Guinea fowl

Guinea fowl, also known as guinea fowl, guinea bird, and guinea bird.

The artificial breeding of guinea fowl has attracted more and more attention from the poultry industry in various countries for the following reasons.

First, because the feathers of guinea fowl are brightly colored, with a blue-brown background and densely dotted white dots all over its body, it looks like a pearl, so it is known as "guinea fowl". Guinea fowl feathers can be used as clothing and hat decorations.

Secondly, because guinea chicken is tender, delicious and nutritious, it is a high-quality game meat poultry. Guinea fowl is rich in amino acids and proteins needed by the human body, with a content of up to 23.4%. It also contains high levels of inorganic salts and trace elements, and its vitamin content is more than twice as high as that of domestic chickens. In the high-protein, low-fat recipe, the meat tastes tender, crispy and delicious, and the game is rich. It is better to use meat pigeons and quails, and is comparable to flying dragons. In addition, it also has special nutritional and nourishing functions. It has significant curative effects on neurasthenia, heart disease, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and gynecological diseases. For this reason, nutritionists from various advanced countries have unanimously praised guinea fowl as the game product of "the king of meat poultry".

Thirdly, because guinea fowl has good adaptability, strong disease resistance, and low requirements for equipment and buildings, the guinea fowl breeding industry requires less investment, low cost, fast turnover, and high efficiency.

Biological characteristics

The history of domestication of guinea fowl is only 100 years, but under domestic conditions, it still retains many characteristics of the wild state. Understanding the biological characteristics of guinea fowl is very important for mastering the feeding and management techniques of guinea fowl.

1. Appearance: Guinea fowl has a small head and a body length of 50 cm. The front end of the beak is light yellow and the back part is red. There are red beards on the left and right sides below. The face is light blue-purple and there is no hair around the eyes. , the neck is slender, the background color of the feathers is blue-brown, and the dense parts are white spots.

The feathers of male and female guinea fowl are the same. Generally, the male is slightly larger than the female, with taller legs. The male's comb is higher and his beard is slightly larger. The male chicken that is approaching sexual maturity cries short and passionately, "Quack!" "Quack..." Like a whirlwind of heavy rain, the sound is overwhelming; the female chirps slowly and calmly, "Everyone quack, each quack"

2. Living habits

(1) Adaptation. Nature: Guinea fowl prefers dryness to wetness, and has strong tolerance to adverse external environments, especially heat. Adult chickens can generally live normally in an environment of -20°C to 40°C. At temperatures as high as 35°C, other chickens open their mouths and pant, but the guinea fowl can still remain quiet, and even egg production will not be greatly affected.

(2) Social nature: Guinea fowls are docile in nature, like to live in groups, and are not good at fighting. Hundreds or thousands of them can live together peacefully. Because guinea fowls are highly gregarious, when they are free-range or free-range, if there is any abnormal movement, they will crowd together, and occasionally stray chickens can find their own flock.

(3) Nervousness and wildness: Guinea fowl are timid, alert, nervous, and easily frightened. Once they encounter an accident, the chickens will become uneasy, scream, escape, run away, or rush randomly. Often results in injury. Therefore, the management of guinea fowl must follow the four words "get used to it"; on the other hand, the environment must be kept quiet and the orderly management regulations must be maintained.

(4) Good at flying and loving to climb: chicks can fly 1 meter in January and 3 meters in 3 months. Therefore, free-range guinea fowls should be fenced and roosts should be installed in the house.

(5) Love to call: Guinea fowl often emit rhythmic calls, especially under abnormal circumstances, the calls become more intense and harsh. For this reason, guinea fowl should be kept fairly far away from where people live.

(6) Mate selection: Guinea fowl are selective towards the opposite sex, which is one of the reasons for the low fertilization rate of guinea fowl when raised in a natural state.

(7) Food habits are wide and mixed: Commonly used poultry feeds can be used to prepare guinea fowl feeds. It is worth noting that guinea fowls particularly like to eat green plants, such as grass, vegetables, grass seeds, leaves, etc. Therefore, feeding more green feed can not only reduce feed costs, but also improve the quality and taste of meat.

(8) Likes sand bathing: When guinea fowls are free-range, they often dig pits on the ground and take a sand bath themselves. Therefore, when raising artificially, a sand bath is provided in the house so that the chickens can wash their feathers in the pool, which is beneficial to the health of the chickens.

3. Production performance: Domesticated guinea fowl matures sexually in 6 months. Hens start to give birth at the age of 28 weeks, and their adult weight is generally 1.75 to 2 kilograms, with a maximum weight of 2.5 kilograms.

The egg laying period is from April to November every year, and 120 to 160 eggs can be laid in one laying period. The average egg weight is 45 grams, with a maximum weight of 55 grams. Guinea fowls are not very good at nesting, and the incubation period is 26 to 27 days. Each breeder chicken consumes approximately 40 to 44 kilograms of feed per year. The optimal slaughtering time for commercial chickens is 12 to 13 weeks of age, the live weight can reach 1.5 to 1.75 kilograms, the feed to meat ratio is 2.7 to 2.8:1, and the overall survival rate is 97% to 98%.

Mating and Breeding

1. The breeding season for guinea fowl is from March to May every year. Its peak is from March to April, and egg production can be postponed to September at the latest. Production will be discontinued due to moult in October. Generally, it is more cost-effective to save seeds for brooding in September. During the breeding period, feeding and management should be strengthened to increase egg production rate based on economic benefits.

2. Identification of male and female guinea fowl. It is difficult to distinguish male and female guinea fowl in appearance from brooding to adulthood. However, the chicks can be distinguished by checking the protrusions of the genitals 24 hours after hatching (refer to laying hens). Identification by anal inversion method).

The difference between male and female adult guinea fowl: First, look at the walking posture. The rooster walks in the "general pose", that is, walking forward; the hen walks in the "foot-binding pose", that is, the feet are lined up in a single row, crossing or kicking. Second, look at the white spots on the nape feathers. The male's white spots are more obvious on the larger side; the female's white spots are smaller and lighter in color. In addition, the male's body is slightly larger and it is difficult to distinguish the other parts. Hens crow loudly before laying eggs, and their cries sound like "well-being"; roosters make "coo-coo" sounds, which sound like frogs, and roosters fight when they are in disorder.

3. Mating and breeding: Roosters with good health and high production performance and hens with good egg-laying performance should be selected for mating. At the same time, blood relationships should be avoided to avoid inbreeding. Inbreeding can fix the traits quickly and make the good traits uniform, but the viability of the offspring often decreases. The adaptability and disease resistance are not strong, and the fecundity is reduced, such as egg production rate, fertilization rate, hatching rate, egg weight reduction, stillbirths and weak fetuses, and growth and development are inhibited. Undesirable consequences such as slow weight gain and smaller body size. In the population, mating can be carried out at a male to female ratio of 1:4. But natural mating in cages is difficult.

During mating, the rooster presses his cock on the back of the hen. After ejaculating, he leaves or falls to the ground. Generally, the mating time is around 10 a.m. or before 4 p.m. Hens usually shed their young feathers before laying eggs, and they look for a corner to make nests in piles, so that they can lay eggs and hold nests here in the future. If any young feathers are scattered when laying eggs, bury them in the pile with their beaks or feet. When there are other hens laying eggs in the nest and the hen is eager to lay eggs, the hen will use its own (feet) to move the eggs into the nest. According to this habit, bricks can be built appropriately around the natural piles of young feathers, which will help the hens lay eggs in a concentrated manner. When the eggs are laid to a certain point, a nest will appear (the rooster will not sit in the nest).

Hatching

1. Source of eggs: Eggs should come from high-yielding, healthy and disease-free chicken farms. The male to female ratio of breeder flocks should be appropriate (1:4). Generally speaking, the fertilization rate of eggs laid in spring and autumn is higher than that in winter and summer. The fertilization rate of new-age eggs is higher than that of old eggs, and the offspring hatched are also in better health. For self-expansion, it is better to save seeds for autumn chicks.

2. Specifications The size and shape of the hatching eggs should be appropriate. They should normally be conical in shape and light brown in color. If it is white or colorless, it is abnormal. The ratio of its horizontal and vertical axes should be about 1:14. Eggs that are too large, too small, too round, or too long are not suitable to be kept as hatching eggs. At the same time, attention should also be paid to the fact that there should be no cracks or cracks on the surface of the eggshell, and the texture should be uniform. Soft-shelled and sharp-shelled eggs should not be used. The hatching eggs should also be clean and hygienic, and there should be no dirt such as feed, feces and soil on the egg surface.

3. Storage The storage time of hatching eggs should not be too long, otherwise it will affect the growth and development of the embryos and cause losses. Generally, the storage time should not exceed one week in spring and autumn, 5 days in summer, and can be extended to about 12 days in winter. The suitable storage temperature is 10-18°C. If it exceeds 24°C, the embryo will begin to develop, and the embryo will die due to aging during incubation. The relative humidity of the air is 70% to 75%. It should be well ventilated and turned once a day (more than 14 days) to avoid shell sticking. No need to turn over anytime soon. It should be stored with the big end facing up to keep the air chamber in a normal state. On the contrary, it is easy to cause the air chamber to vibrate and the embryo position to be incorrect during hatching, thus reducing the hatching rate.

4. Hatching: Soak the eggs in 0.02% potassium permanganate water for 3 to 5 minutes before hatching, or fumigate with potassium aldehyde before hatching. During the incubation process, the eggs should be turned every 1 to 2 hours.

Regardless of whether ventilation is required at night or during the day, open the air door 1/4 in the early stage, 1/2 in the middle stage, and 3/4 to 1 in the late stage. When the eggs are cold, starting from the 15th day of incubation, 2 times a day, 5 to 20 minutes each time, depending on the egg temperature. The temperature of the incubation room must be above 24°C, otherwise the embryo will die. During the incubation process, the eggs were illuminated three times, once on the 7th day, once on the 15th day, and the last time on the 24th day after they were placed on the plate. The chicks hatch on the 26th day. Do not turn the eggs to cool them for the next 3 days, and increase the humidity to 70%.

Incubation temperature: 37~39℃, optimal temperature is 38℃, hatching temperature is 37℃. Incubation humidity: 55% ~ 70%. 55% in the early stage and 70% in the later stage.

A small amount of 2% hatches in 25 days, 80% hatches in 26 days, 18% hatches in 27 days, and those that do not hatch in 27 days can be artificially assisted. After the chicks' feathers are dry, they are detected and put into the brooding room for brooding.

At the same temperature, the artificial incubation method can be used, which is introduced as follows: Use wooden boards with a height of 30 to 40 cm to nail into four rectangular frames and place them on a kang or an electric mattress. Then put a large plastic sheet on it, add water, fold the excess plastic sheet to make a water bag, put quilts and other items on the water bag, and then put the hatching eggs. The key to artificial incubation is to control the temperature and heat the eggs regularly, but the temperature should not be too high or too low. The water heat capacity is large and easy to control. Other technical requirements are the same as those for incubator incubation. In rural areas, it is customary to touch eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs by hand. The same principle applies to touching guinea hen eggs.

Raising of Chicks

Guinea fowl are called chicks from birth to 6 weeks old. The following aspects must be paid attention to in raising at this stage:

1. Ensure Dietary nutrition level The diet must maintain high energy and protein levels, and at the same time pay attention to the supply of minerals and vitamins in the diet. Generally, 24 to 36 hours after hatching, when more than 1/3 of the chicks have foraging activities, they can start eating. The feed for starters is preferably corn flour or granular feeds such as millet and broken rice soaked in hot water. After 5 days of starter feed, compound feed can be fed, and a small amount of green feed can be added. Compound feeds can be made from corn, barley, wheat, broken rice, bran, soybean cake, fish meal and various feed additives according to specific conditions.

2. Choose a suitable brooding method. Cage brooding is generally divided into 5 layers of cages. Each layer has an area of ????120×70 cm to raise 70 chicks. The whole house is kept warm with heating tubes. In the flat free-range brooding, small circles are formed in the pens. About 3 cm of bedding is spread on the ground. 300 chicks can be nursed with an insulating umbrella. Each 250-watt infrared lamp can protect 100 chicks. Generally, small groups are suitable for brooding, with 100 to 300 birds per group, and the stocking density is 50 birds per square meter. Later, as the chicks grow, the stocking density will be gradually reduced.

3. Strengthen the feeding and management of chicks. First of all, pay attention to heat preservation. Keep the brooding temperature at 35-37℃ in the first week, and then gradually decrease, about 2-3℃ every week, until it is the same as room temperature. Secondly, pay attention to indoor hygiene, change bedding frequently, and clean and disinfect drinking fountains, food troughs and other utensils frequently. In order to prevent the feces and litter in the chicken house from fermenting and producing harmful gases, ventilation must be provided to eliminate indoor dirty air and promote the healthy growth of chicks.

Raising of adult chickens

Guinea fowls are raised in the brooding house for 6 weeks before entering the adult chicken raising stage. According to different breeding purposes, they can be divided into broilers and breeder chickens.

1. Broiler chickens can be raised in two ways: house feeding and grazing. The pens can be divided into small rooms for raising, with no more than 1,000 chickens in each room. Some bedding is laid on the ground inside the house, and 8 to 10 chickens can be raised per square meter. A perch should be set up in the pen for the chickens to stand. fall. In terms of management, the "all in, all out" system should be adopted, that is, the chickens in each pen or room should be put into the house and put out together. After the animals are put out of the market, all the equipment will be taken out, disinfected and left idle for a week before the second batch of breeding is carried out.

Guinea fowl grazing should be raised according to local conditions. The grassland in front of the house, the hillside behind the village, hilly wasteland, and riverside forest belts can all be used. For larger flocks of chickens, some simple sheds or movable chicken coops with built-in perches should be built before grazing, and are required to be protected from rain and animals. There must be drinking water and supplementary feeding conditions in the farm. When starting to graze, first keep them in the shed for one night, and then feed around the shed the next day to let the chickens become familiar with the location of the shed and the grazing environment. Afterwards, the chickens will be fed with a certain sound as a signal to gradually form Conditioned reflex, easy to call the chickens.

2. Raising of breeder chickens: Reserve breeder chickens are raised at about 25 weeks of age when their reproductive organs are mature.

Restricted feeding should be adopted, especially since female guinea fowls have a strong ability to deposit fat. If they are fed in the open, they will easily become overfat, which will affect egg production and reproduction. For breeder chickens during the breeding period, the weight of female chickens is preferably 1.56 to 1.8 kilograms, and that of male chickens is 1.9 to 2.1 kilograms.

When moulting before laying eggs, the protein content in the diet should reach 16%. During the peak period of egg laying, the protein can be increased to 18% to 20%, and each hen must consume 18% of protein. About 0.5 grams, 0.5% coarse sand needs to be added to the diet. The optimal lighting time during the laying period is 14 to 16 hours a day. Generally, fluorescent lamps can be used to extend the lighting in chicken houses, and the lighting intensity is maintained at 5 to 20 lux.

The formula of compound feed: grain feed (corn, broken rice, barley, etc.) 55%, bran (rice bran, bran) 10%, plant protein feed (soybean cake, peanut cake, substance 2% (Stone powder 0.4%, bone meal 1.5%, salt 0.1%), vitamins and trace elements and other additives 0.5% (methionine 0.08%, lysine 0.12%, multidimensional 0.015%, oxytetracycline 0.025%, trace element additives 0.26%), Green feed (weeds, vegetables, leaves, tender stems and leaves of crops, etc.) 7.5%. Feed and drinking water are required to be fed separately, and the feed is mainly dry powder (except green feed)

Disease prevention.

Chicks aged 7 to 15 days can use Newcastle Disease II vaccine diluted intranasally, eye drops or drinking water.

Chickens aged 30 to 35 days can be injected intramuscularly with Newcastle Disease I vaccine.

Add 0.02% oxytetracycline to the feed within 3 to 5 days of feeding to prevent white diarrhea in young guinea fowls. If you suffer from intestinal diseases, if the sanitary conditions are poor and the feed is moldy and spoiled, you should use drugs to control enteritis such as Xie Li Ting. The dosage should be strictly controlled to prevent poisoning.

The temperature should not be high or low. Sudden changes in temperature can prevent colds by giving them penicillin and drinking water.

The feed standards must be met. If the standards are not met, some individuals may suffer from metabolic diseases, such as paralysis, falling, loose feathers, and loose stools. General chicken feed should be supplemented with multiple vitamins and trace elements to prevent metabolic diseases.

In case of diarrhea or enteritis during grazing, it is very easy to die. For feeding and management problems, check the feed quality and quickly prescribe medication. Guinea fowl are relatively sensitive to temperature. When the insulation conditions are poor, they suffer from more gastrointestinal diseases and have poor growth and development. Some sick chickens were dissected and died in one field. The main cause of dead chickens is Salmonella disease, and the anatomical lesions are mainly typhoid fever. Each chicken can be treated with 200 mg of chloramphenicol daily, and the treatment effect is very good.

In addition, it should be used regularly to prevent and treat coccidiosis. Drug prevention

Other common diseases of guinea fowl are similar to those of chickens and turkeys, and can be treated according to their treatment