western australia

Guinea fowl chickens are designed to blend into their surroundings

@JudyEv (382693)

Rockingham, Australia

December 23, 2023 3:13am CST

Someone asked what guinea chickens looked like – the babies I mean. Maybe you call them chicks in your country. Before all the various breeds of chooks/chickens came into being, all chicks hatched in what I call camouflage colours – mostly brown with black stripes and lighter undersides. This gave them good protection in the wild. Many bantam chicks have these colours as babies but the adult plumage might be quite different. These guinea fowl chickens are black and brown too. It’s good protection in our Australian bush. Guinea fowl are native to Africa. At night, they fly into the trees to roost which keeps them safe from predators. Many orchardists run them in their vineyards and orchards to keep down the number of grasshoppers and other pests. They are also good at sounding the alarm if something doesn’t seem quite right to them.

16 people like this

17 responses

@xFiacre (14812)

• Ireland

23 Dec 23

@judyev When we lived in Africa we ate Guinea Fowl. Quite tasty as I remember. Had one for Christmas dinner when we lived in Paris.

6 people like this

@TheHorse (238390)

• Walnut Creek, California

23 Dec 23

One?

3 people like this

@TheHorse (238390)

• Walnut Creek, California

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv Sounds yukky.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

Being a game bird, I think they have a black membrane between the layers of meat. If that's true, it doesn't really appeal to me.

5 people like this

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@LadyDuck (502947)

• Italy

23 Dec 23

The babies are really cute, the adults not so much. I remember that Guinea fowl has a good taste.

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@LadyDuck (502947)

• Italy

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv I have heard them in some places, they are noisy.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

One house-sit had quite of lot of guinea fowl and I found them annoyingly noisy at times.

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

23 Dec 23

Now they are good for the old grasshoppers and pests. That one in the photo is a nice looking one.

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

24 Dec 23

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

The hen is a domestic one but the chicks are guinea chicks.

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@wolfgirl569 (136063)

• Marion, Ohio

23 Dec 23

They are very good at hiding.

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@wolfgirl569 (136063)

• Marion, Ohio

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv But the guinea hens are known to lose track of their babies. Very protective moms, but very scatter brained

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

They have strong survival instincts that's for sure.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Dec 23

@wolfgirl569 I have noticed that most people seem to hatch the eggs under regular chooks.

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@TheHorse (238390)

• Walnut Creek, California

23 Dec 23

What a big white guinea fowl! Is that its poop to its right, our left? Heck, I'd see that guinea fowl in a minute! Yum! Unless it was snowing.

3 people like this

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@TheHorse (238390)

• Walnut Creek, California

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv Will she be spared the dinner table?

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

@TheHorse She'd be soup if she were mine.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

I wrote about a domestic hen having hatched the guinea fowl but forgot to mention it again here. The hen is a Light Sussex.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

23 Dec 23

Pretty plumage on the hen and chicks. I can see how protected the chicks are from predators.

3 people like this

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

25 Dec 23

@JudyEv It's good she hatched them.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

The hen is actually a domestic fowl but she hatched the guinea eggs.

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@AmbiePam (121270)

• United States

23 Dec 23

I like this version of a “guard dog”.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

They set up quite a cackle when something disturbs them.

2 people like this

@popciclecold (40214)

• United States

23 Dec 23

I heard a man say one time they are the best at alarming. It took me by surprise. Of course, I was fresh from the city.

2 people like this

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@popciclecold (40214)

• United States

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv I never knew that. Imagine that.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

Peacocks too will sort of scream if they see something they think is a threat.

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@BarBaraPrz (51839)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

23 Dec 23

Thanks for the photo. I was wondering if they'd be yellow like hen chicks.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

They look more like bantam chicks.

1 person likes this

@RasmaSandra (98156)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

23 Dec 23

Interesting information I didn't know this, The babies are adorable,

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

Most little animals are cute although baby fledglings don't look very pretty until they feather up.

2 people like this

@thelme55 (79368)

• Germany

23 Dec 23

It looks beautiful. Have a wonderful Christmas holidays.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

Thanks for the good wishes, Thelma. A very merry Christmas to you and your family too.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (222987)

• United States

23 Dec 23

The babies are adorable.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

They are certainly cute - and very fast for such little things.

1 person likes this

@Beestring (15372)

• Hong Kong

23 Dec 23

The babies are cute.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

Most little things are quite cute although I think baby birds are mostly pretty ugly.

2 people like this

@TraveOnWorld (851)

• Georgia

23 Dec 23

Its quite a sight to see a whole family of guinea fowl come out of the bush in the morning

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

I can imagine it would be quite a sight. It reminds me of seeing hundreds of budgerigars (parakeets in the US I believe) flying wild in our outback. They look like a green wave. It's a bit sad to see them in small cages.

1 person likes this

@ptrikha_2 (49775)

• India

26 Dec 23

Quite a lot of Scientific information. It would also be tough to find them in the bushes or Woods I suppose. I wasn't aware that they keep Grasshoppers and other pests under control. Are you able to manage the Chicks at the place you have been staying?

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Jan 24

We had a few hassles with the chickens but it wasn't too bad really. We're home again now.

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17245)

• China

28 Dec 23

Maybe the Guinea fowl's camouflage colours is the result of natural selection .

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Jan 24

I think that is very true. There are some albino kangaroos in wildlife parks but you never see them in the bush.

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@jstory07 (148798)

• Roseburg, Oregon

23 Dec 23

The guinea fowl chicken is beautiful.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

The chicks are very pretty then they grow into gangly teenagers.

2 people like this

@jstory07 (148798)

• Roseburg, Oregon

24 Dec 23

@JudyEv And we all know how teenagers are.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Dec 23

@jstory07 Yes, that's it exactly!

1 person likes this