Zoo database

Helmeted guineafowl

Numida meleagris

Natural diet Helmeted guineafowl

Helmeted guineafowl are omnivorous birds that spend most of their time searching for food. They mainly consume seeds, grasses, insects and small vertebrates.

Grain / seeds
Grain / seeds
Grasses
Grasses
Insects
Insects

Feeding advice Helmeted guineafowl

Feed quantity per day

6-9%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 1.2 kg and eats 7% of its body weight, it will get
 
1.2 x 0.07 = 0.08 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

15% Insects and other invertebrates
60% Concentrates
15% Leafy greens and cabbages
10% Other

Proportions (fresh product)

0.15 x 0.08 kg = 13 g insects and other invertebrates
0.6 x 0.08 kg = 50 g concentrates
0.15 x 0.08 kg = 13 g leafy greens and cabbages
0.1 x 0.08 kg = 8 g other

Diet Suggestions

Recommended

Variety of (leafy) vegetables
Variety of insects
Grain mix
Soluble grit

Not recommended

Bread

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

  • Pododermatitis/Bumble Foot
  • Obesity
  • Hemosiderosis
  • Metabolic bone disease
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Rickets syndrome
  • Perosis
  • Gout

Additional advice

  • Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
  • Supplement the diet with around 10% grain mixture.
  • Supplement the diet with ad libitum soluble grit as a source of calcium.
  • Insoluble grit is not required if they go outside, as they will ingest small stones (read more about grit).
  • Avoid feeding bread as the high starch content may cause gastro-intestinal disturbances.
  • Stimulate foraging behaviour by using feeding puzzles and scatter feeding (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).