If the guinea fowl is kept in good conditions, and nothing interferes with its normal development, then by the age of 8 months it becomes sexually mature and is able to lay eggs. But when creating particularly comfortable conditions, the bird can begin egg laying at the age of six months.
When does oviposition begin?
The maturity of guinea fowls is not tied to the time of year. It can come in the cold season, but full egg laying will begin only with the onset of spring. Maturation of females in practice falls on the 6th-9th month.
The timing is affected by such factors:
- how comfortable conditions are created for the bird;
- how nutritious and varied the diet;
- house lighting and other factors.
The start of oviposition depends on a combination of factors affecting puberty - usually it occurs in the first or second half of spring.
Guinea fowl - poultry, which under favorable conditions is characterized by high egg productivity. With proper maintenance and feeding, the “king bird” can become a profitable business.
Males are late with maturation, it occurs in them in 10-11 months. Therefore, males of the same age cannot fertilize females reaching puberty 3-4 months earlier. If young laying hens are already rushing, and there are no sexually mature males in the house, the eggs will be unfertilized - not suitable for breeding.
Features egg laying guinea fowl
Guinea fowl are characterized by growing masonry. This means that the process of laying eggs is dynamically changing upwards. It looks something like this:
- Having reached maturity, females lay eggs with an interval of one day.
- After a certain time, they carry several eggs daily - for example, they can be carried daily for several days.
- For two to three months, the egg productivity of guinea fowls is gradually increasing. But soon the layers take a break - they just need to make up for the loss of the body and prepare it for future egg laying.
To find out if a guinea fowl rushes, check its pelvis. If the scrap bones diverge, then the abdomen of the bird is soft and voluminous - it is in the stage of oviposition.
What egg laying depends on:
- From the age of the bird. Each subsequent year takes from hens 5-20% of productivity.
- From the weight of the bird. Moderately fat laying layers are characterized by the longest egg production.
- From the conditions of detention and nutrition.
Age dependent
Egg production, as the guinea fowl ages, decreases, and the size of eggs, on the contrary, increases. The dependence of the weight of the eggs on the age of the layers is in table 1.
Table 1
Life span of a laying hen | Egg Weight, g |
First year | 40-44 |
Second year | 43-46 |
It happens that the weight of eggs decreases, and the number grows. But this rarely happens in guinea fowl life. In addition, farmers do not keep layers longer than 2-3 years.
On average, guinea fowl brings 130 eggs per year. The egg production range is quite wide - from 70 to 190 pieces per year. Record holders are able to lay up to three hundred eggs.
Season dependent
Egg production of guinea fowls depends on the season:
- A stable rate of egg laying lasts, under favorable conditions, from March to November.
- In the northern regions, laying hens begin to lay eggs no earlier than May.
- During the laying process, violations of its pace may be observed. It may fade and resume again. The periods of oscillation are 2-3 months.
Months of egg production are presented in table 2.
table 2
Oviposition period | When occurs months |
Start | February March |
Peak | May June |
Ending | October November |
On egg productivity favorably affects:
- the duration of the summer;
- number of sunny days;
- the length of time the succulent feed is available.
The warmer the climate in the locality of their residence, the higher the fertility, hatching of offspring and the productivity of guinea fowls.
If the chicken coop is equipped with special settings that regulate the temperature, lighting features, then laying hens will be carried continuously for 9 months.
Why do guinea fowls stop rushing?
Often, beginning poultry farmers are faced with the fact that guinea fowls stop laying eggs, although the egg laying season should, in theory, continue. The problem most often lies in adverse conditions of detention:
- Cold in the house. If the shed is not insulated, and the temperature drops below + 12 ° C, the laying hens will “strike”.
- Non-compliance with sanitary regulations. If the floor of the house is dirty, guinea fowls refuse to rush. It is often necessary to clean the house, change the litter and ventilate the room.
- The drinking water is dirty. To please the laying hens, the water in the drinking bowls needs to be changed regularly - so that it is fresh. If this is not done, the food eaten by the birds will be poorly digested. This is especially important if the bird eats compound feed.
- Poor nutrition. In the cold, guinea fowls lack the insects they love so much. If you do not compensate for their absence with protein mixtures, egg production will drop. The lack of greenery also negatively affects the number of eggs laid - you need to make up for it with root crops and vegetable waste. In warm times, a lack of nutrients can be observed in the absence of calcium-containing additives, yeast, bone meal, fish oil, dairy products, legumes and grains.
- Stress. Guinea fowl are very shy birds. To break the egg, just scare them or change the feed. It happens that even replacing the type of litter can unbalance them.
In winter, it is recommended to give the guinea fowl finely chopped needles - this is a generous source of vitamin C. But it is strictly forbidden to give the needles to the bird in spring when the trees grow. At this time, the needles contain too much concentration of essential oils, which can harm guinea fowl.
Do you need a hen?
Usually, farmers take all the eggs laid by guinea fowls. If the female lays on her eggs, then she stops laying her eggs until the next season - this is completely unprofitable. In addition, guinea fowls are so easily frightened, and their maternal instinct is so weakly expressed that the likelihood that they will safely land the chicks is low.
However, when creating favorable conditions for hatching, and especially with pair keeping of birds, the guinea fowl can hatch offspring, and later take care of it. Hatching lasts 26-28 days.
Cons of natural excretion:
- Guinea fowl may “change his mind”. She will leave eggs and go about her business. As a result, you will urgently need to look for a brood hen.
- While the guinea fowl sits, or “thinks” whether to hatch eggs or not, the farmer loses in egg productivity, since the guinea fowl does not rush during the incubation period.
In order to safely breed offspring without losing the pace of egg laying, farmers prefer to use incubators for breeding guinea fowl.
Preparing for incubation:
- Collect eggs laid by guinea fowls older than one year. They, unlike chicken, have a more pointed tip. The color of the shell is brown, often speckled eggs are found. Eggs are collected after the 20th day from the start of oviposition. If you take it earlier, it is likely that they will be worthless. The optimal shelf life for eggs is 6-7 days. The weight of a fertilized egg is from 40 g.
- Each egg is treated with iodine, potassium permanganate or a quartz lamp.
- Check for suitability by mechanical means. When tapping each other, the eggs should not crack and rattle.
For incubation do not take eggs of a marble shade - they are often "empty". It is believed that specks on the shell are a sign of a poor-quality embryo.
How do breed and color of plumage affect egg production?
The egg production of guinea fowls is influenced by the characteristics of the breed - productivity, frost resistance, exacting maintenance. Guinea fowl are bred for meat, so it is profitable to start broiler breeds. Now the best French broiler guinea fowl is considered the best - it has high egg production, large eggs and high meat productivity (up to 3.5 kg). The dependence of egg production on the breed is in table 3.
Table 3
Breed | Egg production, pieces per year | Egg weight, g |
French broiler | 140-150 | up to 50 |
Volga white | 150 | 45 |
Speckled gray | 90-100 | 45 |
Blue | 130-150 | 40-45 |
White Siberian | 110 | 50 |
Poultry farmers also noticed that the egg productivity of guinea fowls is related to their color. The dependence of egg production on color is in table 4.
Table 4
Colour | Egg production, pcs. in year |
Gray | 90 |
Blue | up to 100 |
White | more than 100 |
Factors affecting the number of eggs
The owner of the guinea fowl can affect their egg production, improving conditions. What can increase the egg productivity of laying hens:
- Favorable regimen. It is advisable that the temperature in the house does not drop below 14 ° C.
- Compliance with housing standards. For 5 birds - not less than 1 square. m square.
- Lighting. At the age of 5 months, guinea fowls need an 8-hour daylight, and from 6 months, lighting is increased by an hour per week - up to 16 hours. In winter, guinea fowls need light from 7 to 22 hours.
- Separate house. Guinea fowl should not be kept together with other poultry - they need a separate insulated room in which collective nests are organized.
- Air mode. In the house, it is necessary to provide a ventilation mode.
- Nutrition Compound feeds and grass alone are not enough for laying hens; the ration should include:
- corn;
- fish fat;
- dairy products.
- Walking. To increase egg production, and the bird was gaining weight, it is recommended to keep it more on a free range. Here guinea fowls can be all daylight hours. The corral is fenced with a high net - guinea fowl fly well.
- Drinking mode. Clean water should be freely available at all times. It must be changed in a timely manner, since birds like to climb into the drinkers with their feet.
Negatively affect egg production can:
- age of laying hens;
- season;
- body features, illness, or weakened immunity.
How much are guinea fowl eggs?
Eggs laid by productive breeds - blue, white, gray guinea fowl, cost 35-60 rubles. a piece.
Eggs laid by decorative rocks - purple or black guinea fowl, are much more expensive - 300-400 rubles.
Eggs of extremely rare breeds - scruffy or vulture guinea fowl, cost up to 3000 rubles. a piece.
Expert Advice
Guinea fowl behavior is different from chicken habits, so beginners should carefully study them. Farmers with experience in breeding guinea fowl advise:
- To increase egg production, feed the guinea fowl with mixed feed for broiler chickens.
- When keeping guinea fowls on a daily walk, replenish their feeders twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. In the fresh air, the bird will perfectly feed, eating grass, seeds and insects - an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.
- In order to maximize egg production, white and light gray guinea fowls must be bred.
- Do not take for breeding small eggs laid by young females. Such eggs are highly likely that the fetus will die, or that non-viable chicks will be born.
- The fertility of males decreases after two years of age, so they are sent for slaughter.
- Guinea fowl are flocking birds; therefore, they do not lay eggs in "single" nests, but in the collective. But sometimes, laying hens rush on the paddock, then they leave eggs right on the ground or in the grass. Farmers know how to prevent the loss of eggs - since guinea fowl rush before lunch, it is better to let them out on a walk in the afternoon.
Knowing the peculiarities of the content of guinea fowl, and creating favorable conditions for them, one can increase egg production to a maximum. Getting fertilized eggs in the required quantity, you can actively breed guinea fowl for meat, for which they are kept.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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