Guinea talk.

[guineapeeps]

I also tried the fermenting food and I went back to the dry crumbles.  I added like 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the feed with warm water in a bucket and stirred.  Then I put a towel over the top of the bucket and let it sit for two days and fed.  Nobody was impressed with the food of course they don't like change very much.  There was flies everywhere within a very short time. I think they might enjoy it more in the winter time when it's cold and there aren't any flies.  

I just finished the best book I have ever read.  The name of it is Water for Elephants by Sara Cruen.  It's about a man in a nursing home thinking back on his life.  It's one of those books where you can't put it down.  It has a happy ending too and Iove books that end happily.There is also a movie about it and I'm going to try and find that.  

Spiderman and Mary Jane come in the house yesterday.  I held Mary Jane and she enjoyed every minute of it.  I think she wanted another bath but I checked her and she was in good shape.  My husband had a dentist appointment so he couldn't hold Spiderman.  He paced back and forth in front of me and Mary Jane.  I think he was a little jealous of all the attention she was getting.  

I hope everyone has a nice day. Today is the first day of Fall.  

I read that book several years ago and thought it was really good too. They made a movie out of it, but I didn't see it. (they were actually filming parts of the movie in Chattanooga when I lived there). Usually the books are a lot better than the movies, so you'll have to let me know how the movie measures up to the book if you watch the movie.

 

[pattyhen]

I'll let you know Guineapeeps about the movie. I'll either rent it or buy it on Amazon. That is neat that they filmed the movie there where you lived.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I read that book several years ago and thought it was really good too. They made a movie out of it, but I didn't see it. (they were actually filming parts of the movie in Chattanooga when I lived there). Usually the books are a lot better than the movies, so you'll have to let me know how the movie measures up to the book if you watch the movie.

I've seen the movie and it's pretty good but I've heard the book is much better.

 

[pattyhen]

I rented the movie and it was good but if you have a chance to read the book it is so much better then the movie. The video rental store had it and I was glad I didn't have to wait two weeks to get it in the mail from Amazon.

 

[GlennLee]

Sun - thank you for posting all the information on fermenting food. It will be a good reference for the future. Good luck finding a grainery in your area. I haven't thought about venturing beyond the bag at this point, but may consider exploring it as an option at some point.

Patti, you may be right - the fermented food may be more of a treat in the winter. Interesting that you added vinegar. I've read about adding apple cider vinegar to water to keep the digestive system healthy and discourage worms.

Oh, I mentioned the bumping of chests between Spider and Mary Jane to my husband. He has seen turkeys in the wild do it and it was related to mating, but they were BOTH males! Maybe Mary Jane is asserting her independence and Spider isn't happy about it. She'll be wanting to drive your car next... it's funny that they both wanted to visit the Day Spa. Sounds good to me too...

Thank you for the book / movie tip. That was one I had heard about, but haven't gotten around to either book or movie yet. Will have to move it up on the list. I just finished an audiobook - Fannie Flagg's - The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion - a nice story about a middle aged woman finding her true self and has very strong female characters; I also learned about the role of WASPS (Women Air Force Service Pilots) in WWII. It might be one you'd be interested in. Fannie Flagg is the author of Fried Green Tomatoes and that's a movie as well.

Question - do any of you use a broad spectrum dewormer as a preventative measure? If so, what, how and how often? From what I can gather, most of the information on BYC is related to chickens. Some don't administer anything at all (as a preventative), some give it once a year at a low egg production time, some twice a year and still others four times a year - which seems like a bit much to me. I don't want to encourage resistance to the dewormer; then it won't work when I really need it to. Your thoughts and experiences on this?

Happy Fall!

 

[pattyhen]

I used to put apple cider vinegar in the water bowls but I quit doing it. I can't imagine drinking water with vinegar in it. I haven't wormed the chickens and ducks for a while now. I would use the corrid in the water bowls. I haven't seen any evidence of worms so I stopped doing it. I don't know if the corrid is ok for guineas to have.

Rhonda I like the different colors of ink in your messages. It makes it so much easier to read to each person it's addressed. I will put those books on my to read books thank you. The library has a sale on books about once a month I need to go there. The selection at the Salvation Army seems to be dwindling down. We also have a free library box in a park close to us. You put a book in the box and then take one out. I usually keep them stocked up on the books I've read I've only found a couple that were suitable to read.

Mary Jane will be wanting to visit the mall and go to the that shop that sells all the perfumes and bath oils soon. Bath and body works is the name of the store.

Spiderman can go to Bass Pro Shop while she does her shopping.

I hope everyone has a nice day.

 

[guineapeeps]

[COLOR=800080]Sun - thank you for posting all the information on fermenting food. It will be a good reference for the future. Good luck finding a grainery in your area. I haven't thought about venturing beyond the bag at this point, but may consider exploring it as an option at some point. [/COLOR] [COLOR=A52A2A]Patti, you may be right - the fermented food may be more of a treat in the winter. Interesting that you added vinegar. I've read about adding apple cider vinegar to water to keep the digestive system healthy and discourage worms. [/COLOR] [COLOR=A52A2A]Oh, I mentioned the bumping of chests between Spider and Mary Jane to my husband. He has seen turkeys in the wild do it and it was related to mating, but they were BOTH males! Maybe Mary Jane is asserting her independence and Spider isn't happy about it. She'll be wanting to drive your car next... it's funny that they both wanted to visit the Day Spa. Sounds good to me too...[/COLOR] [COLOR=A52A2A]Thank you for the book / movie tip. That was one I had heard about, but haven't gotten around to either book or movie yet. Will have to move it up on the list. I just finished an audiobook - Fannie Flagg's - The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion - a nice story about a middle aged woman finding her true self and has very strong female characters; I also learned about the role of WASPS (Women Air Force Service Pilots) in WWII. It might be one you'd be interested in. Fannie Flagg is the author of Fried Green Tomatoes and that's a movie as well.[/COLOR] Question - do any of you use a broad spectrum dewormer as a preventative measure? If so, what, how and how often? From what I can gather, most of the information on BYC is related to chickens. Some don't administer anything at all (as a preventative), some give it once a year at a low egg production time, some twice a year and still others four times a year - which seems like a bit much to me. I don't want to encourage resistance to the dewormer; then it won't work when I really need it to. Your thoughts and experiences on this? [COLOR=FF8C00]Happy Fall! [/COLOR]

I only have Guineas and don't use anything as a preventative for worms. I have seen mixed info on using it with guineas; some say it's bad for them, and others say it's ok. I've never seen any evidence of worms in my guineas, so I just don't do anything. Mine seem pretty healthy, but I'm interested in what others have to say about it....I'm always anxious to learn more and get more ideas and info! Thanks for the book recommendation! I will have to see if our local library has it. I also check out a lot of books on Overdrive. It is a free app for computers, tablets, phones, iPads, etc. It let's you download books and audio books for free from libraries all over the US. I personally like to read an actual physical book, but this is nice if you can't get to the library or if you want an audio book to listen to in the car.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I am considering deworming my flock in a few months, once all my babies are a little older and laying slows down. At one point I thought some of the chickens had worms so I bought Strike 3 pellets which are a medicated feed type dewormer. It turned out the droppings I was seeing was normal, so I have it saved just in case. I am generally not an advocate of prophylactic deworming, antibiotics, etc. The Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab is right up the road from me, though, so I might collect some droppings and have them check them. I don't think its very expensive. Checking for worms is very easy and I have done it as a vet tech but I don't have the equipment (fecal float tubes and a microscope) at my disposal at this point. I was reading on here that you should do it as a two step process, using Wazine first and then following up with with the other type. I'm not positive, but I think Corid is used for coccidia, not for worms.

Mama and baby are doing well. We had rain for two days nonstop and no one got to free range on those days. On Thursday I was finally able to let everyone out for a few hours and decided to let mom and dad take the baby out for a bit. They were okay at first and stayed within sight so I started working on fixing the roof of one of my nest boxes because rain had gotten in. I looked for them a few minutes later and they were trying to take baby into the soybeans. I was so mad! I ran over and went into the field and yelled and herded them back onto the property. Finally they gave up and went back over by the coops. Mama no longer tries to run me down and bite me if I go near the baby and for the most part I can pick up the baby and move her to safety, so I think she is starting to trust my judgement and consider me part of the baby protection team lol. Yesterday I let them out again for a while once it got sunny and warm and they did not even try to take her by the soybeans so I was happy.

Here is a picture of mom and baby from this morning. The baby is growing so fast! It is even more noticeable when you see her next to mama as a size comparison, rather than just next to siblings or chicks.




Yesterday I was thinking about my white hen and Purple and really missing them I hope I get some white and purple babies next year! So far my keets are very well behaved and I have not lost any more since the day I lost Polly. I have not seen signs of the fox, either. Oh, but I did have a peculiar incident the other night! Dad and my two bigger pied girls (3 months old, I think) went to bed inside the coop with the chickens. I have been leaving the door to that coop open at night. I think around 2:30 I awoke to the sound of the guineas making worried noises so I went out to look. All three of the guineas were in the run on the ground, so something had scared them out of the coop. I looked everywhere, high and low, and couldn't find anything. All the chickens seemed fine and were still on the roosts. I didn't want them sleeping on the ground in the run though because they were making anxious noises and I didn't want them attracting something so I had to slowly corral them back into the coop using the flashlight (no easy task). There were a lot of owls out and they were loud so I wonder if an owl flew by the window and scared them or something! My male turkey was also on guard and puffed up on his perch in the run.

Back to the fermented food, I think adding vinegar might be a bad idea since it would change the taste and even though vinegar is made via fermentation it is used as a food preservative so it would slow the fermentation of whatever its added to (I think). I do use apple cidar vinegar in my waterers in the summer to slow the algae growth. I only use it in my biggest waterer, which is clear. It is 5 gallons and a splash is all it takes so I don't think its enough to alter the taste. One of the reasons I thought they might like the fermented food was because there have been a couple times when food has been rained on a little and swelled and become mushy and they really seemed to enjoy that. I did just remember that the store near m that sells all the grains and seeds shuts down for the winter as it is primarily a nursery so that might make the grain idea no longer an option, at least until next summer. Many people do not feed fermented feeds in the winter because of the freezing issue, anyway, though its a shame because that seems to be the time of year they would need that extra nutrition and bulk the most.

Actually, I just looked up the vinegar thing and it seems you could add some if your fermented feed is starting to get too alcohol smelling - that is, too much fermentation is occurring - to try to save it. So I think I am right and the vinegar slows the fermentation process.

 

[GlennLee]

Yesterday we found some coyote scat, but haven't seen the coyote in the flesh - that's usually the way it goes with them. We also had two scares from a hawk - so the flock will be in the coop / run for a couple of days to mix things up. They finally decided to explore our upper garden and loved poking around under the tall sunflowers. I wish they had visited this area earlier in the season; I could have used their help with the cucumber beetles, squash bugs and flea beetles. You can see 8 of them in this picture with the sunflowers in the background and I got a close up of two of them. They are constantly moving and are difficult to photograph as - you all know!




Thank you all for your feedback on the deworming. I did decide to deworm the new birds as a precaution and also did the rest of the flock as well. I read about using Wazine first (if a wormer wasn't used within a year) and then following up with a second dewormer (I used ivomec Eprinex (eprinomectin). I decided not to use the Wazine first, given the age of my birds (4 & 5 months). I'm not a proponent of using medication when there isn't a need. The four newbies had been ranging with Chukar Partridge and chickens before I got them and they are VERY small for their age. I wasn't sure what they had been exposed to, or what they had eaten, and didn't want to take the chance on infecting my existing flock.

Although my flock appears to be healthy, they have been free ranging and are coming into constant contact (and probably eating) slugs, snails, earthworms and nematodes - lots of potential to pick up a variety of worms. The other issue is that the flock travels across the road to my neighbor's. She has chickens (free ranging, but in a large contained area) and is planning to start a flock of heritage breed turkeys in the spring. We know both the guineas and turkeys will be free ranging between our properties, so we have to consider it as one large farm, not two separate ones. We read research related to the potential build up of worms in poultry and blackhead disease - which would be more of a problem for her turkeys than for my guineas. Obviously, birds are going to be susceptible to worms given what they eat free ranging, but we had read that "regular" (however you want to interpret that) deworming would help to prevent build up of worms in a bird, keeping it healthier, less susceptible to transmitting the disease or getting the disease.

Blackhead itself isn't a worm, it is caused by a protozoan parasite. The parasite can be found in earthworms, slugs, snails, etc. and the common poultry cecal worm. Poultry eating earthworms, slugs, etc. have a greater chance of ingesting the protozoan parasite and with more ingested parasites, the more chance there is of contracting the disease. Usually chickens and guineas are carriers and not susceptible to blackhead, but the disease could wipe out a flock of turkeys.

Much of the research on regular deworming relates to larger commercial farms than to my smaller one, and there isn't a lot related specifically to Guinea Fowl - most of what I read on guineas was research done in Botswana with flocks of 1,000 or more birds! I don't have a schedule on when I might deworm again, but my neighbor and I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea given the circumstances - both with the addition of the new birds joining my flock and the arrival of her turkeys in the spring.

I think having the droppings checked before deworming might be a better way to go. If I do decide to do this, my "regular" schedule would only be once a year. We are both concerned about eventual ineffectiveness of the medicine and resistance with overuse and want it to be able to use it if I have an emergency need for treating worms, mites or lice.

FYI - We used ivomec Eprinex pour on (.1 ml for the little ones and .25 ml for the big ones). I administered it once a week for three weeks - drops on their skin at back of their necks or in between the wings, where I could get to skin. We went with a 3 week dosing to disrupt the life cycle of the worms / mites / lice and did this by going into the coop at night with a flashlight. It's funny, they let me pet them while roosting and I'll probably go in to visit once in a while to get them used to being touched.

Neither one of us is sure if it is the "right" thing to do, but we thought it was the best decision at the time given the circumstances. We're both still investigating the best way to work with two farms and two different free ranging poultry - eventually turkeys and guineas. I was interested in your collective thoughts and wanted to share what we did here. Thank you!

Sun - precious pic of mama and baby. The lavenders are so soft looking. They are just beautiful and I hope you get more whites and purples to add to your flock in the spring. We will be awaiting their pictures. I also appreciated your idea on adding a bit of vinegar to the water in the summer to discourage algae build up. It doesn't take long for it to be a problem and then the water starts to smell skunky - I'm sure the birds would appreciate a bit of apple cider vinegar over skunk. How wonderful that you were a vet tech... I think vet techs have hearts of gold. They're extremely knowledgeable and are a great resource and support.

Guineapeeps - I use Overdrive all the time! That way, I can listen to a book while I do my chores or ride in the car. I just started a book club with some friends and would be happy to share ideas for book titles. I like receiving them from others as well. We go to a phenomenal lecture series in Syracuse - it's a fundraiser for their public library and they bring in 6 authors a year to talk about their books and usually get great leads from that. Tomorrow night is the first lecture of this season with Elizabeth George - mystery novelist. If you like that genre, the book I read was pretty griping and gruesome The Body of Death. I think I preferred reading the mysteries from The Spenser Series by Robert B. Parker or Alexander McCall Smith's series - #1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Patti - I hope you realize how many smiles you put on people's faces! I laughed out loud at the thought of Spider and Mary Jane going to the mall together. Has your toe healed up by now? What an ordeal that was, but you told it in a way that we all felt like we experienced it right along with you! Thank you for your book ideas, I am planning to download Water for Elephants to help pass the time on our car ride to North Carolina. I'll have to follow up by watching the movie then as well - but not in the car of course.

One last picture to share. We picked all of our pumpkins yesterday and it provided a nice photo opt. They know how to stay still for a picture, unlike you know who.... Concord grapes have been made into jelly, tomatoes have been made into soup, butternut squashes still in need of picking .. gardening is coming to a close for another year. Have a great afternoon everyone!

 

[pattyhen]

Sun momma and baby are just gorgeous. I love that color and the baby is getting big. It seems like they grow overnight. Thanks so much for sharing their pics.

Rhonda thank you for all the info on the worming. I might worm all the ducks chickens and guineas in the spring. I haven't wormed for quite a while. The pictures of the guineas are great. I know it's hard to get them to stay still for a photo shoot. Your pumpkins are really nice and I bet you've been busy with all the canning. Pumpkins do have a tendency to stay still when you take their pictures.

I'm glad a laugh out of the mall trip Spiderman and Mary Jane made. It poured down rain today and Spiderman and Mary Jane were not happy campers. We let them in for a while until it stopped raining. I wish they would learn to go to the coop instead of the house.

We just clipped toenails on some of the chickens. You have to be careful of clipping to far in the quick. We got lucky today no one bled.

It is nice here today after the rain with only a high of 72. We've had 90s for so long this is a welcome change. I hope everyone has a nice day and all the birds remain safe from the predators.