Smallholder Helmeted Guinea Fowl Production in the Tropics

This book contains information on how to rear guinea fowls in the tropics. It teaches readers where to site the production unit and the factors that should be considered when choosing a place for guinea fowl production. It also offers some titbits that entrepreneurs can use in their plan for a successful venture. Generally certain items have to be acquired for a successful production and this book makes mention of these items, some of which are drinkers, feeders and heat source. This book gives a description of structures that would be suitable for brooding purpose and that for adult birds. Advice is also given on how far apart the brooding house should be from other structures and the care that needs to be taken to keep vermin away from the brooder facility. Very young keets are very delicate and require a lot of care to keep them alive. This book recommends stocking rates that would help optimise return on production. Examples of records that should be kept to enhance decision making about the production have also been provided. Obtaining fertile eggs for hatching can sometimes be tricky and so this book gives some suggestions on how to obtain your fertile eggs. Eggs have to be properly stored prior to incubation, and they should not be stored for too long otherwise the embryo in them would die. Care must be exercised in the handling of eggs for hatching. It is important to observe good hygiene. Titbits are given on how to maximize the hatch that you get from your incubator. There is a section on the handling of day old keets. The author sheds light on whether or not day old keets may be offered solid feed. Up to seven days old keets are prone to getting drowned in their drinkers or getting trapped in their feeders. Certain measures are therefore necessary to obviate such accidents. The author recommends a medication regimen for keets up to 8 weeks old and shares his opinion on whether or not to vaccinate the local guinea fowl. Brooder house heating regimen is also provided for readers to adapt. Information is also provided on the nutritional quality and quantity of feed required by a keet in a brooding facility. A few suggestions are made as to how to reduce feed wastage. A guide is given on feed formulation. If calcium and phosphorus contents of the feed are not enough the keets may develop leg paralysis. This problem can however be offset by exposing the keets to sunlight from the fifteenth day of age onwards. The author stresses the need for all sharp corners at the ground level in the brooder facility to which guinea keets have access to be rounded off to prevent stampede, suffocation and subsequent death of keets. The issue of sex determination in guinea keets is still yet to be unravelled. A lot of care is required for proper transportation of guinea fowls otherwise they would perish. If many guinea fowls are transported together in one cage, there may be stampede and death of some of the guinea fowls.
Season, feed protein content and quantity offered to breeding stock are three important determinants of the extent of egg production by guinea fowls. If feeding is adequate, a sex ratio of 1 male: 4 females may result in more fertile egg production. On the other hand where feed is in short supply, a sex ratio of 1:2 may be adopted.
The older the birds become, the lower the total annual egg production. Increasing the length of day light may induce guinea fowls to produce more eggs. Feed containing about 14% protein will be suitable for laying guinea fowls.
There may not be any good economic reason for feeding free ranging guinea hens lots of supplementary feed. In the off season when birds are not laying, feeding them 2.5% of their body weight as supplementary feed may help prevent fatty liver syndrome. If feasible young laying birds may be fed about twice a day as opposed to once a day as feeding twice a day may be associated with higher egg output.