THE REALITIES ABOUT POULTRY The Modern Farm - The Realities About Poultry_Seco | Page 19

Guinea Fowls
Guinea fowls are native to West Africa but are now found in many parts of the tropics, and are kept
in large numbers under intensive
ive systems in some countries. Guinea fowl are seasonal breeders,
laying eggs only during the rainy season, under free-range
free range conditions. They are very timid, roosting
in trees at night, and although great walkers, they fly very little.
Guinea fowl thrive in both cool and hot conditions, and their potential to increase meat and
particularly egg production in developing countries deserves better recognition. The first egg is
normally laid at about 18 weeks of age, and unlike many indigenous birds (which prod
produce a single
clutch a year), guinea hens lay continuously until adverse weather sets in.
Guinea hens under free-range
range conditions can lay up to 60 eggs per season, while well
well-managed birds
under intensive management can lay up to 200 eggs per year. The guinea
guin ea hen “goes broody” (sits on
eggs in the nest) after laying, but this can be overcome by removing most of the eggs. A clutch of 15
to 20 eggs is common, and the incubation period for guinea fowl is 27 days.
Domesticated guinea fowl are of three principal varieties: Pearl, White and Lavender
Lavender. The Pearl is
by far the most common. It has purplish-grey
purplish grey feathers regularly dotted or “pearled” with white. The
White guinea fowl has pure white feathers while the Lavender has light grey feathers dotted with
white. The male and female guinea fowl differ so little in appearance (feather colour and body
weight [1.4 to 1.6 kg]) that the inexperienced farmer may unknowingly keep all males or all females
as “breeding” stock. Sex can be distinguished at eight weeks or more by a difference in their voice
cry.
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