The Life Expectancy of Guinea Fowls

Large-bodied birds that originated in Africa, guinea fowls are increasingly popular with backyard farmers worldwide for egg production and meat. Healthy guinea fowls not destined for the dinner table can live more than 10 years. With extra-special care, a pet guinea fowl has a better chance at living to maximum life span.

  1. Keets

    • Baby guinea fowls -- known as keets -- need supplemental heat until they are 6 weeks old. Use a red infrared bulb, which will help reduce pecking, to keep temperature between 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit the first week. Reduce heat by 5 degrees each week until age 6 weeks. Natural daylight is suitable for daytime, and you can use a 15-watt bulb at night if your keets tend to pile on top of each other for warmth otherwise.

    Food

    • Start keets on commercial game bird starter, which has higher protein than chick starter. Keets will grow more slowly on chick starter, but it can be used if game bird starter is not available. Grown guinea fowls allowed to free-range will forage for insects, worms, spiders, berries and seeds. This varied diet provides additional nutrients and enzymes to supplement commercial feed. If free-roaming is not an option for your fowls, supplement their normal feed with scratch, grit and vegetable peels.

    Predators

    • Guinea fowls are better equipped against predators than domesticated chickens are. They are able to fly up into trees or onto a roof to evade predators and will roost there at night if given a choice. Adults will defend their chicks with their beaks, claws and wings; they make a loud warning call when danger approaches. Hand-raised chicks should be kept in a predator-proof enclosure and locked inside a coop at night until fully feathered.

    Broody Hens

    • Brooding hens are particularly vulnerable to predators, as they typically nest on the ground in hidden areas. Such hens may act as if dazed, offering little or no resistance to attack. Extend a guinea hen's life by keeping her inside a coop when she is broody or by collecting eggs and hatching them under a chicken or in an incubator. Guinea mothers have been known to abandon nests after just a few keets hatch, leaving the remaining chicks to die.