Guinea fowl is a royal chicken, pearl barley chicken or bird that exterminates the Colorado potato beetle. So poultry farmers call a wild chicken, which looks like a home turkey. Only a single species of guinea fowl - an ordinary one - has been domesticated by humans.
The size of a guinea fowl is not larger than a chicken. It has a strong body and a dense layer of plumage on it. The long neck closer to the head is almost not feathered, but covered with bluish skin growths. The head itself sometimes has a red-gray narrow collar. The guinea fowl has a short tail, powerful legs, and wings are adapted for flight. She also has a small leathery formation in the form of a horn on the forehead and two similar processes on the chin. The royal chicken has a "pearl color" - dark feathers with white splashes. And the eyes of all guinea fowls are blue or gray-blue.
There are other types of more beautiful guinea fowl, for example, the vulture guinea fowl. Amazing striped long feathers cover the large body of this bird, and their color is varied - blue, purple, black, white. The crested guinea fowl has a thick, feathery crest on its head, reminiscent of a lush hairstyle. And in the tassel guinea fowl, you can see blue "earrings", a yellow comb and a bunch of yellow feathers above the beak.
The homeland of the guinea fowl is Africa, it was there that it was domesticated. In the wild, it also lives in Madagascar. Homemade royal chicken can be found in other warm countries, as well as in Europe and Russia. Different breeds of these birds are most common on the African continent.
In the wild, the guinea fowl lives in sparse forests, copses, grassy steppes and savannas. Instead of nests, they dig holes in the ground, where they lay their eggs. In captivity, she is unpretentious and not afraid of cold weather, and also gets along well with domestic chickens.
In the wild, guinea fowls live in groups of up to 100 birds. In such a flock there is always a leader - the oldest and most experienced male, followed by the whole flock. These calm birds are in no hurry to run away at the sight of a person, therefore they often become his prey. They say about these birds that they can be caught with "bare hands". Thanks to their strong legs, they can easily move quickly over long distances, and their wings serve for flight. Although not all guinea fowls use this feature, for example, the vulture guinea fowl prefers to walk on strong legs.
In the wild, royal chickens have enough enemies. These are leopards, tigers, snakes, birds of prey. Royal chickens are especially careful when laying eggs, hiding in bushes, and at night they climb trees.
Domestic guinea fowls are kept apart from other birds in the pen. They are excellent at fighting pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, slugs, and therefore are considered valuable poultry.
