Refugee

[akirlu]

Or, AKICILJ FTW. It seems my commenters were indeed correct: looks like she's a guinea hen all right:



This morning on my rush to the train, I spotted her in the alley behind the Mexican grocery, hanging out with a couple of crows. When she spotted me she turned and ran right up to me, cheeping a funny little cry. She's not hand tame -- she wouldn't let me get closer than her chosen proximity, but she seemed eager for company. She kept making little cries. I looked around and didn't see signs of any other guinea fowl -- she seems to be a one-off. If she's someone's free range fowl I would expect there to be others about. (Apparently Guinea fowl are good for organic gardeners -- if allowed to free range they eat mostly insects. Why yes, I did go looking for more info, once I got to work.)

In my usual, stupidly soft-hearted way, I'm worried for her -- between trying to hang out with crows, and ducks, and now me, I think she's lonely. I worried that she might be hungry as well, but from what I read it sounds like she can get by on foraging in the grass around the creek for seeds and bugs, and whatever is leftover when people feed the ducks that hang out on the creek. But still, a social bird without a flock. It seems sad.

Comments

[dragonet2.livejournal.com]

Poor thing, she has to be separated from her flock. While I do not profess total love for guinea fowl (my intro to them was at a teaching/riding./boarding/summer camp stable where they had them loose on the grounds as part of the petting zoo*) any social bird need a flock.

*You, too, can see a horse levitate three feet into the air, then go bat-shit terrorized because one of these was in the undergrowth and decided to bolt straight up and bash the horse in the face as it went up. They also make noise when startled. Fortunately I was just trying to catch the horse. After its terror, it just wanted me to pet it and tell it that everything would be all right. And get it away from the scary brush monsters.

[daystreet.livejournal.com]

Maybe she's a fan, though, and that's why she ran up to you?

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

It's true I'm much renowned in African domestic poultry circles...

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

There's a neighborhood "National Night Out" event tonight, and I'll ask around to see if anyone knows where she might belong or, alternatively, if anyone in the vicinity keeps chickens. I'd like to get her back to her own flock, or, failing that, a flock.

[seattle-janice.livejournal.com]

The Woodland Park Zoo has a few. I wonder if they have any way to rescue her.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

That's a very good thought. I wasn't sure if they had any -- I had a vague recollection that they might, but they're not listed among the birds they mention on the website. Anyway, if I don't get anywhere checking with the neighbors at the National Night Out event tonight, I will see about finding a contact at the zoo. Aside from loneliness, there's coyotes to think about.

[seattle-janice.livejournal.com]

I saw three of them in the African Savannah exhibit about three months ago. The website lists them as helmeted guinea fowl.

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

The farm next door when I was growing up had a flock of guinea fowl, pretty much like this one, who regularly hopped the fence and pecked around in our back yard. My recollection is that they were very social, and barely left each other's sides for more than a few feet or so. When a curious child tried to creep up and watch them they would always flee as a group.