One morning Fred was just here. We heard him squawking his howdy-do. We never saw him come and have no clue where he hailed from. He does not seem to have any intentions of leaving. The nearest houses are half a mile or more away with woods, fields and fences in between. He appeared after a week of storms and wind in August. Guineas can fly up into a tree or rooftop but they can not fly like a bird. Fred hasn’t told us if he got lost and wandered here or if someone thought it was a good place to dump him.
Fred is very territorial with home base the area round the chicken house. All day he runs; round and round and round, looking in on and guarding the chickens, squawking his commands. He is hyperactive max as he does not stand still one minute. He acts like he wants in the building but is very skittish and keeps social distancing from humans. He does not eat the chicken feed or cracked corn I throw out for him.
He is an interesting fella and we have fallen in love with him. In the evenings when the cows come up in the pasture behind the house, he runs out to greet them, fussing up a storm and telling them all about his day. He likes mingling among the cows as they graze, picking for bugs and grain in their droppings. They watch him but don’t seem to mind his intrusion except to occasionally toss their heads at him if he gets too close.
One evening a calf got her hoof stuck in the fence wire as she was being naughty, trying to sneak out and got caught. Fred ran full throttle to her scolding and fussing. She was so scared at his raucous that she was able to kick herself free and run. It was hilarious.
Sometimes we spy him on the chicken house roof running around and other times he has been spotted in the cows feed trough gleaming from their leftovers or pretending to be guinea king of the mountain on a round bale of hay.
I have tried to figure out where he spends the night. I have stayed out until dark watching him as he picks around the yard. He goes to bed late, we know not where. So far he has been safe from night critters that love snatching and munching on unsuspecting poultry.
