Guinea hen

“ The Pintada, or Guinea Hen, has been said to unite the character and properties of the pheasant and the turkey. It is about the size of the common hen, but standing high upon its legs gives it the appearance of a larger size. The back is round, with the tail turned downwards, like the partridge. It is an active, restless, and courageous bird, and will even attack the turkey, although so much above its size. The Guinea fowls assimilate perfectly with the common species, in habits and in kinds of food ”

“ But she often contrives to elude all watching, and hatch [141] a brood, frequently at a late period, when the weather is too cold for the chickens. As the Guinea-fowl seldom shows much disposition to incubate if kept under restraint, and frequently sits too late in the season to rear a brood in this country, it is a general practice to place her eggs under a common fowl—Game and Bantams are the best for the purpose. About twenty of the earliest eggs should be set in May. The Guinea-hen will hatch another brood when she feels inclined. ”

“ Next day he came out of the hen-house refreshed from a good night's sleep, and led his girls gaily down to the meadow. His head was up, he stepped high. Guinea was so taken up with her clog that she never noticed him. She had something to do now that kept her active mind out of mischief, and later on, when I got acquainted with her, I found she was quite a nice sort of a creature, as fowls go. There is good in every created thing, even mischievous guinea-hens.
287 CHAPTER XVIII
THE OWL AND THE CHICKENS Serena liked me to go with her when she took her walks about the farm at night. ”

“ Even the process of moulting is sometimes insufficient to draw off the nutriment which it takes to make feathers instead of eggs; and the poor thing will sometimes go about half-naked in the chilly autumn months, unable to refrain from its diurnal visit to the nest, and consequently unable to furnish itself with a new outer garment. The body of the Guinea hen may be regarded, in fact, as a most admirable machine for producing [381 (61) ] eggs out of insects, grain, and vegetables, garbage, or whatever material an omnivorous creature can appropriate. ”

“ Some poultry keepers who have observed them closely say that while one or more extra females may associate with a pair, the eggs of the extra females do not usually hatch well. Occasionally it happens that a small flock are all males or all females, and the owner does not find it out until too late in the season to get a bird of the missing sex. When a supposed guinea hen does not lay in the breeding season, the owner often thinks that she lays but manages to completely baffle his search for the nest. ”

“ The guinea growing business is the newest of the poultry industries. In fact, it may be said of guineas, as of our grandmother's tomatoes, "Folks had them around without knowing they were of any use." The new use for guineas is as a substitute for game. Guinea broilers make quail-on-toast and older ones are good for grouse, prairie chicken or pheasant. The retail price in the large cities runs as high as $1.50 to $2.00 a pair. It will probably not pay to raise them unless one is sure of receiving as much as 50 cents each. ”

“ Sometimes, however, a guinea hen will provide for the young chicken, and many lives have been saved in this way. Whether or not this plan will influence the voice of the rising hen is a question among henologists of the country which I shall not attempt to answer.
Hens who steal their nests are generally of a secretive nature and are more or less social pariahs. A hen who will do this should be watched at all times and won back by kind words from the step she is about to take. Brute force will accomplish little. ”

“ In view of the rapidly increasing demand for Guinea pullets in all of the big hotels in the United States, where they seem to be taking the place of the prairie chicken of the past, it would seem that the raising of Guinea hens for the American market should certainly prove extremely profitable. Fields of the short or white millet planted on any farm will serve to keep them satisfied, and at the same time diminish the tendency to wander away from home. ”

“ Thereupon the two friends settled down to their feast of potatoes. The Hen, according to her plan, picked out only the little ones, while the Guinea-Fowl chose only the largest. Presently the owner of the field passed that way and, discovering the two thieves, gave chase to them. The Guinea-Fowl at once took to flight, deserting her friend, the Hen. The latter, loaded down with her big potatoes, fell an easy prey to the farmer, who caught and took her home with him. That is how the Hen was domesticated by Man, while the Guinea-Fowl still runs wild. ”

“ In the winter of 1852 the Cottage Gardener stated that "within the last few weeks a gentleman near London sold a pair of Cochin-China fowls for 30 guineas ($150) , and another pair for 32 guineas ($160) . He has been offered £20 for a single hen; has sold numerous eggs at 1 guinea ($5) each, and has been paid down for chickens just hatched 12 guineas ($60) the half-dozen, to be delivered at a month old. One amateur alone had paid upwards of £100 for stock birds." ”

“ What do you think of the company here?”
“Good enough,” said another. “I don’t like any of them very much, but you can’t expect Geese and Ducks to be Guinea-fowls. We don’t have to talk to them. The Gobbler is trying to be agreeable, and when the Hen Turkeys can think of any thing besides their children we may find them good company.”
“It is a good thing that there are so many Hens here,” said the third. “The Man throws out their grain and then we can scare them away and eat all we want of it. What fun it is to see Hens run when they are frightened!” ”

“ They may lay in nest boxes if these are in dim, secluded corners. Guinea hens are very wary and may resent having their nests visited, [182] by quitting. Also, the hens seem to be able to count and will usually desert their own nests if all but one or two eggs are taken away. They are rather impatient sitters, often leaving the nest when the eggs are half incubated or when the first chick is ready to go, even though they have a dozen pipped eggs. The little ones are, like little turkeys, susceptible to dampness and cold. Very early and very late hatchings are undesirable. ”

“ Guinea-hens are not so tame and domestic as our native fowls, and frequently occasion considerable trouble to their keepers, by flying into hedges and bushes, especially during the night, where they lay, and hatch their eggs, of which they frequently deposit from 100 to 150. ”

“ Near the towns they cultivate on a large scale, tobacco, indigo, and cotton. Their domestic animals are the same as in Europe: they have hogs which live in the woods, but whose flesh is by no means good; poultry of every kind, with the exception of turkies; and red partridges and Guinea-hens are abundant. The forests are filled with a small species of gazelle, whose flesh is perfectly good. The most common wild animals are the hyæna, the panther, the elephant, the tiger, and the lion. The ass is the only beast of burden which is used in this part of Africa. ”

“ The period of incubation for guinea eggs is four weeks. The young birds may be managed the same as young turkeys while small, but do not need as close watching to keep them from wandering away. Those that are hatched and reared by fowls are tamer than those reared by guinea hens, but are not so hardy. ”

“ Hans stated, that in the more tropical regions the eggs are forsaken for long spells, and the hot sand and sun do the work of the parent birds; and that on this account the period of incubation is not fixed, but ranges from thirty to forty days.
The young when hatched are well developed, and in a day or two become as large as guinea-hens, leaving the nest and running about in charge of the parent birds. ”

“ When a few birds are kept on a farm, they are usually allowed to wander at will; the owner secures as many of their eggs as he can find before they spoil, and perhaps hatches a few of them under hens, for the guinea hens often lay a long time without going broody. As they are prone to hide their nests and are very clever in eluding observation, it not infrequently happens that, when a [Pg 205] nest is found, it contains a great many eggs, a large part of which have been spoiled by long exposure to the weather. ”

“ The ordinary guinea fowl of the poultry-yard (see also Poultry and Poultry-Farming) is the Numida meleagris of ornithologists. The chief or only changes which domestication seems to have induced in its appearance are a tendency to albinism generally shown in the plumage of its lower parts, and frequently, though not always, the conversion of the colour of its legs and feet from dark greyish-brown to bright orange. That the home of this species is West Africa from the Gambia [2] to the Gaboon is certain, but its range in the interior is quite unknown. ”

“ At noon some green stuff or roots and at night hay. Give them all the hay they can eat. Keep it before them all of the time, but only feed as much green stuff as they can clear up in a few hours. They are also not apt to overeat grain, which should be fed in an earthen or wooden vessel. If you feed only twice a day, give them the green food in the morning with the hay. Guinea Pigs drink but little water when eating green food, but they should have a vessel of fresh water in the hutch or pen every morning. It is also well to keep a piece of rock salt in each hutch. ”

“ They associate in large flocks and frequent open glades, the borders of forests, and banks of rivers, which offer abundant supplies of grain, berries, and insects, in quest of which they wander during the day, and collect together at evening, and roost in clusters on the branches of trees or shrubs. Several other wild species are known, some of which are remarkable for their beauty; but the common Guinea-fowl is the only one domesticated in Europe. ”

“ The best way to commence keeping Guineas is to procure a sitting of eggs which can be depended upon for freshness, and if possible, from a place where but a single pair is kept. A Bantam hen is the best mother; she is lighter, and less likely to injure them by treading on them than a full-sized fowl. She will cover nine eggs, and incubation will last a month. The young are excessively pretty. When first hatched, they are so strong and active as to appear not to require the attention which is really necessary to rear them. ”

“ On the continent they are more domesticated and are raised in large numbers for the markets of France, Austria, and Germany. What we want in our markets, however, is not the domesticated Guinea fowl so much as the half-wild. We have plenty of other good barnyard birds, including the savory squab, but we are woefully short of game, and the Guinea fowl, more than the turkey, comes to the rescue. While the mature bird has its own gamy Flavor, the chicks resemble young quail, and the eggs are a good deal like the highly [478] valued plover eggs. ”

“ The Guinea Fowl has been so long among us that we no longer look upon him as a stranger. He was brought a long time ago from Africa, where his relations may still be found, assembling in huge flocks in damp, marshy places that furnish a good supply of worms and insects. Whether he be tame or wild, the most remarkable thing about the Guinea Fowl is his voice. When he is frightened or angry he gives forth a screech like an old barn-door creaking on rusty hinges, and he does not leave off until he and everybody else are quite tired. ”

“ Yet the bird and its eggs bring good prices in the market.
The climate of Jamaica is just right for the Guinea-fowl and in that island it has made itself at home, taking to the woods and to a wild life. There it has become fond of feeding on the growing crops and is hunted and shot like a game bird.
The special fact about this bird rests in its color, it being prettily speckled with round white spots on a dark gray color of plumage. There are several species, the best known being the common [199] guinea, which is often called "come-back" from its call. ”

“ It was a glorious morning, and perfectly delightful riding through the crops of guinea-corn, now ripe, and standing ten feet high,—the leaves splashed and stained with crimson, purple and gold, like gaudy, waving ribbons, the heavy plumes of grain swaying above one’s head, brilliant red, or black and white. Underneath the pony’s feet was a veritable carpet of a tiny lilac blossom which always flourishes among the guinea-corn at harvest time and hardly anywhere else. ‘The little pink flower that grows in the wheat’ always comes into my mind, but this one happens to be mauve instead! ”

“ The flesh and skin of the guinea are quite dark in color. The dressed carcass is not at all attractive in appearance, but the meat is very good. Many people prefer it to the flesh of the fowl.
The guinea is not really a domestic bird. It is possible to keep a few in confinement and to rear the young with other [Pg 204] poultry, but the adult birds are so noisy and vicious that very few people want them near the house or with other poultry. They would not be tolerated as much as they are but for the traditional notion that their noisy clamor keeps hawks away. ”

“ The Guinea-fowl is about twenty-two inches long, and from standing high on its legs, and having loose, full plumage, appears to be larger than it really is, for when plucked it does not weigh more than an ordinary Dorking. It is very plump and well-proportioned. The Guinea-fowl is not bred so much as the turkey in England or France, is very rare in the northern parts of Europe, and in India is bred almost exclusively by Europeans, although it thrives as well there as in its native country. ”