CHAPTER XXI.
GUINEA-FOWLS.
The Guinea-fowl, Gallina, or Pintado (Numida meleagris), is the true meleagris of the ancients, a term generically applied by Belon, Aldrovandus, and Gesner to the turkey, and now retained, although the error is acknowledged, in order to prevent confusion. It is a native of Africa, where it is extensively distributed. 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 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. It "is turbulent and restless," says Mr. Dickson, "continually moving from place to place, and domineering over the whole poultry-yard, boldly attacking even the fiercest turkey cock, and keeping all in alarm by its petulant pugnacity"; and the males, although without spurs, can inflict serious injury on other poultry with their short, hard beaks. The Guinea-fowls make very little use of their wings, and if forced to take to flight, fly but a short distance, then alight, and trust to their rapid mode of running, and their dexterity in threading the mazes of brushwood and dense herbage, for security. They are shy, wary, and alert.
It is not much kept, its habits being wandering, and requiring an extensive range, but as it picks up nearly all its food, and is very prolific, it may be made very profitable in certain localities. The whole management of both the young and the old may be precisely the same as that of turkeys, in hatching, feeding, and fattening. This "species," says Mr. Dickson, "differs from all other poultry, in its being difficult to distinguish the cock from the hen, the chief difference being in the colour of the wattles, which are more of a red hue in the cock, and more tinged with blue in the hen. The cock has also a more stately strut."
They mate in pairs, and therefore an equal number of cocks and hens must be kept, or the eggs will prove unfertile. To obtain stock, some of their eggs must be procured, and placed under a common hen; for if old birds are bought, they will wander away for miles in search of their old home, and never return. They should be fed regularly, and must always have one meal at night, or they will scarcely ever roost at home. They will not sleep in the fowl-house, but prefer roosting in the lower branches of a tree, or on a thick bush, and retire early. They make a peculiar, harsh, querulous noise, which is oft-repeated, and not agreeable. The hens are prolific layers, beginning in May, and continuing during the whole summer. Their eggs are small, but of excellent flavour, of a pale yellowish red, finely dotted with a darker tint, and remarkable for the hardness of the shell. The hen usually lays on a dry bank, in secret places; and a hedgerow a quarter of a mile off is quite as likely to contain her nest as any situation nearer her home. She is very shy, and, if the eggs are taken from her nest, will desert it, and find another; a few should, therefore, always be left, and it should never be visited when she is in sight. But she often contrives to elude all watching, and hatch 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. They sit for twenty-six to twenty-nine or thirty days. When she sits in due season she generally rears a large brood, twenty not being an unusual number.
The chickens are very tender, and should not be hatched too early in spring, as a cold March wind is generally fatal to them. They must be treated like those of the turkey, and as carefully. They should be fed almost immediately, within six hours of being hatched, abundantly, and often; and they require more animal food than other chickens. Egg boiled hard, chopped very fine, and mixed with oatmeal, is the best food. They will die if kept without food for three or four hours; and should have a constant supply near them until they are allowed to have full liberty and forage for themselves. They will soon pick up insects, &c., and will keep themselves in good condition with a little extra food. They are very strong on their legs, and those hatched under common hens may be allowed to range with her at the end of six weeks, and be fed on the same food and at the same times as other chickens.
The Guinea-fowl may be considered as somewhat intermediate between the pheasant and turkey. After the pheasant season, young birds that have been hatched the same year are excellent substitutes for that fine game, and fetch a fair price. They should never be fattened, but have a good supply of grain and meal for a week or two before being killed. The flesh of the young bird is very delicate, juicy, and well-flavoured, but the old birds, even of the second year, are dry, tough, and tasteless.