Indian scientists are helping double poultry farmers’ income by making guinea fowls lay more eggs
The Central Avian Research Institute in Bareilly has carried out experiments to boost egg production in guinea fowls. Birds that laid 90 to 110 eggs a year are now laying 180-200. Also, birds now lay eggs in 21 weeks against the earlier 36 weeks.
Guinea fowls are low maintenance and require less medicines and vaccines. All photos: Divendra Singh/Gaon Connection
In the last few years, poultry farmers in India have started warming up to the idea of rearing guinea fowls which they find is profitable for egg and meat production. However, though they are inexpensive to rear, the guinea fowls take a longer time to lay eggs.
And this is where the scientists from the Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, in Uttar Pradesh, have come to the rescue of poultry farmers. These scientists have carried out extensive experiments to get the fowl to lay eggs sooner and for a longer period of time.
“Guinea fowl rearing is much cheaper than rearing other birds, especially if one wants to start a backyard poultry farm,” Simmi Tomar, chief scientist at Central Avian Research Institute told Gaon Connection. “Rearing them is eco-friendly, and they feed upon the insects in the field. But they do take longer to lay eggs,” she added.
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“The Central Avian Research Institute had been doing research for the past several years and has now been able to get the fowls to lay eggs even in the winter months,” Tomar said.
The birds are from Guinea island in Africa, and according to her, because they are from a warm place, each fowl lays 90 to 110 eggs between March and September. The birds usually lay their eggs in the summer months when days are long and the night temperatures are high, she elaborated.
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Between 2016 and 2021, the institute conducted several experiments to increase egg production in the guinea fowls. The two-week-old birds were kept under 18 hours of artificial illumination for three weeks and fed protein rich foods such as maize, soybean, fish powder, oyster shells and limestone.
Results are promising. “Birds that laid 90 to 110 eggs a year are now laying 180-200. Guinea fowl that used to take 36 weeks to lay their eggs, now do so in 21 weeks. Their fertility has also improved and now eggs hatch in winter as well,” she said.
Guinea fowls are reared both for their eggs and meat. Within a period of 12 weeks, a bird can grow up to weigh more than a kilo.
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A guinea fowl chick costs between Rs 17-18. If they are reared indoors the cost of their feed increases, if they are left out to graze, they will feed on the insects in the soil and the feed expenditure will be automatically reduced, Tomar pointed out.
Similarly, when compared to chickens, guinea fowls are low maintenance and require less medicines and vaccines, Tomar said. So rearing them is an economically viable source of livelihood in rural areas.
The shell of the guinea fowl egg is two and a half times thicker than that of other poultry bird eggs. Therefore it does not break that easily and keeps longer too. While the eggs of chickens can rot in seven days in the summers without refrigeration, the fowl egg is good to go for 15 to 20 days.
The Central Institute of Avian Research sells guinea fowls and imparts training in their rearing.
For details contact: (Central Avian Research Institute) Phone Numbers: 91-581-2303223; 2300204; 2301220; 2310023