Guinea fowl can be called relatives of chickens, quails and turkeys, so we can assume that their diet is similar. In general terms this is true, but there are also differences. Let's consider what you can feed guinea fowl, young animals and adults, in the household. What and how much to give birds in winter, females during the egg-laying period, foods prohibited for guinea fowl.
What kind of food can I give?
Like all birds, the basis of the guinea fowl's diet is grain, whole or crushed.Grass, garden tops, boiled potatoes, grated root vegetables and vegetables are added to the grain mash. Chalk and crushed shells can serve as a source of calcium for guinea fowl.
Unlike the same chickens, guinea fowls happily eat harmful insects, for example, Colorado potato beetles, which can be collected and fed to birds or released into the garden. Feeding guinea fowl can be even simpler - give them special bird feed. In this case, all that is needed besides feed is clean, fresh water.
Rules for feeding guinea fowl at home for beginners
To feed young animals and adults correctly, you need to know the general rules and some features of feeding guinea fowl. Let's consider what and how to feed guinea fowl and adult birds.
Nutrition of young animals
From the first days, guinea fowl should receive easily digestible food until their digestive system is adjusted to digesting solid grain. Day-olds are given a mixture of finely chopped boiled eggs, low-fat, non-sour cottage cheese and green grass. In the first day after hatching, they may eat little and may lie under a lamp, warming themselves under it.
After 2-3 days you can give it to the chicks starter feed for chickens, the granules must be small so that the birds do not choke. Instead of mixed feed, you can feed guinea fowl with grain and grass mixtures. Their composition is slightly different from those intended for chickens - they should contain more protein and less fiber. From grain you can use millet, crushed corn, wheat. For rapid growth, fermented milk products (skim, cottage cheese, sour milk) are added to the mixture, which guinea fowl eat with pleasure.
Grated vitamin-rich vegetables and root vegetables should be added to the food of small guinea fowl.The consistency of the mixture should not be dry, but not sticky so that it does not get stuck in the birds’ throats. One-month-old chicks can be given boiled potatoes or switched to whole grains. At this time, meat and bone meal, bran, onion feathers, quinoa, and a little alfalfa are added to the mixture.
There shouldn’t be a lot of greens in the food; guinea fowl choose it first, fill themselves up and then don’t want to peck at the grain. Because of this, the chicks do not grow as quickly as we would like.
Guinea fowl are voracious, usually eating everything that is put in front of them. But if the food remains in the feeders, after the chicks have eaten, you need to clean them of any residue and wash the feeders so that pieces of food do not rot.
From 1.5 weeks of age, young guinea fowl can be released for walks, outside, or in a closed pen. When freely grazing, they can find insects, worms, and larvae. This is a nutritious protein feed that enhances the growth of young birds.
Nutrition of adults
Adult guinea fowl are fed no less, but no more than 3 times a day. In the mornings they give wet mash, in the afternoon - mash and grass, in the evening - whole grains. The mash is prepared from crushed grains, grated or finely chopped root vegetables, and vegetables. Chalk, salt, and ready-made industrial premixes are added to it. To normalize digestion, guinea fowl are given fine gravel.
Each guinea fowl can consume 100-130 g of grain and vegetable feed and 50-70 g of green feed per day. Adult birds, if possible, can be left to graze for the whole day. Being on the street, they can fully provide themselves with the necessary food. They find grains, insects, larvae, worms, slugs, and nibble grass.
If you release guinea fowl into the garden, they can collect Colorado potato beetles from the potato beds; you will not have to treat the garden with chemicals. Birds need to be accustomed to this food from an early age by collecting beetles and mixing them into the food.
After grazing, you can feed the birds only in the evening, when they go into the house for the night. Another feeding method is ready-made bird feed. Each person can eat 90-95 g of granules per day. Feeding with compound feed will be cost-effective if you purchase high-quality mixtures. Birds grow slowly on poor quality feed and can become poisoned.
During the molting period, foods containing protein and microelements (grain and grass from legumes, cabbage leaves as a source of sulfur) are added to the diet. Protein and mineral components are necessary for guinea fowl to quickly form new feathers.
Features of the winter diet
In winter, fresh grass cannot be found, so to feed the livestock, you need to prepare hay in the summer and grind it into flour. Add herbal crumbs to the mash. In winter, the need for nutrients and energy in guinea fowl increases, so you need to feed them with boiled potatoes, table scraps, dry bread crumbs, and ground pine needles. It is recommended to prepare food in the fall and store it in the cellar.
The basis of keeping guinea fowls in winter is feeding them with the same grain and vegetable mixtures. Birds should always have chalk or shell rock and gravel with them in a separate container.Water, as in summer, should be in the drinkers constantly, if the poultry house is insulated and the temperature in it does not drop below zero. If freezing is possible, then you need to pour warm water and pour it out as soon as the birds have drunk.
Subtleties of feeding during egg production
Egg production in female guinea fowls begins at 6 months of age. To form eggs, birds' bodies require additional nutrients. The diet of the livestock should contain a sufficient amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. At this time, guinea fowl experience an increased need for calcium, which is needed for shell formation. To do this, chalk is added to the feed. A good source of microelements can be special premixes for laying hens, produced by industry.
What should you not feed?
You cannot feed moldy grain, rotten or frozen vegetables, herbs, and tops. All damaged areas should be cut out, roots and tubers should be washed and dried if they are dirty. You cannot use feed that has expired. You cannot give fresh bread, fatty foods, salty, smoked, spicy, sweet.
Feeding guinea fowl is similar to feeding chickens and turkeys. Birds eat mainly grains, vegetables and grass, and love insects. Any household will have food that can feed its livestock throughout the year.
