Proud To Introduce..........

Proud to introduce these guinea fowl chicks who have forever homes with one of my friends. 

Over the past few weeks I have seen pictures and videos of them, today I was delighted to finally meet them. 

I haven't really had a lot of interactions with guinea fowl before but having heard about their antics and cheekiness I knew that I was going to fall in love with them immediately. 

And fall in love I did!

They are so adorable very funny and extremely vocal. 

What I found the most endearing though was how the five of them would run after their human mum all the while chittering to each other. They tend to scurry in a line although, should a danger present itself, say like a line of shadow they would huddle together having a little conversation. Obliviously this was a debate of whether or not to cross and follow their human. After a time and a little encouragement they decided it was safe and ran to keep up to the disappearing human. They are so trusting and very connected to their human, it was very apparent the bond that they have already with their caregiver.

They are little more picker than chickens in regards to seed and scraps, yet are equally useful in the garden for keeping pests at bay. Also very helpful in keeping the salad greens and vegetables in check and exploring anything and everything.

Guinea fowl are the oldest of the galliforme birds, or ground feeders. They are somewhat prehistoric in appearance, yet I found this added to their unique beauty. They were quite shy in some regards yet rather nosey in others. Like geese they tend to make a kerfuffle if something new appears sending out calls of alert. And I must admit this made me laugh, because when all five callout they really make a racket!

They still have a lot of growing to do as they get around the size of a turkey, at the moment they are more the size of chicken. Each day they are becoming more confident and wandering a little further. I look forward to seeing them again and enjoying watching them as they explore their realm......