If you were an Englishman in the late Renaissance, you might well have known the Guinea fowl as a "Turkey bird," because as far as your average Englishman knew, Turkey is where they came from.

Which is why, upon seeing a large, previously unknown ground-feeding bird in North America, new English settlers referred to the new animals as "Turkey birds."

Word on the street is that Guineas are better table fare than turkeys. I've never had the chance to find out, myself, but I can believe it because I've had some pretty mediocre turkey.

-Aaron

As a kid our neighbor across the road had Guineas, little traffic on our gravel road but they never got hit by passing cars. Several years back Becky wanted Guineas. I built a Guinea coop and we bought 2 males and 4 females. The eggs are excellent. Our dusk to dawn security light came on early one night because of a storm and they failed to go back to the coop roosting under the security light. They must be pretty tasty to Owls, one took a male that night. Lost four more over the next three weeks. One little crafty female lasted almost two months. She never roost in the same tree twice. She finally got hit one morning as soon as she landed.