How or why was there a guinea in my yard?

[TXchickenchick]

I guess my first and main question is, can a guinea clear a 5' fence? The other morning my husband was headed to work. It wasn't yet daylight so my birds were still tucked in for the night. I have chickens and 3 pekin ducks. He came back inside and said there was some strange, probably wild, freaked out bird in our yard. I go outside and lo and behold, there is a terrified, screaming, female guinea. I carefully opened the gate and she ran off down the road screaming. Then I started feeling worried. How did she even get there? And why? The closest guineas I know of are about 2 1/2 miles up the road (with a few turns) and if she wandered from there, she could have got in lots of other yards before mine, and easier. My birds weren't up so she couldn't have picked my yard because of them. So, did someone dump this poor guinea in my yard through the night and I turned her out, helpless with nowhere to go? I never saw her after that so I don't know where she went and I feel terrible.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Chances are she wandered that way, may or may not have been chased part of it, and flew up and over the fence. Animals are funny in that they might go over/through a fence to get to one side, but are often incapable of figuring out how to reverse the process.

 

[TXchickenchick]

Thanks. So guineas CAN fly enough to get over a fence? I have never been around them and wasn't sure if they could or not.

 

[persimmonhill]

Mine have gone 40 feet up into trees so definitely if she is an adult she could.

 

[TXchickenchick]

Oh my goodness! Wow! I thought guineas were basically flightless! I had no idea! I am pretty sure she was an adult, she was as big as any guinea I have ever seen. Thanks for the info!