POULTRY 



677 



In starting a flock, it is best to com- 

 mence with eggs, since if old birds are 

 bought they are likely to abandon the 

 new home. The eggs require from 26 

 to 30 days for hatching, the average be- 

 ing 28. Common hens make good 

 mothers. 



Feeding the chicks — The young birds 

 are unusually lively and require feeding 

 about as soon as they are dry and much 

 oftener than chicks. A ration of stale 

 bread soaked in skim milk and squeezed 

 dry is excellent for the first day or two, 

 after which about 10 per cent of hard- 

 boiled eggs, chopped fine, or cooked lean 

 meat may be added. Rolled oats, millet 

 seed, cracked wheat or corn may be 

 given and plenty of green food, like 

 onion tops, chopped fine, lettuce, etc. 



Feed five or six times a day for the 

 first week or two, after which more 

 range may be given and longer inter- 

 vals made between feeding. Like all 

 other fowls, they require grit in abun- 

 dance and the ration should be mixed 

 with 5 to 8 per cent of clean, sharp 

 sand. Guineas are normally great 

 rangers, and will pick up a large share 

 of their living, but should be fed at least 

 once or twice a day in the poultry yard 

 to accustom them to home surround- 

 ings. 



Until the chicks are well feathered 

 out they are delicate and should be kept 

 confined until the dew is off the grass 

 each day. In northern climates they 

 should be hatched by July. Late hatches 

 do not give as good results as earlier 

 grown fowls and are sold chiefly as 

 broilers. 



If the cocks are as numerous as the 

 hens, they will pair off, but if less, one 

 cock will mate with several hens. The 

 cocks are distinguished by larger combs 

 and wattles and coarser head than the 



hens, and their cry is also more of a 

 shriek than the usual "buckwheat" of 

 the hens. The hens usually steal their 

 nests and will leave it if all the eggs are 

 removed. At least five or six should be 

 left as nest eggs. 



The guinea hen is a rather poor sitter 

 and inclined to leave the nest as soon 

 as the first three or four eggs are 

 hatched. On this account, common hens 

 make better mothers. Guineas may be 

 fattened for market on any of the usual 

 grains, but should not be overfat. 



Marketing—Extra feeding for 10 days 

 to two weeks before marketing is suffi- 

 cient. They are usually marketed as 

 adult birds when five to eight months 

 old, at a weight of 3 to 4 pounds each. 

 The young chicks are also marketed at 

 a weight of one-half pound to 1 pound 

 each as broilers. The meat is dark col- 

 ored, tender, and gamy in flavor, re- 

 sembling that of quail or pheasants,. 



The birds are killed for market by 

 cutting the artery across the roof of the 

 mouth and bled in the same manner as 

 chickens, but the feathers are usually 

 left on or removed only from the 

 breast. Guineas are regarded in the 

 market as game rather than domestic 

 fowls and the feathers add to their at- 

 tractiveness. The prices range from 90 

 cents to $1.25 a pair in the larger mar- 

 kets. 



The most common variety of guineas 

 is the Pearl, characterized by steely, 

 purplish gray plumage dotted with 

 white. There is also a pure white va- 

 riety and a bronze variety, all of which 

 are about equally valuable, though the 

 common Pearl guinea is by all odds the 

 variety most commonly grown. See 

 also the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 234, 

 on The Guinea Fowl and Its Use for 

 Food, by C. F. Langworthy. 



