Guinea fowl farming is an agricultural technique that involves keeping guinea fowl indoors, in controlled areas of a poultry farm, on a diet of mash and seeds. As the birds forage for food and scratch to dig up insects, they excrete droppings that serve as fertilizer on the ground beneath them. Many farmers have had success with this method in climates with low humidity levels, yielding rates as high as 80% compared with 50% in traditional outdoor systems.
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What is guinea fowl?
Guinea fowl are poultry birds. It is originating from Africa. Guinea fowl is a species of bird in the pheasant family that is kept for its meat and eggs.
A galliform, it is native to the dry savannahs of West Africa. Guinea fowl are now widely distributed elsewhere, including North America, and have been introduced to many other parts of the world. Different species and hybrids of guineafowl are kept as poultry for their eggs and their distinctive fleshy crests (in some types called wattle or beard).
Best 8 Advantages of Guinea Fowl Farming Business
- They are dual-purpose birds, they can lay 120-200 eggs in a year, and the quality of the eggs is similar to that of a chicken egg.
- Their meat is lean it contains less fat and low calories.
- The protein content in their meat is high; it has feathers and good-quality skin which can be sold as by-products.
- It is easier to maintain than chicken.
- It is cheaper to feed and house a guinea fowl than a chicken.
- If kept in a cage the guinea fowls can be kept by themselves.
- Due to their hardiness, they can survive in harsher weather conditions that are not suitable for other poultry birds.
- They are usually sold in the market when they are less than 3 months of age so that buyers and sellers need not wait for long.
Maintenance
- Easy to maintenance
- They are kept very close to the floor level.
- They can be fed with seeds, grain, and mash only. They need very little water to drink and eat,
- The flooring of cages should be made of hard material (metal, cement, or sand).
- They should be kept in a cage with wooden flooring so that they do not feel the coldness.
- Cages should be constructed such that their wings are not injured.
How to Start Guinea Fowl Farming Business?
You should decide where you want to establish the business. You must have a good place to build your guinea fowl farm, a building that provides shelter and shelter. You must know the type of guinea fowl that you are going to rear; different species and hybrids vary in size and behavior, but each of them is easy to handle as they do not fly away like other poultry birds.
Find out the number of guinea fowls that you want to rear. You might want to purchase them in small quantities so that your investment is not huge. You should determine if you are going to build cages or if you will build open houses for them. If you decide that you have enough space then it is better to have open houses for them. Make sure that the house has good ventilation, and that it is not too cold for the birds.
Select a Good Location
You need to select a good location for your guinea fowl farm. You should make sure that the place is clean and has minimal humidity. Your guinea fowls will not fare well in humid weather conditions so you must ensure that the area is dry and has no water. You must select a place that is bright and has enough sun, but it does not get too hot during the summer months.
Ideally, you need to choose a climate where there are low humidity levels, but you can still have some rain during your rainy season. You should Have an electricity facility and Ensure a good transportation system is available near the selected location.
Housing
You need to build a house that can protect your guinea fowls from harsh weather conditions. To ensure the comfort of your guinea fowls, you need to have enough space for their bodies; you need to make sure that the space between each cage is more than enough.
Generally, 2-3 square feet of space will be good for each bird. Consider good flooring facilities for your guinea fowls. You can keep the flooring of the cage in good condition by using sawdust. This way, you will not spend money on replacing floors.
Breeding
When you start the business, you will face some competition for guinea fowls at the market. Also, you will need to wait for a long time if you are going to buy ready-reared guinea fowls, they are normally sold when they are less than 3 months of age. Guinea fowls can be bred all year round, but they should be bred in the spring when it is warm and summer months.
The best time for breeding is the middle of October to February. The chicks are usually 6-7 weeks old when they are purchased. Human beings have domesticated guinea fowls for thousands of years since they were first domesticated by the ancient Egyptians.
Feeding
You need to feed your guinea fowls with good quality food. You can feed your birds with corn and soya beans but you must ensure that the material is fresh. Make sure that your cage is always filled with food so that the birds are never short of it. Guinea fowls have different dietary requirements.
You need to ensure that you are aware of what you will be feeding them, to avoid malnourishment. If you have decided to build cages for your guinea fowl, you should use good material so that the safety of the birds is ensured. You must also ensure that there are no pests, like ants, on your guinea fowl farm; this will help you keep away from pests.
Other care and management
They can tolerate harsh climate conditions but you should shelter them and make sure that they are comfortable. If you are going to use open houses for them then you should ensure that there is good ventilation and it does not get too cold if the temperature is low.
If you have decided to build cages for your guinea fowl, then it may be a bit expensive. However, if you are going to build small cages, then the cost of construction will not be high. Make sure that your guinea fowl farm is clean and safe so that your birds can grow well.
Diseases & Health issues
You need to keep your guinea fowl healthy. Good hygiene practices will keep away diseases. You must watch out for the disease signs in your guinea fowl so that you can treat them on time. Guinea fowls usually get sick when they are housed in dirty conditions. Guinea fowls can get infected with worms and viral and bacterial infections. The most common of these include worms and viral infections.
There are a few common health issues that all guinea fowls face, like heatstroke; respiratory diseases like coccidiosis, and gastrointestinal disease. You must also be aware of the special requirements of each species or hybrid of guinea fowls to avoid them from getting sick often.
Marketing
You need to market your product only after you are done with the production. You need to set up a healthy marketing strategy, to get more customers. Market your product through farmers’ markets or retail shops, or even at microforms. You can also market your products at expositions, fairs, and festivals.
You need to be confident and professional in marketing your products as otherwise, no one will purchase them. You should also make sure that you have a proper supply system in place before you start the business.
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoy this post and I hope that you will come back again because there are always new posts to read! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below.
