PHEASANTS GUINEA FOWLS 153 



After pheasants are three months old they are very hardy, and 

 at five months are in their full plumage. The proper food for grown 

 birds is wheat, heavy oats, buckwheat, clover, alfalfa and grass. 

 They also dearly love raw apple, potato, cabbage, carrot and let- 

 tuce. Their preference, however, is flies, grubs, bugs and worms. 

 They need plenty of good, clean, fresh water. 



Anyone wishing to go into the pheasant business should write 

 to the director of documents, Agricultural Dept., Washington, D. C., 

 and get the Bulletin on the "Raising of Pheasants in the United 

 States," also the book on pheasants by "Dillaway" at the Dillaway 

 Pheasantries, Everett, Washington. 



GUINEA FOWLS 



Guinea fowls are becoming popular in this country and will be 

 more so every year, as their excellent table qualities are more 

 known. 



Guineas are used to replace pheasants at banquets and at the 

 closed season. They are sometimes passed off as grouse or pheas- 

 ants, although at some of the large restaurants they are often given 

 their own name on the bill of fare. 



They lay a small egg, brown in color, with dots or little spots 

 of darker brown, and quite pointed at one end. The eggs are con- 

 sidered a great delicacy in Europe, for they are very rich in the 

 color of the yolk. The guinea hen lays a great number of eggs, 

 but she is wild and hides her nest and two or three eggs should be 

 left in the nest as nest eggs. I have kept guineas nearly all my 

 life, and after being well acquainted with their habits I never touch 

 the eggs in the nest with my hand, as they so dislike the smell of 

 a human hand that they will desert the nest and it is often a trou- 

 ble to find them. I always use an iron spoon to collect the eggs. 



The male and female guinea are identical in color and can only 

 be distinguished by the wattles of the male being a little larger and 

 the "song" different. The female has a harsh voice, which calls 

 "come back," "come back," whilst the male only seems to say "quit," 

 "quit." This is when they both are comfortable and happy, but let 

 a hawk appear on the scene and the scream of anger, definance or 

 warning will cause every chicken, turkey or guinea on the place to 

 run to shelter. Guineas are as good as a watch dog, night or day 

 they will give notice if a stranger comes on the place. I have had 

 male guineas that would fly into the air to meet a hawk and give 

 fight. 



Guineas can be hatched under common hens, and, indeed, that 

 is the best way to start with them, as they are very "conservative" 



