Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-guinea-momma.1365823/#post-22498635

Okay I posted this. I'm pretty sure I'm doing everything right. They are happy and healthy and don't seem to be bothered at all.

If you want to keep them happy. Run out and get them a dozen more Keets.

What is cute and friendly this year could cause barnyard mayhem next year.

I am always curious how much land they have to roam, when people get Keets. They like more than a acre or two.

I ended up getting rid of mine because all the cidiots that moved into the area can’t handle a strange bird walking down the ditch.

Good luck!

 

[NashvilleLuLu]

. How are you getting 5-9 eggs a day if you only have 4 females?

Our Guineas don't seem to behave like other Guineas and I have no idea why. The first two weeks of them laying was very variable. Now for the past several weeks we get five eggs daily. Of course we COULD have more than four females, but based on all their behaviours we have decided we have four.

 

[R2elk]

Our Guineas don't seem to behave like other Guineas and I have no idea why. The first two weeks of them laying was very variable. Now for the past several weeks we get five eggs daily. Of course we COULD have more than four females, but based on all their behaviours we have decided we have four.

If you are getting five eggs a day, you have at least 5 hens. The true proof that a guinea is a hen, is when she lays eggs.

 

[duluthralphie]

If you are getting five eggs a day, you have at least 5 hens. The true proof that a guinea is a hen, is when she lays eggs.

She could have the hybrids that lay lots of eggs daily. I have one hybrid that lays close to 1,000 eggs a day.

 

[EarlJ]

I've been reading some of the somewhat older posts in the thread...

So with my initial Guineas, I fed them the Manna Pro gamebird showbird starter - the highest protein feed I could easily get locally. They all reached adulthood and didn't seem to have any deficiencies.

I've started frequenting TSC, and picked up the DuMor 24% chick starter that earlier I see @R2elk was saying is insufficient. But before I got the DuMor, I compared the nutritional content vs. the Manna Pro I had been using, and they seem comparable.

Manna Pro
DuMor

Have I been hobbling their development all along?

 

[Maiahr]

My very first Guineas eggs are developing well in the incubator. 6 of them. I read Lockdown is on day 25, could someone please confirm? The mystery still remains how many females/males does my neighbour have (he is the one I am hatching for). He obviously has at least one male as the eggs are fertile, but no idea if it is only one and which one. I have bought turkey starter feed as it has highest protein % and I also read keets should not eat grass. The other mystery is WHY someone would raise Guineas...

 

[EarlJ]

I did a lockdown on day 25 and got my first external pips on 26. They started hatching between bedtime and morning, so barely into 27. Seems about right.

 

[R2elk]

I've been reading some of the somewhat older posts in the thread...

So with my initial Guineas, I fed them the Manna Pro gamebird showbird starter - the highest protein feed I could easily get locally. They all reached adulthood and didn't seem to have any deficiencies.

I've started frequenting TSC, and picked up the DuMor 24% chick starter that earlier I see @R2elk was saying is insufficient. But before I got the DuMor, I compared the nutritional content vs. the Manna Pro I had been using, and they seem comparable.

Manna Pro
DuMor

Have I been hobbling their development all along?

People that have only fed them chick starter say the same that you are saying. You have nothing to compare it against since you have never seen their development on a proper starter. Your guineas will likely not be as large as they were capable of becoming and will likely not live as long. Leg issues are more common among the ones that did not get a proper feed when they were young.

At least what you fed yours was better quality than those that have fed chick starter.

 

[EarlJ]

Purina
Mazuri
Homestead
Blue Bonnet
Nutrena

These are the ones I could find the analysis for quickly, and they all seem on a par. The only big difference is in protien level. Am I missing something?

 

[R2elk]

Purina
Mazuri
Homestead
Blue Bonnet
Nutrena

These are the ones I could find the analysis for quickly, and they all seem on a par. The only big difference is in protein level. Am I missing something?

Check the lysine, methionine and niacin levels.