I would remember how my grandpa raised guinea fowls and allowed me to feed them with my hands. He helped me figure out males and females.
Now I keep mine in the coop with other poultry. Every night, I need to go out there and shoo them off my ladder storage and back into the fenced-in area.
If you’ve been planning to add guinea fowls to your farm or homestead, here are all 6 types of guinea fowls with pictures.
1. Helmeted Guinea Fowl
This is the most common and widely recognized breed with a distinctive helmet-like casque on the head.
Native to North Africa, Helmeted guinea fowl has dark plumage with white spots. You can tell them by their bare blue skin on their faces.
They are larger than standard chicken breeds and boast compact bodies with tight feathering.
The birds also have strong wings and legs. They come in several different colors, including pearl, lavender, white, royal purple, and pied.
- Pearl Guinea: They are known for their beautiful dotted feather pattern (pearled feathers). Mostly, they have a dark grey look and white spots on every feather. You can tell them by their blue head and yellow or tan crest.
- Lavender Guinea: They are a bit more light blue than a silver bird. I often get confused about differentiating them in the mixed flock.
- White Guinea: Silvery light gray birds
- Royal Purple: The fowls highlight a dark purple chest, a blueish purple head, and a purple tint to the rest of their body.
You can expect them to weigh around 3 lbs if grown on the farm.
Though the fowls can fly away, they prefer to forage on the ground in the day and perch in the trees at night. They eat anything from insects, plant seeds, and small animals to ticks.
Their excellent skill in controlling pests, including ticks, And farm owners easily get attracted to the guinea fowl benefits.
Don’t worry, they are best domesticated, beginner-friendly, hardy, and adaptable. They are suitable for both eggs and meat.
2. Black Guinea Fowl
Native to Central Africa, black guinea fowls are entirely dark birds with red patches on their face and head. This gives them a unique and striking look.
They mostly show up in the group and remain shy most of the time.
In the wilderness, they feast on invertebrates, including ants, beetles, small frogs, seeds, berries, and shoots.
Apart from being excellent foragers, black guineas are hardy in hot climates. They tend to breed in the dry season or possibly at any time of year.
I don’t want you to fancy this bird, as they are only prized for uniqueness, not considered common in domesticated flocks
3. Crested Guinea Fowl
As the name suggests, crested guinea fowls are known for their curly black crest on their heads.
They are large birds with tiny heads. You can tell them by their dark grey to black plumage with whitish spots. Their dark plumage reflects a greenish-purple sheen under the sunlight.
Also, their heads and necks are without feathers and have red skin around their eyes and blue necks. Interestingly, both male and female crested fowls look and act the same.
As crested fowls are attractive ornamental birds, they are sometimes kept in aviaries.
Though they are hardy, decent foragers, they are less common in farms and homesteads.
4. Vulturine Guinea Fowl
I love this type for its striking combination of blue and black feathers.
They have a chestnut crest and blue-gray head and neck, with a band of short chestnut brown feathers behind its eye. Their breast and back are blue in color, heavily marked with white stripes.
You can expect them to reach up to 24 inches in size and weigh 2.2 to 3.5 lbs.
Though they are named after the vulture, which is dull in appearance, vulturine is truly the largest and most striking type with vivid blue feathers and a long neck.
That’s why they are nicknamed “royal guinea fowl.”
They are social, often seen in flocks of around 20 – 50 birds, and make excellent foragers.
They are more common in game reserves or as ornamental flocks rather than homesteads and farms for meat and eggs.
5. Plumed Guinea Fowl
Pumed guinea fowls are also eye-catching and ornamental, but not commonly domesticated.
They are more suited for bird enthusiasts and collectors than for large-scale farming. But still, they are effective for pest control when raised in open spaces.
Native to Africa, these guineas live throughout Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Angola.
You can recognize these medium-sized birds by their unique long feathers on the back of their head. They have blue-black plumage and elongated feathers on their upper back.
The shy fowls are bare-headed with red and blue patches. They also boast a short beak and a crest of rounded feathers.
Plumed guineas are usually found in pairs or small groups and prefer spending their time on the ground for the food. They forage for plant seeds, fruits, insects, and small invertebrates.
Whenever they show up, they make a harsh and loud noise to mark their territory.
Also, they are summer-hardy birds that like to join larger flocks.
6. White-breasted Guinea Fowl
White breasted guinea fowls are medium-sized birds that are recognizable by their white breast contrasting with dark feathers.
Native to West African forests, the fowls are known for their red throat pouch and lack of helmet or wattles.
You can recognize them with their small, bare, red head, long, black tail, greenish-brown bill, and greyish feet.
The fowls are a rare type and are found mainly in West Africa. They mostly eat seeds, berries, termites, and small animals.
You can expect them to grow from 2.2 to 2.5 lbs.
Known for being shy and preferring dense forests, they are more ornamental and less common for farming. But they are valuable for biodiversity enthusiasts.
Final Thoughts
The best and most common is the helmeted guinea fowl for table birds and farming for profit. Thanks to their multiple color options, they also make attractive, show game birds.
If you want other types of guinea fowl, make sure you consider the local regulations, as they are rare and not domesticated.
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