Top 50 Curiosities about the Guinea Fowl

The guinea fowl is a domestic bird the size of a chicken, which is part of the Numididae family. It originates from the African continent. Sometimes called “pet speckled hens” or “original fowl”, they are close relatives of the quails, turkeys and chickens. The guinea fowl has over 20 subspecies, but the most well-known is the mottled variety, which has three other varieties: the mottled white, black and blue.
The helmeted guinea fowl lives in Africa, in the regions to the south of the Sahara. Its scientific name is Numida Meleagris and it is not a migratory bird. Its feathers are dark with white spots, its body length of around 55 cm and its weight averages 3 lbs, or 1.5kg.

Follow 1000 Curiosities on Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/onethousandcuriosities
https://www.tiktok.com/@top1000curiosities

The vulturine guineafowl is a species from the East of Africa with the scientific name Acryllium Vulturinum. It prefers the savanna regions and African forests from Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia and Kenya. This bird can easily be domesticated by the locals. Its body is fat and thick, with a small head, strong legs, short wings and a small tail. Its body length ranges between 40 and 72 cm with a weight between 1.5 and 3.5 lbs, that is between 700 grams and 1.6 kg.
The common guineafowl are large birds, reaching 58cm or 23 inches, having a round body and a small head. Their feathers are of dark grey colour, mottled with white spots. The bare head is provided with a bony helmet which can be yellow or red in colour. The head skin has blue and red spots. Its wings are short and round, with a similarly short tail. The guinea fowls are fast birds, easy to maintain and they help a lot in the household against pests, and particularly against ticks. They are dominant birds and they make sure their presence is fully felt in the shelter. They become tamer when they can interact with other birds such as the chickens. These birds communicate permanently between each other and they do it in a loud manner. They can be considered very good guardians in the household, signalling in the loudest possible way any foreign presence. They will guard the rest of the birds in the yard from other predators as well as from other people who are not part of the family. They will also kill any snakes that come into their shelter or at least force them to leave the property. Old people say that where there are guinea fowls there are no rats either.
Guinea fowls are also raised for their eggs and for their nourishing meat. They lay eggs for much shorter periods than chickens, but their eggs taste much more delicate than chicken eggs. One guinea fowl can lay between 60 and 90 eggs in a year with a maximum of 120 eggs a year. The birds that are raised for meat can reach a medium weight of 3 -4 kg, that is between 6.6 and 8.8 lbs. Since they are heavy birds, they don’t fly, and they don’t even bother flapping their wings. However, wild guinea fowls can fly.
The guinea fowl meat is darker in colour and tastier than chicken meat, like pheasant or quail meat, with less fat and very little cholesterol. It is considered a delicacy in Europe and in some deluxe restaurants in the United States, where the number of guinea fowl farms reached 14000. Guinea fowls lay their eggs in hidden places, making their harvesting quite difficult.
In comparison with chicken and other domestic birds, guinea fowls are much more resistant to illnesses or to parasites. Their eggs are smaller than the chicken eggs, of a light grey colour and weigh around 43-44 grams, that’s around 1.55 ounces. They are pear shaped, with a thick and resistant shell and are resistant to transportation over long distances while retaining their taste for about 6 months when stored between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius or 32 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The eggs are renown for not causing allergies in children or adults. One guinea fowl egg contains as many calories as four chicken eggs. Guinea fowls start laying eggs when they are around 6 months old. They are kept in families, about 4 females to one male. Males have a large head and whiter feathers.
Females are not good mothers, being able to completely forget about their young while roaming around. Their food is wheat, maize, concentrated feed but also insects, wasps, bees, spiders or worms. Even though it has its origins in Africa, nowadays the guinea fowl is found all around the globe. It was brought to Europe in the 15th century by the Portuguese explorers. Guinea fowls can mate with other domestic birds, roosters, pheasants or peacocks, but their offspring will be sterile.
The guinea fowl average lifespan is between 10 and 15 years.
Soundtrack:
Brighter Days by Markvard & Kvarmez
https://soundcloud.com/markvard
https://soundcloud.com/simen-eliassen...
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/brighter-days
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/jVEoeR9AunY

Видео Top 50 Curiosities about the Guinea Fowl канала 1000 Curiosities