mixture in the morning. In the daytime, feed the babies with wet mash, and for dinner give them 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. At two months, the chicks are fed no more than three times a day.

To prevent diseases, it is advisable (from 2 to 6 days after the birth of chicks) to add Enroxil or Baytril to their drink. The lack of vitamins can be compensated for with a yeast solution. A weak solution of potassium permanganate will help prevent the development of intestinal infections.

In the summer, when the chicks are 10 days old, they are released for a walk. Only necessary on a warm, sunny day when there is no wind. Guinea fowl should not be released onto grass that is wet from rain or dew. It is best to select an area covered with sand for the first walks - this will allow the chicks to quickly adapt to the hard surface.

Feeding

Chickens under 2 months of age should be fed at least 5 times a day. Older chicks are fed less often - about 3 times. Mandatory components of the diet of young animals are hard-boiled crushed eggs and well-squeezed cottage cheese. It is better to give preference to home-made products, since store-bought ones may contain additives that are harmful to the health of the chicks. When guinea fowl reach 1 month of age, ground grains (wheat or barley are suitable) should be gradually introduced into their diet, you can add some small pebbles or crushed shells, and food mineral supplements to the feeders.

Adult birds are able to eat almost any food: root vegetables, vegetables and fruits, and even food waste. But the basis of the diet should be fresh greens, which is why organizing free range is so important: the birds will receive the nutrients necessary for normal development, and the farmer will be able to save on the purchase of feed.

It is important to ensure that the guinea fowl's feeders are not empty. Regularly add vitamin supplements to feed mixtures: eggshells, chalk and fish oil. For normal development and good growth, birds must have access to food of animal origin. If guinea fowls roam freely in the pasture, they find it themselves, pecking at insects, earthworms and small slugs.

With the arrival of winter, it is necessary to increase the feeding rate, especially if it is not too warm in your poultry house. Among other things, meat broths and fermented milk products should be introduced into the diet; evening feeding can be completely replaced with a combined feed mixture.

Development from birth to adult bird

A chicken or a turkey can hatch and raise little guinea fowl. They are more caring towards babies than guinea fowl. They can walk with the kids, but if they sense danger or rain, they will only take care of themselves.

If the brood has been entrusted to a guinea fowl, the poultry farmer will need to organize a special cage, setting up a temporary house that will serve as shelter from bad weather and overnight accommodation for the family. The cage should have perches into which food is brought. The mother and the brood are looked after for several days until the chicks acquire a herd reflex and understand that the teacher is the leader who must be followed.

If you keep babies in a brooder, then in this case you will need to take care of proper lighting, feeding, and warmth. For the first three months, the chicks need to be fed a special diet. There should always be fresh water in the drinking bowl, and gravel and shells 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 – not lower than 18 degrees.

It should be light in the brooder for up to three months, then the day is shortened by an hour, and so on until the birds are 5 months old. Then you will need to add an hour again every week, regardless of the time of year. The length of the day should be 17 hours.

What to feed guinea fowls?

The organization of feeding guinea fowl at home should be approached taking into account age and time of year. Many breeders feed royal birds in the same way as chickens.

The basis of the diet is grain mixtures (about 50 g/day) or mixed feed (about 160 g/day). A prerequisite is the addition of herbs and vitamins.

The list of foods that guinea fowl readily eat is as follows:

• boiled vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes);
• meat waste;
• grain (corn, barley, oats only in crushed form) or mixed feed;
• fresh herbs and vegetables growing in the garden, in the warm season, in the cold season - hay and pine needles;
• vitamin and mineral supplements.

Guinea fowl are supposed to be provided with three meals a day.

In the morning and afternoon it is wet mash, in the evening it is grain crops. If there is free range (especially in the autumn-summer-spring period), the need for ready-made food is significantly reduced. Royal birds do not harm plantings; they can be walked freely in the garden. They willingly eat insects, bugs, spiders, and green plants. One of our favorite delicacies is the garden pest – the Colorado potato beetle.

It is important for the bird’s body to provide a sufficient amount of carotene, so in winter they need to be fed with pine needles.

It can only be given in cold weather, since in spring and summer the content of essential oils increases and the needles become dangerous.

When active egg laying occurs, the feed is enriched with calcium. Chalk, bone meal, fish dust, and fresh herbs are included in the daily diet. By April-May it is necessary to increase the total amount of food per bird by 30 g.

To prevent intestinal infections, guinea fowl should be given a light pink solution of potassium permanganate (manganese) once every 14 days.

Give baker's yeast daily (once). It is useful to give sprouted grain, add vitamin B or other mineral supplements (they need to be poured separately).

Feeding of the young begins immediately after birth.

In the first days of life (5-7 days), guinea fowl are fed boiled eggs, ground wheat, cottage cheese and nettle greens, clover, meadow grass, curdled milk, then dry grain is added. It is better to alternate: in the morning - grain, in the afternoon - a wet mixture, in the evening - a dry grain mixture.

For the first month of life, chicks are given food in small portions 8 times a day, from 1 to 2 months - five times, then - 3-4 times a day.

Fattening for meat

Fattening guinea fowl for meat begins at four months of age. To do this, add flour dough and steamed roots to the regular diet. It is also necessary to ensure free range on the pasture.

However, some farmers believe that special feeding conditions are not required. With proper maintenance, royal birds quickly gain weight: upon reaching 4 months, they are ready for slaughter, as they reach 1200 - 1500 g.

Maintenance and breeding in winter

In winter, guinea fowl should insulate the room and ensure that it is warm and the air temperature does not fall below 18 degrees. It is necessary to clean the room once a month, be sure to replace the old litter with fresh litter as it gets dirty.

Also, birds of this breed need long-term and good illumination, so in winter the lights are not turned off for 12 hours a day. During this period, guinea fowl are also allowed to be taken for a walk, if the air temperature does not drop below -10 degrees, walking is carried out for a limited time, or the poultry farmer will have to monitor the behavior of the birds. If they start to huddle together, this indicates that they are cold. Then they are immediately driven into the room.

In winter, the diet of guinea fowls should be complete. Birds are fed 2 times a day. In the morning, it is allowed to give a mash based on meat waste with sour milk and special means to increase egg production. In the evening, the poultry should be provided with grain and feed. In the room, be sure to install containers with shells, chalk, and fine gravel. They will also equip a box filled with ash and sand in equal proportions - the guinea fowl will bathe in this mixture.

The following video briefly describes the features of breeding guinea fowl in the cold season:

Breeding

In order for the guinea fowl breeding process to be effective, it is important to follow several rules:

• birds selected in pairs for crossing must be of the same color;
• if you have chickens on your farm, keep them separate from guinea fowl - these species are easily crossed, but their offspring are sterile hybrids;
• females selected for breeding should not be too young - such birds have smaller eggs and are reluctant to make contact with males;
• do not allow crossing of representatives of the same litter that have a common mother - such offspring will be unproductive;
• Collect eggs intended for placement in the incubator only in the morning.

As the mating season approaches, try to organize free range for the guinea fowl, or provide the birds with a spacious enclosure - in conditions of limited space they mate very reluctantly. The quality of eggs to be placed in the incubator will directly depend on how productive the male is. Usually one boy is enough for 5-6 females.

If the male turns out to be a good breeder, he can be left for another season.

Guinea fowl diseases

When breeding guinea fowl, a farmer may encounter some bird diseases that may or may not be dangerous to humans. Often the cause of the disease is non-compliance with growing conditions or inadequate nutrition. To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to monitor hygiene and sanitary conditions, and keep birds under the supervision of a veterinarian with many years of experience.

The cause of the development of pathogenic microflora is poor care and bird droppings that have not been collected for a long time. Mice and rats are also carriers of microbes. Guinea fowl often suffer from trichomoniasis, pullorosis, mycoplasmosis, and pasteurellosis. The doctor will prescribe treatment and write a prescription.

Birds with low immunity often suffer from helminths, so a specialist usually prescribes medications to help solve this problem. Timely treatment will avoid complications and death. You can prevent the development of a bacterial infection by adding Baytril or Enroxil to the water.

Advantages of guinea fowl business

Despite some doubts, a number of arguments can be made in favor of breeding this cute poultry, and in the form of a small and medium-sized business. For our population, breeding guinea fowl is still exotic. This was successfully played out by farmers who at one time began to grow pheasants. And they didn't lose. Compared to pheasants, guinea fowl have a number of advantages:

• female pheasants bring from 15 to 50 eggs per season, while guinea fowl - up to 200;
• Guinea fowl weigh significantly more than pheasants.

Given these factors, pheasant farms can be successfully supplemented with guinea fowl to generate additional income. Also, taking into account the nutritional value of guinea fowl meat and eggs, the growing popularity of these exotic products, breeding breeding poultry breeds in large complexes can become a profitable business.

Having a breeding herd, you will have to take care of its rational feeding. The diet must contain at least 16% protein food, in addition, it is necessary to ensure free range of birds. A small number of birds are able to provide themselves with food, but if you have a large flock, you need to think about constructing comfortable large pens.

In the USA, the indirect benefits of raising this bird are widely advertised. Deer ticks, common on lawns and dangerous to human health due to their ability to spread encephalitis, are quickly destroyed by guinea fowl.

Another example of benefit: birds destroy any garden pests without destroying or raking the beds or damaging the plants. The ability of birds to fly from the owner's garden can be limited by slightly trimming the feathers on one wing.

Download business plan

Download the ready-made poultry farming business plan !

The positive qualities of guinea fowls also include:

• the ability to provide themselves with food - while on the site, they find food for themselves in the form of insects, eating everything, including Colorado potato beetles;
• resistance to avian infections, provided contact with other breeds of birds is avoided.
• Guinea fowl are a gregarious breed, and the herd is easy to manage by moving them into pens or moving them to pasture.
• Guinea fowl eggs do not cause allergic reactions, are successfully stored for a long period due to the thickened shell, and are rich in vitamin A (1.5 - 3 times more than in chicken eggs).

How to choose healthy individuals when purchasing?

For 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 from a specialized poultry farm - this guarantees the origin, health and productive qualities of the animal. At the time of purchase, you should ask the seller for a veterinary certificate; it must indicate all the necessary information about the bird.

They purchase more often day-old guinea fowl. It is during this period that the chicks will suffer least from transportation. If you buy older guinea fowl, you will have to transport the birds in a special container. Sometimes, long-term transportation requires providing the birds with food and water. It is not recommended to purchase adult specimens.

In order not to make a mistake in choosing and buy healthy guinea fowl, the poultry farmer will need to pay attention to some features:

• Externally, the bird should look large, not limp, have no defects on the body, and have a characteristic color pattern.
• A healthy animal has shiny, mobile, bulging eyes, and the pupils are not reduced in size.
• You should not buy birds that show signs of rickets, for example, a curved breast bone or wings. Exhausted individuals with poor coordination of movement and a swollen belly are not suitable for breeding.
• When purchasing an adult 5 month old, pay attention to its weight. During this period, females should weigh at least 1.3 kg, males - about 1.4 kg.

If you plan to breed birds for meat carcasses and egg products with a further increase in the number of birds, it is advisable to purchase at least 20 chicks. From this quantity it will be possible to form a parent herd.

How to choose guinea fowl

If you are a novice businessman who has never dealt with poultry breeding, then finding a reliable and conscientious supplier for purchasing adult birds will be quite difficult. Most often you can buy eggs, which means that you will have to take the incubation into your own hands. In order to choose the right eggs, which are guaranteed to hatch into an individual that will bear offspring in the future, you need to know about some features of the choice, because not every egg can contain an embryo:

1. The egg should not weigh less than 40 grams.
2. The shape should be oval, not round.
3. The egg must be clean.
4. The egg should not have two yolks (you can check this by holding the egg up to the light).

When buying eggs, you will not be able to determine how many females and how many males there will be, so the number of both will have to be adjusted a little later. Remember, there should be five times more females than males.

Income and expenses for keeping guinea fowl

Breeding guinea fowl as a business can have its pros and cons. To understand how profitable such a business is, you cannot do without making some calculations.

Let's say a farmer has a premises with an area of ​​100 square meters. It simultaneously has the ability to support a bird population 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 to slaughter in 4 months, and 100 will be left for breeding until next autumn.

According to the business plan for raising guinea fowl, expenses in the first year will be as follows:

• It will take about 400 thousand rubles to set up the farm.
• The purchase of 500 chicks, where one individual costs 150 rubles, will cost 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.
• A farmer will spend 1,400 rubles on one ton of straw for bedding.
• Electricity also requires payment. To pay for 5,100 kW of light at a price of 4 rubles per kW, the waste will be 20,400 rubles.
• The examination of 400 meat carcasses (one carcass costs 25 rubles) will cost 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 make a profit from the sale of 400 carcasses weighing 1.3 kg each. The wholesale cost of meat is 400 rubles per kilo. The sale of all carcasses will allow you to receive 208 thousand rubles. So, the expense will be 344,800 rubles.

In the second year of work the situation looks a little different. At the beginning of the breeding season, 400 eggs each are placed in incubators twice, from which 800 chicks should appear. The young are distributed as follows:

• a third are sold to other farmers at day old;
• a third are fattened for up to 4 months;
• a hundred are sent for slaughter at 8 months weighing about 2 kg;
• I use the remaining birds to form a flock 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:

In total, 92,800 rubles will be spent. At the end of the breeding season in September, the parent flock is sent to slaughter, because in the second year of life, guinea fowl egg production decreases. But from the beginning of spring, these females will produce about 10 thousand eggs, which can be sold at a price of 200 rubles per dozen. So, income in the second year will be as follows:

Total income will be 440,000 rubles. Taking into account expenses, it will be possible not only to fully recoup investments in the business, but also to receive a “net” profit of 347,200 rubles. In the future, the farm will generate an income of about 255-300 thousand rubles every year.

Business Features

Breeding these exotic birds is also profitable because this niche is practically free. Competition in the industry is minimal, and you are guaranteed profit almost all year round - meat, feathers, and eggs of guinea fowl can be sold. Some people prefer to sell young animals, and sometimes even bird droppings, which are used as nutritious organic fertilizer. Thus, you get waste-free production, the benefits of which are obvious.

Video “Business idea: breeding guinea fowl”

This video presents the pros and cons of raising exotic birds at home.

Advantages

Among the advantages of breeding guinea fowl:

• even our usual chicken gets sick much more often than a guinea fowl - birds simply have excellent immunity;
• birds easily adapt to the climatic conditions in which they live;
• the birds are very friendly, they easily find a common language with other inhabitants of the poultry or barnyard;
• The guinea fowl is an absolutely omnivorous bird; even waste from the owner’s kitchen can be used as feed;
• Guinea fowl meat has excellent taste;
• the eggs of these birds are very nutritious, therefore they are more expensive than chicken eggs;
• guinea fowl are beneficial even in the owner’s garden - they destroy insects without harming the beds;
• the price of meat is quite high, and competition is minimal;
• poultry can be grazed even in the nearest meadow, which means saving on feed.

Flaws

However, not everything is as rosy as it might seem at first glance. Raising guinea fowl is associated with certain difficulties:

• when strangers (animals or people) approach, birds behave extremely noisily;
• guinea fowl are secretive birds, they tend to lay eggs in the most unexpected secluded corners, which greatly complicates the process of finding them;
• due to extreme timidity, females often abandon hatched eggs;
• there must be a high fence in the poultry house, otherwise your pets will easily fly over it;
• guinea fowl may not be very productive due to their notorious timidity;
• The poultry house needs additional lighting.

Advantages of breeding guinea fowl

Breeding guinea fowl, both for personal needs and for profit from business development, has many advantages. All advantages apply to birds of this breed:

• Guinea fowl are allowed to graze in any areas for walking, including vegetable gardens, pastures, and meadows. Birds are able to independently obtain their own food, and in the evening, when it becomes dark, return to their home.
• Guinea fowl show high egg production rates. They produce fairly large eggs throughout the year - from 90 to 160 pieces.
• There is no need to feed guinea fowl special food or synthetic vitamins. They are unpretentious in nutrition.
• Egg products have high nutritional value. Eggs contain useful substances.
• Unlike chickens, guinea fowl have a high survival rate. More than 95% of the young live from the litter to 7-8 months.
• Guinea fowl are valued for their tasty, dietary meat, reminiscent of turkey.
• Farmers can safely let birds roam in their gardens. 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 a variety of farm animals. The poultry house is set up in a barn where chickens, geese and other birds live.
• Adult guinea fowls practically do not get sick and are rarely exposed to diseases common among chickens and turkeys.

Meat carcasses are slightly darker than chicken meat, due to the fact that the product contains hemoglobin in the muscles. Meat contains a lot of iron, vitamins A and E, and amino acids.

Breeding guinea fowl as a business is a profitable business that can provide a decent living for the farmer and his family. The income from the business will be such that expansion of the farm will be possible already in the third year of breeding and raising birds.

0

Technology for raising guinea fowl

There are two common breeds of guinea fowl on farms: Volga white and Zagorsk white-breasted. These breeds are characterized by high productivity rates. The bird's egg production is 110-120 eggs per season with an average weight of 45 g. An adult bird reaches a weight of 1.8-2.0 kg.

Guinea fowl are by nature poor hens, so the chicks are hatched in an incubator. For incubation, eggs weighing from 38 to 52 g are selected. Hatching eggs are stored for no more than 7-8 days. The total duration of incubation of a guinea fowl egg is 27 days.

The guinea fowl is fed at least 3 times a day. The basic diet includes dry food, feed mixtures, grains, and vitamins. In the summer, feeding is carried out outdoors; in winter, guinea fowl are fed indoors.

There are also disadvantages to keeping a guinea fowl. In particular, according to reviews from farms and private farms, guinea fowl are very noisy birds. If you decide to shout to even one bird, the whole flock will “scream.” For those with nervous neighbors, breeding guinea fowl is not the best solution.

The breed does not get along well with other poultry. In addition, guinea fowl, unlike chickens, can fly. Farmers deal with this problem in different ways. Some build mesh enclosures closed on all sides. Others clip the bird’s wings.