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OCR for page 115
8
Guinea Fowl
For Third World villages, the guinea fowl (Numida
meleagris) could become much more valuable than it
is today. The bird thrives under semi-intensive con-
ditions, forages well, and requires little attention. It
retains many of its wild ancestor's survival character- ~ ~
istics: it grows, reproduces, and yields well in both J ~,
cool and hot conditions; it is relatively disease free; it requires little
water or attention; it is almost as easily raised as chickens and turkeys;
and it is a most useful all-round farm bird.
The guinea fowl's potential to increase meat production among
hungry countries should be given greater recognition. The birds are
widely known in Africa and occur in a few areas of Asia, but they
show promise for use throughout all of Asia and Latin America and
for increased use in Africa itself. Strains newly created for egg and
meat production in Europe-notably in France-show excellent char-
acteristics for industrial-scale production. Also, many semidomestic
types in Africa deserve increased scientific assessment as scavenger
birds.
Meat from domestic guinea fowl is dark and delicate, the flavor
resembling that of game birds. It is a special delicacy, served in some
of the world's finest restaurants. Several European countries eat vast
amounts. Annual consumption in France, for example, is about 0.8 kg
per capita.'
Guinea fowl also produce substantial numbers of eggs. In Africa,
these are often sold hard-boiled in local markets. In the Soviet Union,
they are produced in large commercial operations. In France, guinea
fowl strains have been developed that not only grow quickly but lay
as many as 190 eggs a year.
Outside Europe, virtually all guinea fowl are raised as free-ranging
' Information from P. Mongin.
115
OCR for page 116
116
MICROLIVESTOCK
birds. These find most of their feed by scratching around villages and
farmyards. Their cost of production is small, and they yield food for
subsistence farmers. In Europe, on the other hand, most are raised in
confinement, with artificial insemination, artificial lighting, and special
feeding. In the main, this is to produce meat for luxury markets.
Guinea fowl production is beginning to increase all over the world.
During the last 20 years, for example, many of Europe's chicken
farmers and breeders, wishing to diversify, have switched to this bird.
The United States is now studying ways to establish industrial pro-
duction, and both Japan and Australia are increasing their flocks.
Nonetheless, there is still a vast untapped future for this bird.
AREA OF POTENTIAL USE
Worldwide. This species is robust and resilient and adapts to many
climates.
APPEARANCE AND SIZE
Guinea fowl are somewhat larger than average scavenger-type
chickens: adults weigh up to 2.5 kilograms. They have dark-gray
feathers with small white spots. Their heads are bare with a bony ridge
(helmet) on top, which makes them look something like vultures. The
short tail feathers usually slope downwards.
The chicks, known as "keels," resemble young quail. They are
brown striped with red beaks and legs. The sexes are indistinguishable
until eight weeks of age. After that, the males' larger helmets and
wattles and the cries of the different sexes can be identified. Both
sexes give a one-syllable shriek, but females also have a two-syllable
call.
Like the chicken, the guinea fowl is a gallinaceous species and
possesses the characteristic sternum with posterior notches and a
raised "thumb."
Among domestic types are pearl, white, royal purple, and lavender.
Pearl is the most common, and is probably the type first developed
from the wild West African birds. Its handsome feathers are often
used for ornamental purposes. The white is entirely white from the
time of hatching and has a lighter skin.
OCR for page 117
GUINEA FOWL
117
:~
V
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The guinea fowl's native habitat. The arrow shows the probable place where today's
main breed originated.
DISTRIBUTION
Europe dominates industrial production. France, Italy, the Soviet
Union, and Hungary all raise millions of guinea fowl under intensive
conditions, just as they raise chickens. Elsewhere, guinea fowl have
become established as a semidomesticated species on small family
farms. Native flocks are found about villages and homes in parts of
East and West Africa, and free-ranging flocks can be seen in many
parts of India, notably Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Madhya
Pradesh. During the slavery era, they were introduced from Africa to
the Americas to be used for food. In Jamaica, Central America, and
Malaysia, the birds have reverted to the wild state and are treated as
game.
STATUS
Guinea fowl are abundant; in most places even wild populations are
not threatened.
HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT
Guinea fowl are native to the grasslands and woodlands of most of
Africa south of the Sahara where they occupy all habitats except dense
forests and treeless deserts. Being native also to temperate South
Africa, they appear to have an inherent adaptability to both heat and
cold. However, in cool climates, regardless of daylength, they will not
begin egg production until temperatures exceed 15°C.
OCR for page 118
118
BIOLOGY
MICROLIVESTOCK
Guinea fowl accept many foods: grains, leaves, ant eggs (for which
they will tear anthills open), and even cannon.
Normally, they lay their first egg at about 18 weeks of age. Unlike
many wild birds, which produce a single clutch a year, guinea hens
lay continuously until adverse weather sets in.2 Free-range "domestic"
guinea hens lay up to 60 eggs a season. And well-managed birds under
intensive management lay close to 200. The eggs weigh approximately
40 g. Shells are stronger than those of chickens and are usually brown,
but can be white or tinted.
The guinea hen goes broody after laying, which can be overcome
by removing most of the eggs. A clutch of 15-20 is common. The
incubation period is 27 days.
BEHAVIOR
These birds never become "tame," but neither do they leave the
premises. Although they stray farther than chickens do, they always
return. They like to hide their eggs in a bushy corner, often in hollows
scratched in the ground. They can fly, although even in the wild they
do not fly far. They prefer to roost on high branches and (unless
pinioned) can be hard to catch during the day.
Although wild guinea fowl live in groups, they are monogamous by
nature and tend to bond in pairs. However, in domestication a single
male may serve four or more females.
USES
As noted, guinea fowl are valuable sources of both meat and eggs.
They can also be used to control insect pests on vegetable crops.3
Guinea fowl are good "watch animals"; they have fantastic eyesight,
a harsh cry, and will shriek at the slightest provocation. Their agitation
on sighting dogs, foxes, hawks, or other predators have saved the
lives of many a chicken, duck, and turkey. They are brave and will
attack even large animals that threaten them.4
2 In West Africa, laying is largely confined to the rainy season, but it can be induced
by spraying the birds with water. Information from R. T. Wilson.
3 In parts of Queensland, Australia, many farmers keep a few "guineas'' to assist with
controlling grasshoppers in crops and gardens as well as cattle ticks in and around the
cattle yards and milking sheds. The birds do no harm to gardens or crops because,
unlike chickens, they do not scratch in the ground. Information from A. Hutton.
4 Information from B. K. Shingari and from A. Hutton, who adds, "I have known them
to attack and kill a brown snake (similar to a cobra in venom), and also a taipan."
OCR for page 119
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Guinea fowl on an American farm. (Grant Heilman Photography, Inc.)
HUSBANDRY
Guinea fowl can be kept in confinement using the methods for raising
battery chickens. In this system, breeding stock are housed in cages
and artificially inseminated. It gives the best egg production and fertility
but requires housing, equipment, and skilled labor.
These birds can also be kept in a semidomestic state in and around
the farmyard. In such cases they are penned until they are 12 weeks
old. Unaccustomed to foraging for natural food, they constantly return
to their artificial food supply. Eventually, however, they learn to
subsist by scavenging.
The birds have been called "the worst parents in the world," and
are almost incapable of looking after their keets.5 Because the females
are such indifferent mothers, the eggs are best hatched in incubators
or under other birds, to avoid the keels' being lost by their natural
mothers. In many African countries, eggs are hatched under chickens.
Keets are often kept indoors until they are 3 - weeks old to protect
5 According to A. Hutton, "losing half the chicks on a S-km hike through thick bush
the day they hatch is not unusual."
. ~)
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120
MICRO LIVE STOC K
GUInEA FOWL A1'ID THE AIYCIEnTS
The earliest reference to guinea fowl can be found in murals
in the Pyramid of Wenis at Saqqara in Egypt, painted about
2400 B.C. Aviaries were quite fashionable at the time, and
wealthy landowners maintained guinea fowl within their walled
gardens. A thousand years later, by the time of Queen lIat-
shepsut (about 1475 B. C. ), the junglefowl (the ancestor of the
chicken) had amved, and from then on it was raised on a
substantial scale. Records of this period refer to '~walk-in"
incubators, constructed of mud backs and heated by camel-
dung fires. The largest could hold up to 90,000 eggs (mainly
fromjunglefowl but some from guinea fowl) and hatching rates
of up to 70 percent were claimed.
By 400 B.C., guinea fowl were well established on farms in
Greece. Later, they rose to importance in ancient Rome. Pliny
the elder (in his Natural History, published 77 A. D. ) stated that
they were the last bird to be added to the Roman menu and
that they were in great demand, both eggs and flesh being
considered great delicacies. The emperor Caligula offered them
as sacrifices to himself when he assumed the title of deity.
The guinea fowl then died out in Europe but was reintroduced
by the Portuguese navigators resuming from their African
explorations in the late 1400s. They gave it the name p~ntada
or "painted chicken" and this changed to pintade in French,
while the name "Guinea fowl" (fowl from Africa) stayed in
English, and galling de Cluinea in Spanish. Coincidentally,
guinea fowl and turkeys were both introduced to England
between 1530 and 1550, and the English, smitten with the
original French misnomers, were left sorting out "Ginny birds"
and "Turkey birds" for the remainder of the century. Both birds
were adopted with great enthusiasm, and within 150 years
they had utterly displaced the peafowl and swan as the major
table birds for festive occasions.
Adapted from R.11.tI. Belshaw, 19~35
Ciu~nea Fowl of the World
them from predators and wet weather. Sexual maturity can be delayed
to as late as 32 weeks of age by holding the birds in windowless
housing and controlling the lighting. This improves egg size and
hatchability and reduces early mortality.
OCR for page 121
GUINEA FOWL
ADVANTAGES
121
Compared with the farmyard chicken the guinea fowl's advantages
are:
· Low production costs;
· Premium quality meat;
· Greater capacity to utilize green feeds;
· Better ability to scavenge for insects and grains;
· Better ability to protect itself against predators; and
· Better resistance to common poultry parasites and diseases (for
example, Newcastle disease and fowlpox).
Surprisingly, this semidomestic bird, which has been farmed for
centuries, retains the characteristics (feather morphology, hardiness,
social behavior) of its wild ancestor-even when subjected to the most
modern intensive-rearing methods employing battery cages and artifi-
cial insemination. Thus, it thrives under semicaptive conditions and
needs little special care. The birds forage well for themselves and do
not require much attention; their meat is tasty and they produce
substantial numbers of eggs. Unlike chickens, they don't scratch to
get insects out of the soil, so they are less destructive to the garden.
LIMITATIONS6
In backyard production the guinea fowl is supreme, but when
produced intensively it costs more to raise than chickens. In Europe,
for instance, day-old keels cost about twice as much as day-old broiler
chicks. (The major reason is that guinea fowl produce fewer hatching
eggs and require a longer feeding period.) Guinea fowl are also more
expensive to feed. Their feed conversion (for meat production at the
marketing age) is about 3.3-3.6 as compared with a broiler's feed
conversion of 1.~1.9. Moreover, guinea fowl take about twice as long
to reach marketable size: they are marketed for meat at age 12-14
weeks, compared with 7 - weeks for the broilers. Therefore, the
selling price of guinea fowl in the Western world is up to twice that
of broilers.
Guinea fowl are nervous and stupid. They can be difficult to catch,
and when panicking they can easily suffocate their keels.
They are susceptible to some of the common diseases of chickens
and turkeys. Salmonella is the most prevalent, but others are pullorum
disease, staphylococcus, and Marek's disease.
6 Most of the information in this section was contributed by A. Ben-David.
OCR for page 122
122
MICROLIVESTOCK
THE GUINEA FOSS GILD COUSINS*
The domesticated guinea fowl is descended from just one
subspecies of the family's seven known species and numerous
subspecies. Some of the others may also have promise as
poultry. They, too, generally occur in flocks in bushy grasslands
and open forests in Africa. All feed on vegetable matter such
as seeds, berries, and tender shoots, and on invertebrates
such as slugs. They rarely fly except to roost. They acclimatize
well are easy to maintain in captivity, and can survive long
periods away from water.** Their disposition is tame and
nonaggressive, and they mix well with other birds.
Wild subspecies closely related to the domestic guinea fowl
that might make future poultry in their own right include the
following:
· Gray-breasted guinea fowl (IYumida meleagris galeata).
This subspecies is the principal ancestor of domestic guinea
fowls. It is found throughout West Africa and probably has
many valuable genetic traits. There is much variation in the
size and other characteristics among the various individuals.
People along the Gambia, Volta, and Niger rivers have long
traditions of breeding these birds.
· Tufted guinea fowl (lYumida meleagris meleagris). This
subspecies is quite large and has black plumage thickly spotted
with white dots. It is the probable ancestor of the birds reared
in ancient Egypt and in the Roman empire (see page 120). Hill
farmers in the southern Sudan sometimes breed them in
captivity.
· Mitred guinea fowl (IYumida meleagns mitrata). Probably
the most popular game bird in East Africa, this type has a
bright blue-green head and red wattles. It was once a common
sight in the wild but it has now been decimated by overhunting.
It is now most numerous in the Masai lands of Kenya and
Tanzania. It has been kept in a semidomesticated form in
Zanzibar for several centuries. Zoos and aviaries around the
world have imported it, and it has bred well for them.
Wild guinea fowl that are different species from the domestic
one but that are still worth considering as potential poultry
include the following:
· Black guinea fowl (Phasidus niger orAgelastes niger). This
bird of the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa is the
size of a small chicken. It has sooty black plumage, a naked
head, and a pink or yellow neck. It is seldom hunted because
the meat tastes dreadful, but this is probably because of a
particularly pungent fungus they eat in the forest. Raised on
fungus-free forages, these birds are probably very palatable.
OCR for page 123
GUINEA FOWL
· Crested guinea hen (Guttera spp.). Three species. These
strange-looking birds have a thick mop of inky black feathers
above their black, naked faces. Widely distributed in the thickly
forested areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike the other species,
they prefer the rainforest. They have a musical trumpeting call.
At least one species has bred well in Europe. For example, a
flourishing colony has been established in the Walsrode Bird
Park in Gennany.
· Vulturine guinea fowl (`Acryll~um vultur~num). The largest
of all guinea fowl, this species is found in parts of Ethiopia,
Somalia, and East Africa. One of the most striking looking of
all birds, its head is bare and blue, its body black with white
spots, and its breast bears long bright cobalt-blue patches on
either side. This has been reared as an aviary bird in both
Europe and America and might make a useful domesticate.
123
* This section is based largely on infonnation given in Guinea Fowl of the World,
R.H. Hastings Belshaw, 1985.
** At least some of these birds commence feeding long before dawn and obtain
their moisture from dew on the leaves. Moreover, like the camel, they appear
to utilize metabolic water very efficiently.
RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS
Agencies involved in international economic development should
undertake guinea fowl assessment trials, evaluations, and coordinated
introductions to stimulate programs for small farmers and for industries
in dozens of countries.
Breeders have been working to improve guinea fowl only since the
1950s. There is a need for more information on growth rate, health,
egg production, feed conversion, body weight, carcass yield, laying
intensity, fertility, hatchability, and egg weight~specially under free-
ranging conditions.
Husbandry research should also be directed towards feeds and
feeding systems for growing and breeding stock. Other efforts are
needed to increase the hatchability of eggs under natural conditions
(under guinea hens or surrogate mothers), and to identify the best
lighting regimes (both sexual maturity and rate of lay are influenced
by changes in daylength).
The guinea fowl that has become an important domesticated bird
throughout the civilized world is descended from just one of seven
known species in the family. These birds generally occur in flocks in
bushy grasslands and open forest in Africa and Madagascar, and some
of the others may also have promise as poultry (see sidebar opposite).
OCR for page 124
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
domestic guinea
