PORTERFIELD EXOTICS

PORTERFIELD EXOTICS

Guinea Fowl

Numida meleagris

A plump mature guinea forging in the grass.

A yearling guinea on the perch in their pen.

One of our Guineas and their nest box/shelter made from a stock tank.

Guinea fowl originated in Africa and have been introduced in most parts of the world. Guineas are very prolific birds and are excellent mothers and brood hens for other fowl eggs. Guineas will attack people or predators to guard their nest so watch your face if collecting their eggs to set them in the incubator. The Guinea Keets (chicks) are susceptible to dieing easily of moist conditions their first 2 weeks so do best if locked in a clean dry coop or pen where they will not get wet from nightfall till the dew is off the grasses. The keets are also flightless and easy prey for barnyard cats and other predators. After the first weeks they are probably the hardiest of all barnyard poultry. Once grown if let to run loose the guinea fowl will eat huge numbers of many different insects which is a very beneficial service around a farm yard. They will pick through the yard, garden, and fields foraging on insects such as hornets, ticks, maggots, mosquitoes, moths, various insect larvae, grass hoppers, snails, slugs and many more. Guineas are a very social bird and usually move about within close range of each other. Once acclimated to a new home they may range a fair distance from home but if not harmed by a predator or hit by an automobile if you live near a road will usually return home daily. Guineas have a thing for roads so if you live near a busy road "BEWARE". I know some keepers that have their Guineas trained to be at the door of their coop at a specific time each evening, usually just before sunset. They do this by feeding grain in the coop at the same time each evening. Guineas are a very loud bird and have a loud and often annoying alarm call which they sound with the slightest threat of danger. Should a strange person or animal enter their area they will sound their warning alarm and fly for a perch such as a tree limb. Guineas are quite alert and Wiley by day but are an easy target for predators during the dark hours. During the day it is very difficult to catch a loose Guinea but at nightfall much like chickens they can easily be picked off their perch by either their keeper or a predator. A loose Guinea escapee although difficult to catch in the daylight will usually perch on top of their pen come nightfall and can be easily captured and returned to the flock within. Adult guineas can somewhat be sexed by the size of their helmet and waddles which are more prominent in the males but the best way to sex a guinea is by the "Buck Wheat" sounding call of the females.

We are once again adding a few Guinea fowl to our breeding program. We have purchased three small breeding groups and will be purchasing more birds in the upcoming weeks to add to our program. This will help us build a strong unrelated gene pool to work with. We currently have three colors of Guineas, the most common pearl, the white and the lavender. Given the prolific reputation of Guinea fowl we plan to be hatching numerous Guinea Keets by mid summer and should have some to sell and a few to dress out.