Blw18
Songster
- Apr 16, 2020
- 127
- 243
- 116
So we’ve had a single population of guineas on our farm for around 16 years now. They’re almost fully feral and take 100% care of themselves on their own. During the day I never see them and at night they fly into the top of an oak tree at the edge of my yard to roost. This past year, a coyote found that the guinea hens are easy targets when they’re on their nest and reduced my flock down to 4 males and a single female. This year she made a nest and hatched two chicks. She was pushed off of her nest by some dogs and abandoned the rest before they could hatch. Anyways, she came back to the house to roost and has been injured really bad somehow. She could barely walk and her keets weren’t with her but a single male was. Upon closer inspection, one male stands and guards the injured hen, chasing me and whatever comes close, and the other three have adopted the keets and lead them around all day while the lone rooster and the hen rest. They sit on them to keep them warm, protect them, feed them, etc. and take turns sitting on them overnight on the ground. I knew the males were always protective of keets but I had no idea they’d do this. And these roosters are all between 6 and 8 years old and most DEFINITELY male. Some probably older than that. Is this normal? I’m grateful for it but I’ve just never seen this happen.