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The Pintado, or Guinea Fowl

Guinea fowls associate readily with the common fowls in a poultry-yard; but they have this peculiarity, that the cocks and hens are so nearly alike that it is difficult to distinguish them, except by the voice, the hens only uttering the constantly-reiterated cry of "Go back! Go back!" The head is covered with a kind of casque, with wattles under the bill, and the whole plumage is either black or dark grey sprinkled with regular and uniform white spots. The pintado is a native of Africa.

These birds lay plenty of eggs, rather smaller than those of the common hen, and speckled. They may be reared by placing the eggs under a hen; but the chicks are extremely tender, and very often a sudden change of the wind in March will sweep off a whole brood in a few hours. The young should be fed with custard, &c., as ordered for fowls.

DUCKS.

The common wild duck, or mallard, is the original stock of the domesticated duck, and appears to have been reclaimed at a very early period. The mallards come from the north of Europe, at the end of autumn, and, migrating southward, arrive at the beginning of winter, in large flocks, and spread themselves over all the loughs and marshy waters in the British Isles. The tame duck is a larger bird, and varies greatly in colour. Tame ducks are easily reared: the best way to get them is to place duck's eggs under a hen, for the tame duck is often a careless mother; the hen, on the contrary, generally hatches a duckling from every egg with which she is entrusted. She does not conduct her young to the water, and generally exhibits much anxiety when the young brood take to it; but she watches over them, and is ever ready to defend them from danger. "The village schoolboy," as old Bewick says, "witnesses with delight the antic movements of the little brood under the charge of a foster-mother, who with anxious fears paddles upon the brink and utters her unavailing cries or calls, while the ducklings, regardless of her warnings, and rejoicing in the element so well adapted to their nature, are splashing over each other beneath the pendant foliage, and diving their heads beneath the water."

There are many varieties of the tame duck. One of those most in request is the dark-coloured Rouen, which is very prolific in eggs. The Aylesbury, or white variety, is large and profitable. The Muscovy duck is a distinct species, and not a mere variety, much larger than the common duck, and distinguished by a membrane of a red colour, covering the cheeks and extending behind the eyes. There are also several other foreign species, as the Mandarin and Carolina ducks, which are kept rather for ornament than use.

Ducks sit for thirty days. They begin to lay in February, and when not watched will lay abroad and conceal their eggs. They generally lay at night, or very early in the morning. While sitting, the duck requires a secluded and soft place. On hatching, she should be taken, with her brood, and put under a coop; a shallow pan of water should be placed near her for her drink and for that of the young ones, but it should be very shallow. In a few days she may be let loose, when, with her brood, she will immediately take to the water. Young ducks should be fed upon oatmeal or barleymeal, and kept in a warm place at night time, and not let out early in the morning. They should at first be kept from water to swim in, as it always does them harm. When the ducks grow large, they may be fed upon oats thrown into a pan of water.