Guinea fowl - Does/can anyone eat them or their eggs?

[Guinea Goonie]

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm those Guinea eggs. They are fantastic hard broiled. They are REALLY hard to candle so watch out.

You can tell a Guinea egg from a chicken egg immediately.

Guinea Fowl themselves are a cark meat, like a pheasant.

 

[greathorse]

Both delicious I have eaten both. Eggs have a large yoke to white proportion, which makes them great in my opinion. The meat is very much like a delicious pheasant. Rich flavor but tender. Very good.

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

Quote:
people do eat guineas. Also the eggs are excellent! They are very rich with the inside mainly yolk with little white. Very delicious. Makes the best cakes/pies you will ever eat

 

[Praxxus]

I used to butcher my guineas but stopped ages ago. I didn't like the gamey taste of the meat and the tough texture. They were free range, so this was expected. The eggs are excellent though!

 

[greathorse]

I butchered mine at about 7 months of age and they were not as tender as supermarket chicken, but tender. I used them in a gourmet dinner and folks loved them

 

[Soccer Mom]

If you want them strictly for eating, try the French Guineas. They look like Pearls, but are bigger. They are not fertile, so you can't breed them yourself, but they are DELICIOUS,

 

[greathorse]

Are they a hybrid? If so what is the mix? How do they get more guineas?

The first group of guineas I raised came from Moyer in PA. they were French guineas By the time they were breeding age I had them mixed with some regular guineas so cannot vouch for whether or not they reproduced. I did ask the breeder that I bought them from and he was emphpatic that they could breed just fine.

I have yet to have any one definitively tell me why the french guineas wont reproduce.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

The WHITE Guineas actually have a lighter meat. This is why they are being breed so heavily here in the US.

The French Guineas can ONLY be AI'd to get a reproduction cycle going.

JUMBO Guineas from McMurry or the Guinea farm DO NOT require AI and they are very large birds as the French are.

Personally I would only breed the Large Guinea for meat. The regulars are really game tasting as they free range and they are always running or trotting making a rather tough meat.

I do know of a few breeders out there trying their best to make a WHITE Jumbo. So far I have not heard any progress.

The eggs are simply wonderful. You must collect the day they are laid and you must cool them immediately.

They absorb air and moisture even though the shells are fairly hard.

 

[greathorse]

I have yet to see this information regarding the French Guinea requiring artificial insemination to reproduce as fully documented. I know one breeder that insists it is not true. I have some trouble beleiving that a bird as shy as the Guinea would be suitable for artificial insemination.

I will be a believer when someone that acutally raises them and collects and breeds artificially will tell me it is the only way.

Sorry to be such a skeptic but like many myths this one seems less than documented.

Truly am not being argumentative but struggle with taking information as fact when I dont see it as documented

 

[Soccer Mom]

This is direct from Ideal Poultry's website:

French Guineas are the same color as Pearl Guineas but are much larger. French Guinea breeders have for many generations, intently selected this variety for rapid growth and for year round production of eggs. French Guineas, when fed a high energy, high protein ration similar to broiler feed, will weigh in excess of 4 pounds at 13 weeks of age. They will lay throughout the year with proper light and heat control, but must be artificially inseminated for acceptable fertility. Guineas, which are known as keets, are very active and easy to raise. After about 4 weeks of age, they require very little attention and will take care of themselves by hustling for their food. Some of the benefits of having a farm flock of guineas are as follows: very fine "watch dogs", keep snakes away from the farm and consume grasshoppers, ticks (including those which carry Limes Disease) and other insects.

Here's the link: https://secuservices.com/ideal/newideal/selectproduct.aspx?qty=1&ID=FK&Product=184​