HATCHING AND CARE OF GUINEA CHICKS 



557 



responsibility of food and shelter, and should misfortune over- 

 take the hen, the cock assumes her duties in a thoroughly com- 

 petent manner. 



Nests are often located by the observance of guineas feeding 

 solitarily, since this is a pretty sure sign of the male bird, and 

 that the hen is laying nearby. They will make their nests in 

 remote, out-of-the-way places, under hedges, bushes, brush- 

 heaps or wheat shocks, and if their nests are disturbed they will 

 move to another place. Laying begins about the middle of April, 



(Courtesy Purdue Experiment Station) 



Fig. 335. — Another view of house shown in Fig. 334, taken in midwinter. 

 Fowls are in splendid condition, proving that they require an abundance of 

 fresh air, providing the house is free from drafts and dampness. 



and if broodiness is discouraged it will continue throughout the 

 summer. 



Rearing Young. — Owing to the heavy mortality among broods 

 reared by guinea hens all attempts to raise a large flock by 

 natural methods will be discouragingly slow. On the other hand, 

 to raise the guinea chicks by artificial brooding methods is 

 equally difficult. When placed in a hover, they either remain 

 there all the time, or come out and cannot find their way back. 

 Unlike young chickens, they are particularly stupid in learning 



