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Poultry breeders eyeing guinea fowl, would like to understand which breed is better to take and how these breeds differ from each other. To begin with, you need, in general, to figure out where the individual species are, and where are the guinea fowl breeds, since in the network under the label "breed" you can even find a vulture guinea fowl, although this bird does not matter for productive breeding.
First of all, you need to understand the species, so that you do not get confused later when buying guinea fowls or eggs according to the ad.
Types of guinea fowl with a photo
What guinea fowls have in common is that they all come from a single ancient land mass: Africa and the nearby island of Madagascar. Since these species are not productive and information about them is needed only for informational purposes, there is no point in giving a detailed description.
According to the modern classification, all guinea fowls belong to the guinea fowl family, which is divided into four genera:
- vultures;
- dark;
- crested;
- guinea fowl.
There is only one species in the genus of vultures.
Vulture
Lives in semi-desert regions of Africa. The bird is beautiful, but it is not domesticated.
The genus of dark guinea fowl includes two species: the white-bellied dark guinea fowl and the black dark guinea fowl.
White-bellied dark
Inhabitant of the West African subtropical forests. As tempting as it is to think that it is from her that the white-breasted domestic breed comes from, it is not. This species is also not domesticated. Due to the destruction of the habitat, it is included in the Red Book.
Black dark
Lives in the jungles of Central Africa. Little is known about the way of life of this bird, not to mention that it should be kept at home.
The genus of crested guinea fowls also includes two species: smooth-crested and forelock guinea fowls.
Smooth-crested
It looks a bit like the domestic one, but has dark plumage and smooth, bare skin on the head and neck. Instead of an outgrowth-comb, on the head of a crested guinea fowl there are feathers that resemble a comb in a rooster. The bird lives in Central Africa in the primary forest. Behavior and lifestyle are poorly understood. Not domesticated.
Chubataya
It inhabits sub-Saharanian semi-savannas and open forests. The bird has a slightly greenish plumage, shining with an emerald sheen and a black crest on its head, which looks as if the guinea fowl has just been properly worn out after it. This species is also not domesticated.
The genus of guinea fowl includes only one species: the common guinea fowl.
In the wild, it is distributed south of the Sahara Desert and in Madagascar. It was this species that was domesticated and gave rise to all domestic breeds.
Guinea fowl breeds
Since domestication, guinea fowls have been mainly bred for meat. Most breeds retain the size and weight of their wild ancestor, but broiler guinea fowl breeds are twice the weight of wild birds.
Broiler guinea fowl was little known in the USSR. For some reason, these birds were little known there, in general. Today broilers are gaining ground in the CIS as well. As a beef breed, the French broiler guinea fowl is the most profitable.
French broiler house
A very large breed, the male of which can reach 3.5 kg of live weight. Even broiler breeds of guinea fowls grow slowly compared to chickens, so at 3 months French broilers reach only 1 kg of weight.
In France, the most expensive guinea-fowl carcasses weigh 0.5 kg.
The bird has a color similar to the wild form, but the head is colored brighter.With a meat orientation, this breed has good egg production characteristics: 140 - 150 eggs per year. At the same time, the eggs are one of the largest and reach a weight of 50 g.
For breeding on an industrial scale, this bird is kept on a deep bed for 400 guinea fowls in one room. In theory, birds are accommodated at 15 birds per square meter. That is, the place for guinea fowls is given as much as broiler chickens.
On the one hand, this is correct, since the guinea fowl only looks very large due to the large number of feathers, the body of the bird itself does not exceed chicken dimensions. On the other hand, active protests have begun today against such content, since such a crowded content not only causes stress in birds, but also contributes to outbreaks of diseases on farms.
In the private sector, these considerations are often irrelevant. Even broiler breeds of poultry from private owners walk around the yard, and only go into the room to spend the night. In this case, the standards of 25x25 cm per bird are quite normal.
Volzhskaya white
The first guinea fowl breed bred in Russia, more precisely, back in the Soviet Union. Registered in 1986. The breed was bred to obtain guinea fowl meat on an industrial scale and is perfectly adapted for life on poultry farms.
If not for the dark eyes and the red color of the earrings, the birds could be safely recorded as albinos. They have white plumage, light beaks and paws, white and pink carcass. This color is commercially more profitable than the dark one, since dark carcasses look unappetizing and not everyone dares to buy a "black chicken". The white guinea fowl is much more aesthetically attractive.
Birds of the Volga breed are gaining weight well and belong to broilers. At 3 months, the young already weigh 1.2 kg. The weight of adults is 1.8 - 2.2 kg.
The egg-laying season for this breed lasts 8 months and during this time the female can lay 150 eggs weighing 45 g. The safety of hatched chickens in birds of this breed is more than 90%.
Speckled gray
Once the most numerous guinea fowl on the territory of the Union, bred for meat. With the advent of new breeds, the number of speckled gray began to decline.
The weight of an adult female does not exceed two kilograms. Males are slightly lighter and weigh about 1.6 kg. At 2 months, the Caesars weigh 0.8 - 0.9 kg. Representatives of this breed are sent to the slaughter at 5 months, while the meat has not yet become tough, and the carcass is already fully formed.
Puberty in the breed does not occur earlier than 8 months. Birds usually begin to fly in spring at the age of 10 ± 1 months. During the season, females of this breed can lay up to 90 eggs.
Speckled gray incubates reluctantly and only after two years. But if the speckled one decided to become a brood hen, she will be an excellent mother.
Hatchability of chicks in speckled gray is 60%. At the same time, the young hatchlings are strong enough to preserve 100% of the chickens using high-quality feed and create good conditions for the young.
Blue
The photo does not convey all the beauty of the plumage of this breed. In reality, the bird has a really blue feather with small white specks. When moving, the feathers move, and the guinea fowl shimmers with a pearl shine. This is the most beautiful breed of all. And it's worth starting it not even for meat, but for decorating the yard.
But in terms of productive characteristics, this breed is not bad at all. The birds are quite large. The female weighs 2 - 2.5 kg, the caesar 1.5 - 2 kg. From 120 to 150 eggs are laid per year. The eggs are not the smallest size, weighing 40 - 45 g.
With hatchability, blues are even better than speckled: 70%. But it is much worse with the survival rate of chickens: 52%. At 2.5 months, the Caesars of this breed weigh on average 0.5 kg.
White Siberian
To obtain the Siberian breed, gray speckled was used, crossing them with other breeds. The birds were bred for cold regions and are distinguished by good frost resistance. Due to its cold resistance, this breed is especially popular in Omsk.
When breeding the Siberian breed, breeders increased not only frost resistance, but also egg production. The productivity of these guinea fowls is 25% higher than that of the original speckled gray breed. On average, females lay 110 eggs weighing 50 g, that is, in terms of egg production, they are second only to French broilers, and only in the number of eggs laid during the laying period.
But in terms of weight, the "Siberians" are significantly inferior to the French. The weight of the Siberian breed does not exceed 2 kg.
Reviews of some breeds of guinea fowl
Conclusion
When choosing the breed used for meat production, you need to pay attention to the growth rate, carcass weight and, to a lesser extent, egg production. If you do not plan to breed birds for sale for meat, then 40 guinea fowls from one female, bred in an incubator, will be enough for the family for a long time. And considering that 5 - 6 females are needed for one male, then the caesarine meat after raising all the chickens will be enough for a year.
