sick birds at sale

[peacockfarmer1]

what do you look at in a guinea to be sure that it isn't sick or is there a way to tell
how long is the breeding season? long enough to hatch a good number of eggs from one or two hens
is 1:1 ratio male to female ok or will the females be skinned up like chickens
what is a maximum ratio of male to female guineas for good fertility

what would you suggest i do
A.order eggs in spring and hatch them
B.buy pair or trio at sale

thanks for the help

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I personaly would either hatch them myself or raise them from keets. Adult birds have a tendency to wander

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I can't say that I've ever seen a sick guinea, so I couldn't say specifically what to look for. Obviously if it is sneezing or shaking its head a lot (provided it hasn't injured itself) these would be telltale signs of respiratory illness.

The breeding season goes from about March until October, but depends on your location. Guineas lay an egg every day, the trick is finding their nests

Guineas mate up, so ideally you want to have a 1:1 ratio. But if you happen to get extra males they don't overbreed the hens.

I don't know the maximum m/f ratio since I'm always male-heavy, but I would think it would be 5-10 like chickens. Though since they do pair up you could have a problem with some of the hens not being bred if you have more hens than males.

If you have the facilities to quarantine, I'd get a pair or two pair at a sale. Guineas don't normally lay until the year after they hatch, so getting eggs/keets this year (2011) means you won't get eggs from them until next year (2012).

 

[peacockfarmer1]

thanks for the help
i guess i will just keep all the males i hatch this year because ratio doesn't matter like in chickens

 

[poultryfan73]

Quote:
agreed