Guineas with Blue Heads?

[Soltaria]

There are Reichenow's guinea fowl in the hobby, I have kept them in the past and have more coming this summer from a breeder, here are the parents of the birds I'm buying, they were bred by Joel Rogers.

Mine look a lot like this but with droopy wattles. Also they have kind of a purple/gray "umbrella" that starts where their neck has no feathers and extends down to their shoulders. The humps on their heads also aren't quite as large but they still have growing to do so they may get bigger. I wonder if maybe they are a cross between domestic and these? They can definitely fly. At 3-4 weeks they would fly nearly to my ceiling fan. I had to put wire over my brooder.

 

[LizardKing]

They also only produce a few eggs each season, you can increase the number by taking the eggs from the hen, but they don't lay all season long like domestic guinea fowl which is why the price is so high.

To me they are well worth the difference in price, the colors are so beautiful, but they are getting harder and harder to find as people don't breed them very often any longer.

I would be seriously interested in such a beastie as I am pretty sure the loudness of domestic guineas will have my wife BBQ them the second she gets a chance to.
I would strongly encourage you to breed them in as high numbers as you can while selecting for hens that produce more eggs like a domestic guinea.
Perhaps in a years or two I might be able to purchase a pair and start such a program myself.....

 

[philter4]

I would be seriously interested in such a beastie as I am pretty sure the loudness of domestic guineas will have my wife BBQ them the second she gets a chance to.
I would strongly encourage you to breed them in as high numbers as you can while selecting for hens that produce more eggs like a domestic guinea.
Perhaps in a years or two I might be able to purchase a pair and start such a program myself.....

Lizard king, even though I don't have any myself at the moment, they are available now, I know someone who has a pair for $550 ready to ship. If you contact me I'll put you in touch with the breeder.

 

[LizardKing]

Lizard king, even though I don't have any myself at the moment, they are available now, I know someone who has a pair for $550 ready to ship. If you contact me I'll put you in touch with the breeder.

I say a year or two due to funds and even more importantly, lack of proper facilities to care for an expensive breed of guinea.
As a matter of fact I am in the process of building an outdoor aviary for chickens and quail,not expensive ones, but still feel seriously responsible for their health and safety in
my seriously predator filled 6 acres.
I do think that work should be done to increase egg production numbers for such a guinea as I do
think the noise is THE major problem with the species though the idea of a guard bird is
appealing to many.

 

[Soltaria]

I finally got a good picture of the two of them. I intensified the color in the pic a little bit because the camera phone didn't capture what it looks like very well. You can see the purple umbrella I was talking about.
These guys are huge! They are just shy of 3 months old and are almost bigger than the full grown 2 year old hens.

 

[LizardKing]

I finally got a good picture of the two of them. I intensified the color in the pic a little bit because the camera phone didn't capture what it looks like very well. You can see the purple umbrella I was talking about.
These guys are huge! They are just shy of 3 months old and are almost bigger than the full grown 2 year old hens.

They look great!

 

[Soltaria]

Thanks! They are becoming more friendly as time goes on. Probably because they have associated me with snack time. But they are still pretty skittish and I have to move very slowly so they don't scatter.

 

[LizardKing]

Thanks! They are becoming more friendly as time goes on. Probably because they have associated me with snack time. But they are still pretty skittish and I have to move very slowly so they don't scatter.

Birds are all about SLOWLY developing trust, or just plain getting used to you.
Sounds like they will be hearty birds!
Are they free run or penned?

 

[philter4]

I finally got a good picture of the two of them. I intensified the color in the pic a little bit because the camera phone didn't capture what it looks like very well. You can see the purple umbrella I was talking about. These guys are huge! They are just shy of 3 months old and are almost bigger than the full grown 2 year old hens.

It's hard to say what genetics are involved, they are not pure Reichenow's , but it looks like you might be right and there very well could be recent Reichenow's DNA crossed back into the mix. As for the size there are very large birds from French stock, I've never seen them and maybe they have bluer head colors then the normal domestic guinea fowl. No matter what DNA is involved, the birds are beautiful!

 

[Soltaria]

It's hard to say what genetics are involved, they are not pure Reichenow's , but it looks like you might be right and there very well could be recent Reichenow's DNA crossed back into the mix. As for the size there are very large birds from French stock, I've never seen them and maybe they have bluer head colors then the normal domestic guinea fowl. No matter what DNA is involved, the birds are beautiful!

Thank you! I'm very fond of them and glad I have a male and female and can make more!

Birds are all about SLOWLY developing trust, or just plain getting used to you.
Sounds like they will be hearty birds!
Are they free run or penned?

They're ranging over about an acre. It is fenced in so I don't know if I can really call them free range but they can get over the fence very easily. In fact my chickens do it all the time. So I'm not too sure if they would be considered free range or not.