Storm Brought Blessing

So this week I was out in the village - and noticed something quite unusual.

Do you see it??

All day - I saw chickens running around together ... chickens, roosters, baby chicks.  They hang out, sometimes chase each other, sometimes posture and figure out who is "king of the castle".

So what is off with this picture above??  Here we have 7 guinea fowl and 1 small black hen. ... Say what??!?

All day - this small chicken running around with the guinea fowl.

So, I commented on it to my friends:  "This small black chicken there.  In my opinion, this small black chicken thinks he is a guinea hen.  All day, this chicken is together with the guinea fowl."

I was thinking it was something to talk about.  But it was the funniest story I've heard in a while.

They laughed and laughed.  And then the husband asked me.  "Remember that storm this year that brought the chicken?"

Yes. I do - this storm I caught pictures of while I was in the village.

I was at this house following that huge sand storm that blew through.  I was there that day to vaccinate his one sole chicken.  And as we sat there - another chicken ran out from the fields across the road.  It hesitated and then ran straight for their yard ... wandered around.  Checkout out the humans.  Saw the other chicken.  And settled in - deciding that this was its new yard!!  Phew - it found people!!

None of their neighbours came to claim this chicken.  Who knows how far it blew before it touched ground and began to run!

Anyways.  Following that storm, their chicken laid eggs.  As they had no rooster at the time, the eggs were, in his words "only water" - so they ate the eggs.  Then, he decided that he wanted to raise guinea fowl ... so he bought eggs and set them under his chicken.

You set guinea fowl eggs under chickens because guinea fowl are well, foul!!  They are very territorial about their young and will peck and fight anyone who gets near.  So, it is safer to raise them under a chicken.

One day - these seven guinea fowl hatched.  He heard their peeping and went to look.  And got the surprise of his life - 7 baby guinea fowl ... and one little black baby chicken!!  He called his wife over and they exclaimed over this baby chicken!  And tried to figure out how on earth they got a baby chick without a rooster!

As best the figure out - the chicken that blew in that day came from a yard with a rooster and came ready to lay an egg!  Which was sat upon with the guinea fowl eggs and they all hatched together.  They came from the same nest and truly this baby chicken thinks it is a guinea hen and stays close to its nest siblings!!

As my friends put it - the storm brought us "profit" that day ... one chicken to add to ours and a baby chick too!  Since then, the chicken has had three more baby chicks as they now have a rooster too!