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Poultry farmers looking at guinea fowls would like to understand which breed is better to take and how these breeds differ from each other. To begin with, it is necessary, in general, to figure out where are the individual species, and where are the breeds of guinea fowl, since even the vulture guinea fowl can be found on the net under the label “breed”, although this bird does not matter for productive breeding.
First of all, you need to deal with the species, so that later you don’t get confused when buying caesarlings or eggs on an ad.
Types of guinea fowls with a photo
The common thing between guinea fowls is that they all come from a single ancient landmass: Africa and the nearby island of Madagascar. Since these species are not productive and information about them is needed only for informational purposes, it makes no sense to give a detailed description.
According to the modern classification, all guinea fowls belong to the guinea fowl family, which is divided into four genera:
- vulture;
- dark;
- crested;
- empress
There is only one species in the genus Griffins.
vulture
It lives in the semi-desert regions of Africa. The bird is beautiful, but not domesticated.
The genus of dark guinea fowl includes two species: the white-bellied dark guinea fowl and the black dark guinea fowl.
white-bellied dark
An inhabitant of the West African subtropical forests. As tempting as it may be to think that the white-breasted domestic breed is descended from it, it is not. This species is also not domesticated. Due to the destruction of the habitat, it is included in the Red Book.
Black dark
It lives in the jungles of Central Africa. Even little is known about the lifestyle of this bird, not to mention the fact that it was kept at home.
The genus of crested guinea fowl also includes two species: smooth-crested and forelock guinea fowl.
smooth-crested
Somewhat similar to the domestic, but has dark plumage and smooth bare skin on the head and neck. Instead of a growth-comb, on the head of a crested guinea fowl there are feathers resembling a rooster’s comb. The bird lives in Central Africa in the primary forest. Behavior and lifestyle are poorly studied. Not domesticated.
Chubataya
It lives south of the Sahara in semi-savannas and open forests. The bird has a slightly greenish plumage, shimmering with an emerald sheen, and a black crest on its head, looking as if the guinea fowl had just been beaten up properly. This species is also not domesticated.
The genus guinea fowl includes only one species: the common guinea fowl.
In the wild, it is distributed south of the Sahara desert and in Madagascar. It was this species that was domesticated and gave rise to all domestic breeds.
Guinea fowl breeds
Since the time of domestication, guinea fowls have been mainly bred for meat. Most breeds retain the size and weight of a wild ancestor, but broiler breeds of guinea fowl are twice the weight of a wild bird.
Broiler guinea fowl was little known in the USSR. For some reason, these birds were generally little known there. Today, broilers are gaining their positions in the CIS. As a meat breed, the French broiler guinea fowl is the most profitable.
French broiler
A very large breed, the male of which can reach 3,5 kg of live weight. Even broiler breeds of guinea fowl grow slowly compared to chickens, so at 3 months French broilers reach only 1 kg of weight.
In France, the most expensive caesar carcasses weigh 0,5 kg.
In a bird, the color is similar to the wild form, but the head is colored brighter. With a meat orientation, this breed has good egg production characteristics: 140 – 150 eggs per year. At the same time, the eggs are one of the largest and reach a weight of 50 g.
For breeding on an industrial scale, this bird is kept on a deep litter of 400 guinea fowl in one room. Theoretically, birds are placed at the rate of 15 birds per square meter. That is, as much space is given to guinea fowl as to broiler chickens.
On the one hand, this is correct, since the guinea fowl only looks very large due to the large number of feathers, the body of the bird itself does not exceed chicken sizes. On the other hand, active protests have begun against such content today, since such crowded content not only causes stress for birds, but also contributes to disease outbreaks on farms.
In the private economy, these considerations are often irrelevant. Even broiler breeds of poultry walk around the yard among private traders, and they only come into the room to spend the night. In this case, the standards of 25×25 cm per bird are quite normal.
Volga white
The first breed of guinea fowl, bred in Our Country, more precisely, back in the Soviet Union. Registered in 1986. The breed was bred to obtain guinea fowl meat on an industrial scale and is perfectly adapted to life on poultry farms.
If it were not for the dark eyes and the red color of the earrings, the birds could be safely written down as albinos. They have white plumage, light beaks and paws, white and pink carcass. This color is commercially more profitable than dark, since dark carcasses look unappetizing and not everyone decides to buy a “black chicken”. White caesarine carcass is much more aesthetically attractive.
Birds of the Volga breed are gaining weight well and are broilers. At 3 months, the young weigh already 1,2 kg. The weight of adults is 1,8 – 2,2 kg.
The egg-laying season for this breed lasts 8 months and during this time the female can lay 150 eggs weighing 45 g. The safety of hatched chickens in birds of this breed is more than 90%.
mottled gray
Once the most numerous guinea fowl on the territory of the Union, bred for meat. With the advent of new breeds, the number of speckled grays began to decline.
The weight of an adult female does not exceed two kilograms. Males are slightly lighter and weigh about 1,6 kg. At 2 months, cesareans weigh 0,8 – 0,9 kg. Representatives of this breed are sent for slaughter at 5 months, while the meat has not yet become tough, and the carcass is already fully formed.
Puberty in the breed occurs no earlier than 8 months. Birds usually begin to rush in the spring at the age of 10 ± 1 months. During the season, females of this breed can lay up to 90 eggs.
Mottled gray incubate reluctantly and only after two years. But if the speckled decided to become a hen, she will be an excellent mother.
The hatchability of chicks in speckled gray is 60%. At the same time, the young hatch strong enough to be able to save 100% of the chickens using high-quality feed and creating good conditions for the young.
Blue
The photo does not convey all the beauty of the plumage of this breed. In reality, the bird has a really blue feather with small white specks. When moving, the feathers move, and the guinea fowl shimmers with a pearly sheen. This is the most beautiful breed of all available. And it’s worth getting it not even for meat, but to decorate the yard.
But in terms of productive characteristics, this breed is not at all bad. The birds are quite large. The female weighs 2 – 2,5 kg, the Caesar 1,5 – 2 kg. They lay 120 to 150 eggs per year. The eggs are not the smallest, weighing 40 – 45 g.
With hatchability, blues are even better than speckled: 70%. But much worse with the survival of chickens: 52%. At 2,5 months, the cesareans of this breed weigh an average of 0,5 kg.
White Siberian
To obtain the Siberian breed, gray speckled ones were used, crossing them with other breeds. Birds were bred for cold regions and have good frost resistance. Due to cold resistance, this breed is especially popular in Omsk.
When breeding the Siberian breed, breeders increased not only frost resistance, but also egg production. The productivity of these guinea fowls is 25% higher than that of the original speckled gray breed. On average, females carry 110 eggs weighing 50 g, that is, in terms of egg production, they are second only to French broilers, and only in terms of the number of eggs laid during the laying period.
But in terms of weight, the “Siberians” are significantly inferior to the French. The weight of the Siberian breed does not exceed 2 kg.
Reviews of some breeds of guinea fowl
Conclusion
When choosing the breed used for meat production, attention should be paid to growth rate, carcass weight and, to a lesser extent, egg production. If you do not plan to breed birds for sale for meat, then 40 cesareans from one female, bred in an incubator, will be enough for the family for a long time. And considering that 5-6 females are needed for one male, then caesar meat after growing all the chickens will be enough for a year.