What is guinea hen

Guinea eggs can be eaten just like chicken eggs and should be collected daily if not used for hatching purposes. During the laying season, it is common for a guinea hen —an adult female at least one-year-old—to produce an egg a day. There are three main varieties of guinea fowl raised in the United States: pearl, white, and lavender. The pearl variety is the most popular and typically the one that people recognize most readily. Feathers from the pearl variety are often used for ornamental purposes.

Before starting a poultry flock, you must check local zoning regulations to make sure that raising poultry is permitted. This is particularly important when raising guinea fowl because guineas will range and cross the boundaries of a small lot. Although guineas are typically quiet, they can be very noisy if disturbed. Guineas are more active than chickens and not as easily tamed—they seem to retain some of their wild behavior.

Guinea fowl are often left to fend for themselves, but it is best to provide a shelter to protect them from high winds, rain, cold, sun, and predators. The shelter can be a purpose-built facility specifically for guineas or a room allocated in the barn.

The more room the guineas have, the less likely they are to become stressed. The floor of the pen should be covered with an absorbent bedding material such as wood shavings or chopped hay or straw. If the litter is kept dry, it can stay in place for several months. Guineas prefer to roost, so it is important to provide perches. If the barn is unheated, it is best if you do not insulate the shelter or space where the guineas are kept. Insulation tends to keep moisture in more than it keeps cold out, and allowing moisture to accumulate in a poultry house can lead to respiratory problems among birds.

If you want to keep your guineas from wandering in a specific area, you must keep them in covered pens. Guineas are able to fly at a very early age, and they become strong fliers able to fly to ft.

Guineas are also very good runners and prefer to move on foot, including when escaping from predators. Under most conditions, you should not confine male guineas with chickens if there are roosters in the same flock. When male guineas are housed with roosters full-time, the guineas will chase the roosters, keeping them from food and water. If your flock is allowed to range freely during the day and is locked up only at night, it is safe to keep guineas and roosters in the same barn.

It is also safe to house them together in a short-term emergency such as a blizzard or other bad weather. If you are keeping guineas for egg production for hatching or human consumption , you should provide nest boxes.

Nest boxes designed for chickens are usually acceptable. To reduce the likelihood of hens laying eggs in hidden nests outside, keep guinea hens confined to a hen house until noon each day so that they will lay eggs inside. If you are raising guinea fowl to control ticks and insects, you are better off purchasing adult guineas because they are easier to care for than young guineas and do well on their own.

It takes guineas a while to get settled into a new home. It is best to keep them confined for a week or two to let them become accustomed to their new home. If you let them out right away, they could run away. The guineas should be confined in a pen where they can see the area where they will be living. After an initial couple of weeks, let one guinea out. Guineas hate to be alone, so the single guinea will not go far and will learn its way around the area.

After a few days, let a second guinea out to run with the first. If they stay near the pen, it is usually safe to let the rest out. Keets are guinea fowl offspring that are younger than 12 weeks old. If you wish to start with day-old keets, you can purchase them from a local breeder or feed mill.

If local facilities do not have any keets, you can purchase the birds online with delivery through the U. Postal Service.

Newly hatched birds, including keets, can survive for 48 hours on the nutrients they take in when they absorb the yolk during hatching. This allows a window in which birds can survive shipment without supplemental nutrition. Adult guineas forage for themselves and are able to meet most of their nutrition requirements on their own. Information Quality. Privacy Policy. New Farmers. Disaster Resource Center.

An official website of the United States government. Have a Question? What is Guinea fowl? Information Knowledge Article. Guinea fowl is a relative of the chicken and partridge. There are several species of guinea fowl and all originate from Africa but can be found raised in Europe. Birds that have been slaughtered no longer than 14 weeks after birth. Try to buy from a butcher or producer that you trust. Because guinea fowl is naturally drier than chicken it is particularly important not to overcook.

You can wrap the breast with pancetta or Parma ham to prevent it from drying out. Remove giblets from the cavity and keep well wrapped in the fridge, on a tray, covered with greaseproof paper or foil for up to two days. Thaw frozen guinea fowl in the fridge and use within two days. Never refreeze defrosted guinea fowl. Subscriber club Reader offers More Good Food.