Acryllium Vulturinum

ORIGIN:

Eastern tropical Africa in dry grassland and scrub plain dotted with tall trees.

DIET:

Uses is powerful beak and claws to scratch and dig for seeds, roots, tubers, grubs, and will catch rodents, small reptiles, and crawling insects. Browses on some vegetation and fruits.

SPECIFIC FEATURES:

Very inquisitive and bold. Small parties forage over the plains in loose flocks. Often found in the company of hoof stock collecting from the spoils of the churned-up earth. Prefers to roost high in trees at night. Calls can be heard over long distances and they utter them when disturbed, excited, or to call together the flock at evening.

Guineas are both monomorphic and monochromatic and the behavior of both sexes is so similar as not to be helpful in distinguishing males from females.

REPRODUCTION:

13-18 creamy white eggs are laid in a scrap in a grass clump. One nest may contain eggs from two hens who may share in the incubation process. The shells are particularly thick and durable and have a pitted surface. Incubation lasts 28 days and the precocial chicks, in their gold and brown-striped down, can fly within a few days. They become active members of the flock in just a few weeks.

VULTURINE GUINEAFOWL IN CAPTIVITY

HABITAT DESIGN:

Dryer and more open than for the Cresteds. Tall grasses will give individuals privacy, which can be in short supply in close confinement. They also spend less time off the ground than their counterparts, although some sturdy branching should be provided as an option. Always make sure there is enough for everyone to avoid potentially fatal fighting. Other considerations are the same as for the entire family of guineafowl.

DIET:

Basically the same as for Vulturines. Many keepers offer "chicken scratch" which they will eat, but alone may not be balanced or varied enough. They are really omnivores that will eat most any seed sold in feed stores (with the possible exception of milo, which almost no bird seems to like). In the ground, they use their strong beaks and claws to chip away at tubers, with the ground holding tight. When feeding carrots or other roots, it may be necessary to shred first since there will be nothing to hold them while the birds peck away. They usually tire of chasing these rolling menus and leave them lay, giving the false impression that they don't like them.

BREEDING:

Virtually the same as other members of the family. Guineas are very easy to raise artificially. It is

not recommended that other species be kept in the same brooder due to the aggressive nature of these chicks. They discover food and water receptacles readily and need little extra attention. Crowding must be avoided at all times as their aggressive nature can exhibit itself fatally if they start picking on each other from stress.

When parents raise the chicks naturally, they are sturdy and have a high rate of survivability. Overhead predators such as hawks may be thwarted by making sure there is ample low brush to which the hen may take the chicks when necessary. Usually, the chicks will just be sheltered under the hen until danger passes.

The shells of guinea eggs are extremely hard to crack with a thick leathery membrane inside. Chicks hatch by literally breaking out instead of the methodical chipping around the cap employed by most other birds. Harvested eggs may be used for making egg food for other species but because of their hardness the shells should not be fed unless they are first finely ground and, of course, thoroughly baked.