At what age do guinea fowls begin to lay and how can the egg production period be accelerated?

0

3045

Article rating

When guinea fowls begin to lay eggs and in what quantities depends entirely on the conditions of keeping and feeding the birds, so you need to know how to provide the guinea fowls with proper care. You can build a good guinea fowl business.

When guinea fowls start to lay eggs

Guinea fowls, or, as they are also called, royal chickens, are the closest relatives of domestic chicken. In the wild, these variegated birds have darker plumage, but domestic ones have a higher egg production.

Characteristics of guinea fowls

These birds differ from domestic chicken only in their unusual appearance. Often, guinea fowls are kept not only for meat and eggs, but also purely for decorative purposes. Their main external differences are the following features:

• the body is elongated, oval;
• the head is not feathered, covered with red-blue spots, incommensurably small in comparison with the body;
• plumage with white circles over its entire surface;
• the wings are small, rounded;
• the tail is almost not marked;
• the color range ranges from dark gray to white;
• there is a small comb on the top of the head.

The homeland of birds is Africa, it is for this reason that they are more accustomed to heat. In the wild, guinea fowls live in small flocks, feeding on grass, seeds and small insects.

Life expectancy is about 10 years, but domestic guinea fowls are kept for no more than 3 years for the sake of regular updating of the livestock. Individuals scheduled for slaughter are transferred to a special food system in advance.

When the guinea fowl begin to rush

When guinea fowls begin to lay at home and how many eggs they give, depends on the conditions of the bird. In nature, representatives of this species lay eggs only in the warm season. Cold snaps reduce the egg production of a bird, and then completely exclude it.

The first oviposition occurs with the onset of puberty, which is 6-8 months. This difference is due to the presence or absence of specialized supplements in the diet. Males mature a little later. And it turns out that males of the same age with sexually mature females cannot fertilize eggs. If there are no males in the flock, chickens can carry without them, but this way they cannot get offspring.

The growing type of masonry is inherent in birds. This means that, when the guinea fowls begin to lay eggs, they do it every other day, and after that they can lay 2-6 eggs in a row. Within 2-3 months, their egg production increases, then the chickens stop laying for a while. This is due to the body's need to replenish vitality for subsequent laying. It is not difficult to find out if the guinea fowls are rushing. To do this, it is necessary to check the pelvis of the bird for the divergence of scrap bones. The abdomen becomes plump and soft.

With age, the productivity of birds decreases by 10-20%, but the size of the eggs only increases.This is logical, because a small young guinea fowl will not be able to lay a large egg. Such eggs, unlike the first small ones, are ideal for setting in an incubator.

Based on the observations of breeders, how much the female will lay during the egg-laying period directly depends on her color. White and light gray individuals have higher productivity and can carry 150-170 pieces. Females of dark gray or wild color - maximum 110 pieces.

How to speed up the process? At what age the guinea fowls begin to lay and how many eggs one of them will give depends on the onset of puberty. In their homeland, in African countries, this happens much earlier due to the hot climate. Birds will start laying eggs after 6 months, not earlier. In domestic conditions, this feathered representative of the family begins laying eggs at 8-9 months, or even later. To speed up the process, it is recommended:

1. Introducing food rich in valuable amino acids into the diet will help the guinea fowl's body develop faster.
2. Raise the air temperature in the chicken coop. But do not forget about ventilation, so that the guinea fowls simply do not get burned.
3. Increase daylight hours with electric lighting from 8 to 16 hours. Drinkers and feeders should be installed in the barn at this time.

If, when buying young animals, the seller is silent about the age at which the guinea fowls are rushing, which are for sale, then most likely the chicks were not fed with compound feed to accelerate puberty. The new owner will have to start from scratch, which will significantly postpone the result.

Why do guinea fowls stop rushing

Sometimes it happens that the productivity of the flock falls and why the guinea fowls are not rushing is not clear. This is mainly due to the violation of the conditions for keeping birds:

• cold shed;
• the floor is heavily soiled with droppings;
• there is no clean water in the drinking bowls;
• the diet is not nutritious enough.

Also, the reason that the guinea fowls stopped rushing can be trivial stress due to a change in feed, fright, a decrease in daylight hours, a decrease in temperature. Guinea fowls are very shy birds, and it is recommended to expose them to stressful situations as little as possible. So, a small puppy in the courtyard can be the reason why the guinea fowls do not lay eggs.

Conditions for keeping guinea fowl to increase egg production

Guinea fowls are not only laying poultry, but also a source of delicious meat. In order for the bird to be able to fully develop and give an egg every day, it is necessary to take care of the proper conditions of detention and the correct diet.

It is better to keep birds free-range than in a barn: this way they have the opportunity to eat insects and fresh grasses throughout the day. Compound feed should be given in the morning before grazing and in the evening. Compound feeds for broiler chickens are excellent. The grazing area is fenced off with a net so that the birds do not scatter. The top of the pen is also recommended to be made of mesh, because the nimble birds fly very well.

Clean water should be available at all times. Often, guinea fowls climb right into the drinkers with their paws, thereby polluting the water. It is necessary to monitor this and promptly replace it with a clean one.

Breeding egg-laying guinea fowls

The way the guinea fowl rush is not very similar to the laying of domestic chickens. The chicken finds a secluded place and lays its eggs there, and then incubates them itself. But guinea fowls look for holes and depressions in the ground and prefer collective laying. This means that the laying hen lays eggs every day in the place where the whole flock is already laying.

For breeding, a young male and 2-3 females are selected at the age of 1.5-2 years. The maximum fertilization of eggs is observed in March-April. The male must be selected with a large growth on the head, as well as a large wax. Females, on the other hand, should have small "earrings", a soft, voluminous belly, which means the divergence of the scrap bones for laying eggs.

Judging by the observations of breeders, white and light gray guinea fowls have a higher egg production, which means that how many birds lay eggs depends on the color of the plumage. Males of wild dark gray color reluctantly mate with lighter females, which cannot be said about their own kind.

Guinea fowls are not very good mothers. They can leave the clutch for a long time, which is why the chicks die. Artificial incubation of eggs is preferable. This period lasts 28 days. It is important to maintain a stable temperature and humidity in the incubator. At low humidity, the films under the shell can adhere to the body of the chick, thereby complicating the hatching process.

On days 21-23 after laying the eggs, they are checked for the viability of the embryo using an ovoscope (transillumination device). They are manual for checking one egg or stationary, in which you can place several pieces. There is also a way to check embryos without special equipment. It was used in the old days. They put an egg in a fine sieve and see what comes of it. If the chick is alive inside, then the oscillatory movements of the egg itself will become noticeable. But if the egg remains motionless, the embryo froze and must be removed from the clutch.

Small eggs from young females have a high percentage of chick freezing or weak cubs being born. For this reason, it is necessary to select for reproduction already sufficiently ripe and grown-up guinea fowls. The fertility of the male drops significantly after two years of age, which means that such individuals are sent for slaughter to obtain meat.

Breeding guinea fowls is not such a difficult task, provided that some of its features are observed. Their meat is dietary, and eggs have a higher value than chicken and even quail.

Valuable qualities of products from guinea fowls

It does not matter at what age the birds entered and whether there is a male in the flock, their eggs invariably have high quality and delicate taste. The eggs are pear-shaped and lightweight - about 40 grams. There are a number of distinctive qualities of egg products, thanks to which more than one poultry cannot be compared with the guinea fowl:

1. Hypoallergenic. Like quail eggs, guinea fowl eggs can be eaten by people who are allergic to chicken protein.
2. High iron content. It is recommended to introduce this product into the diet of people suffering from low hemoglobin, pregnant women, as well as with a breakdown or blood donation.
3. High iron content. It is recommended to introduce this product into the diet of people suffering from low hemoglobin, pregnant women, as well as with a breakdown or blood donation.
4. Low calorie content - only 45 calories. Because of how many calories an egg contains, it can be considered a dietary food.

It is recommended to take well washed, dried and subsequently ground into powder eggshells instead of calcium-containing preparations. The shells are rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins D, E and B. It doesn't matter at what age you take this powder. It is useful for children during the period of growth and formation of the bone skeleton, as well as for the elderly for the prevention of age-related bone diseases.

Males are slaughtered at 5 months, at which time their meat is most tender. Females, when they no longer rush. The weight of a carcass received from an adult guinea fowl does not exceed 1.5 kg. In the second year, only the breeding stock is left.

Conclusion

Guinea fowl meat is a dietary product due to its low fat content (less than 1%). Also, the mass fraction of dry matter is much higher than in chicken, because of this, the pulp has a denser structure. Guinea fowl meat is hypoallergenic. It is ideal for infants and allergy sufferers with chicken protein intolerance.

Because of its cyanosis, the carcass of the guinea fowl has an unpresentable presentation. This is due to too thin skin and dark color of muscle tissue.The muscles of the guinea fowl have a high level of hemoglobin, the meat has a darker hue and is visible through the skin. In the process of heat treatment, the carcass brightens.