Not all beginner poultry farmers can recognize where the caesar is and where the guinea fowl is. This is necessary for the formation of the parent herd for further breeding of birds. The article discusses many ways to distinguish a female from a male guinea fowl, some of them are complex, but over time, the breeder will get used to it and without problems will be able to recognize the female or male in seconds.
Bird Size and Weight
Many farmers argue that gender is determined by body weight and bird size. But opinions differ significantly. Someone believes that guinea fowl are the only poultry in which females are larger than males, other breeders do not agree with this.
In fact, up to 4 months the female is much smaller than the male. But after the guinea fowl overcomes this age limit, especially during the laying period, it begins to rapidly gain weight. Then she becomes larger than a caesar, her body weight increases by 20%.
Beak shape
It is quite possible to identify the female or male by looking at the shape of the beak. Females are the owners of elegant, small, neat beaks with not bulging nostrils. The beak of females is reddish-orange. There is no tuberosity at the front, the beak smoothly passes into the head.
The males are a little different. With age, “boys” have a larger beak in size and stand out when looking at a bird. The base of the beak is bright red, almost bloody in color. The nostrils are large enough, noticeable.
Below is a table with comparative characteristics of the appearance of the beak and part of the head in birds:
Female | Male |
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These distinctive features in the appearance of the beak and nostrils in males and females become noticeable when the young are 4-5 months old.
Head position
Guinea fowls and caesars have one more discrepancy in appearance - the position of the head. Females are proud birds, their gait is proud, at this time the neck is straight, and the head on it looks exclusively straight. They walk in an upright, upright position, as if on a podium.
The walking of the males is somewhat different - they always yield forward, the chest stands with a wheel. Their torso is slightly inclined to the floor, respectively, in a place with this, the head begins to rush down.
Color and length of feathers
Until a month and a half, determining the gender of a bird by feathers is quite difficult, because visually the animals look the same. But adults vary in color, which allows you to determine the sex of the animal. For example, white Siberian guinea fowl and cream females predominate in darker plumage; in males, the color is somewhat lighter. Sometimes it is much easier to find a male at a glance - he has a completely white plumage.
To determine the gender, many farmers use the method associated with the inheritance of plumage color. If you believe him, then females tend to inherit the color of Caesars and vice versa, males prevail in the same color as their mother mothers. Due to this, sometimes it is possible to distinguish guinea fowl in cross color. But this method is considered quite complicated and more suitable for experienced farmers.
It is also noted that the female feathers grow faster than the male. That is, birds are crossed, in which plumage appears earlier, with guinea fowls, fledging later. The result is such breeds of guinea fowl, where females predominate with long feathers than all the others. Moreover, in males, the length of the feathers is exactly the same.
Ridge location
To find out who is in front of the farmer, a caesar or guinea fowl, will help the ridge, or rather its location. This method requires special care. How to identify males by crest:
- it is slightly elevated from the base of the head;
- not standing straight, but a bit in a curved position;
- has a larger size.
In the video, Ivan Serba, involved in guinea fowl breeding, will tell in his experience how to distinguish a female from a male. A graphic example of the location of the crest and the shape of the earrings will also be shown:
Earrings
In animals, under the beak are earrings, by which the farmer can determine the gender of the bird. Females have delicate and neat growths, while males have thicker earrings and are immediately evident. Sometimes old females are confused with guinea fowls, because at this age their earrings grow and become similar to male ones.
It will be possible to distinguish the male from the female in the shape of earrings during the first year. In the future, they will begin to become rude, and it will be much more difficult to do this.
Vote
The birds have a rather melodic loud voice. Because of this feature, not every farmer wants to keep a guinea fowl. Males tend to “crack” and “skim”. It will be possible to distinguish the female by a softer voice, the girls do not crack.
If it’s difficult to understand how the female guinea fowl screams, in the video you can clearly hear the bird’s voice, as well as understand how it behaves during the “conversation”:
Belly shape
The farmer should pay attention to the shape of the abdomen of birds. Males possess elastic and voluminous bellies. In females, this part of the body is soft. It will be possible to distinguish the gender of the birds by touch - the pubic bones diverge.
Habits
Girls and boys behave differently, their behavioral patterns can vary significantly. Females behave modestly, their tail is down, the head is always in a natural position. Guinea fowl are somewhat fussy, constantly looking for food. They like to hide in nooks.
Males always show themselves on the part of strong individuals. Their tail is bent high up. They have a raised head, he constantly looks around. In all movements, pride and superiority are observed. He is “master, master of the situation”, looks at the females condescendingly.
Primary sexual characteristics
It will be possible to determine the male and female with a 100% guarantee on the structure of the genitalia in birds. Having examined them, the farmer will be able to understand what gender the animal is in front of him. The advantage of this method is that with its help sex determination is possible at the age of one day.
Experienced poultry farmers know that from birth to 1.5-2 months, the appearance and behavior of the birds are practically no different.
In this case, sexual characteristics are determined by the structure of the genitals; the girl has a loop; the boy has a penis.
Follow this instruction:
- Carefully lure the bird towards you, take it in your hands. Light strokes on the back to calm, because guinea fowl are considered overly shy birds, and contact with a person can greatly frighten the animal. The frightened guinea fowl begins to shrink with its whole body, which can cause difficulties with stretching the cloaca. The bird will feel severe pain or it will hurt her altogether.
- Only light stroking for several minutes can calm the animal. If it is a male, then such touches will cause blood flow to the cloaca - a penis will open, which can not be overlooked.
- When the bird calms down, flip it on its back for better visibility of the anus. It is required to hold the guinea fowl with one hand, and gently push the interfering feathers with the other, and stretch its cesspool. Be sure to carry out the procedure with gloves on.
- A thorough examination begins: the "boy" has a pink penis, somewhat resembles a tubercle; The “girl” inside the aisle has no differences; she has a pink loop.
The gender of the chicks must be determined before purchase so that the farmer can know how many females to buy per male. This is important in breeding birds, respectively, and has an impact on further profit.
It is not necessary to trust the seller when buying, he can assure that he sells females, in fact, it can turn out to be males. The money will not be returned, but the worse is that all further business will be ruined due to the lack of females in the herd. Therefore, you should learn to distinguish females from males, so as not to become a victim of unscrupulous sellers.
All the methods described above are recommended to be performed in an integrated manner. Over time, the poultry farmer will gain experience and learn to distinguish guinea fowl from guinea fowls quickly and without difficulty.
Other distinguishing features
There are several other ways to determine the gender of a bird. These include the following points:
- Males are not able to lay eggs; only laying hens do this.
- If there are a lot of males in the herd (more than one in 4 females), guinea fowls suffer from constant trampling, as evidenced by a balding back.
- Males are excessively active sexually and constantly strive to mate even with other species of birds.
- Females are prone to constant fights in the fight for their place on the roost and territory.
Determining the sexual characteristics of domesticated guinea fowl requires a serious approach from the poultry breeder. Gaining knowledge and experience in the future will help in the formation of the herd, as well as business development and profit from the sale of egg products and meat carcasses.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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