It's been about a month ago....blush....but I got a boxful of guinea keets in the mail. Now I have stories about my dear guineas....some real some my imagination.
A few years ago I got guineas...they are not the hardiest creatures. Or the smartest. Or the quietest. But they are essential on the farm for the tick population. Out of the 15 I got back then...6 survived for a while...and then there were two...And those two lasted for quite some time....but then Girl Guinea decided to sit on a nest WAAAAYYY far away from the coop. And Boy Guinea (called Guinea-Guinea) would go out and check on her. Then one day, the nest was empty of eggs and the girl. She decided to spend a bit of time with Coyote.
Have I ever mentioned we have a pack of coyotes around here?
Well, anyway, everyday Guinea-Guinea called to his mate:
"You-here? You-here? You here?"
Alas, no response.
Finally, one day we didn't hear Guinea-Guinea calling for his mate. We figured he was gone for good. But then two weeks later, he came back.....
And then, gone again. Now he's been gone over a month, so we are pretty sure he went to Coyote, ""cuse, me, 'yote? Have you seen my mate?"
"Why yes, I have.....Would you like me to take you to her?"
"Yes, indeed, please."
And Guinea-Guinea and his mate are together again....in the Coyote's tummy.
SIGH
Anyhoo...good to know my luck with guinea birds is still about the same.
I received a box with 15 guinea day olds. 6 Dead on Arrival. This is not good.
6 more died within 12 hours. Then 1 more within the first 48 hours. 2 survived for about a week. Then we lost another, and the last one looked like it was going to go too. I brought it inside and kept it in a shoebox with a heating pad.
The same day the guineas came, I needed to pick up some chick feed (as Bess had ate all the chick feed as her last meal :( ) And Rural King was trying something new and had Road Island Red Pullets (Females) and Cornish Cross Meat Chickens (day old).
Some women impulse buy shoes. Others hand bags.
Me? I impulse buy live farm animals.
So 2 RIR's and 6 meaties came home from the store with me.
I feel pretty confident now at a month old, that these are going to survive.
Below are pictures from the day I got all the baby guineas and chickens. I'll have to take and post more up-to-date pictures soon.
The big yellow looking ones are meat birds. The brown/red ones towards the back are RIRs. And the little gray looking ones are guineas.
A few years ago I got guineas...they are not the hardiest creatures. Or the smartest. Or the quietest. But they are essential on the farm for the tick population. Out of the 15 I got back then...6 survived for a while...and then there were two...And those two lasted for quite some time....but then Girl Guinea decided to sit on a nest WAAAAYYY far away from the coop. And Boy Guinea (called Guinea-Guinea) would go out and check on her. Then one day, the nest was empty of eggs and the girl. She decided to spend a bit of time with Coyote.
Have I ever mentioned we have a pack of coyotes around here?
Well, anyway, everyday Guinea-Guinea called to his mate:
"You-here? You-here? You here?"
Alas, no response.
Finally, one day we didn't hear Guinea-Guinea calling for his mate. We figured he was gone for good. But then two weeks later, he came back.....
And then, gone again. Now he's been gone over a month, so we are pretty sure he went to Coyote, ""cuse, me, 'yote? Have you seen my mate?"
"Why yes, I have.....Would you like me to take you to her?"
"Yes, indeed, please."
And Guinea-Guinea and his mate are together again....in the Coyote's tummy.
SIGH
Anyhoo...good to know my luck with guinea birds is still about the same.
I received a box with 15 guinea day olds. 6 Dead on Arrival. This is not good.
6 more died within 12 hours. Then 1 more within the first 48 hours. 2 survived for about a week. Then we lost another, and the last one looked like it was going to go too. I brought it inside and kept it in a shoebox with a heating pad.
The same day the guineas came, I needed to pick up some chick feed (as Bess had ate all the chick feed as her last meal :( ) And Rural King was trying something new and had Road Island Red Pullets (Females) and Cornish Cross Meat Chickens (day old).
Some women impulse buy shoes. Others hand bags.
Me? I impulse buy live farm animals.
So 2 RIR's and 6 meaties came home from the store with me.
I feel pretty confident now at a month old, that these are going to survive.
Below are pictures from the day I got all the baby guineas and chickens. I'll have to take and post more up-to-date pictures soon.
The big yellow looking ones are meat birds. The brown/red ones towards the back are RIRs. And the little gray looking ones are guineas.
Guinea getting a drink.
2 comments:
awwwwwww they are so cute!!!!!
RIRs are so pretty.
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