Hard work breaks no bones: Decreasing guinea fowl mortality to increase success and boost income

| February 15, 2016

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This week’s story from Burkina Faso profiles a retired teacher who now raises chickens.

Our Script of the week is a four-part drama which focuses on another bird which is very popular in many African homes, especially in West Africa: the guinea fowl.

Nine of ten households in northern Ghana raise guinea fowl, and the birds help these households stay food secure. Village and suburban families typically raise five guinea hens and one guinea cock.

Guinea fowls are productive and their meat is nutritious because it contains more protein and less fat than chicken meat, and is low in cholesterol. Guinea fowl eggs have a thicker shell than hen’s eggs, are more resistant to shock, and can be kept longer and transported farther in good condition.

Raising guinea fowl can be a profitable business, but farmers must know how to meet a number of challenges. Our Script of the week focuses on the problems and solutions to keet (young guinea fowl) mortality, one of the major challenges in raising guinea fowl. It is based on interviews with farmers who raise guinea fowl in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana.

http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/102-raising-guinea-fowl/hard-work-breaks-no-bones-decreasing-guinea-fowl-mortality-to-increase-success-and-boost-income-2/