Guinea fowl

Roy was originally attracted to keeping guinea fowl, as they could live as wild birds and look after themselves. “They go around in a flock,” he says. “They all sleep in a tree until the following morning. The big problem is finding where they’re laying eggs, which isn’t easy in rough woodland. I have incubated the eggs, and it’s been very successful. The guinea fowl have never succeeded in raising their young on their own. If I don’t get to the chicks as soon as they hatch, they die because it’s too cold. They’re also vulnerable to predators, such as crows and magpies.” Roy keeps the chicks in a brooder; a glazed wooden cabinet with a heated plate to keep them warm. “When they’re young, they go underneath the plate, and when they’re bigger, they go on top so their legs and backsides get nice and warm,” he says. “They stay there for three weeks, then go into the pen outside for another four weeks. When they’re fully feathered and can fly, I let them out.” Although guinea fowl meat is considered to be a delicacy, Roy does not eat the birds. “I do eat some of the eggs though, and they’re really tasty. They make fantastic scones,” he says.