Guinea talk.

[GlennLee]

Oh, how can you not love this little fluff ball? Here is a picture of Joseph aka JoJo with the 9 week old keets. They are out free ranging for a few hours a day. Well, at least they were until yesterday. JoJo gave his alarm call - I always at least watch on the outside chance it's not a train, truck or plane and this time, he nailed it. COYOTE! I started screaming and waving my arms. Luckily, it took off and I was able to gather everyone into the coops and put them behind the electric solar fence. Predation is absolutely the worst part about free ranging them. At least we made it through this time without a casualty. Extra mealworms for JoJo!

 

[Dmontgomery]

Good job JoJo!

 

[GlennLee]

Thanks Dmontgomery! I agree... after decimating my flock this spring, I'm all about short circuiting attacks from any predators. Hope all is well with you in black snake country.

 

[Dmontgomery]

We've had a coyote problem of our own the past few weeks. The dogs have started "sleeping in", trying to soak up as much AC as possible. A coyote was able to sneak up on a broody mom and her chicks along the tree line. He snatched a chick before I could get a shot off. The gun fire scared him enough that he dropped the baby but it was already dead. He returned 3 days in a row but I finally figured out his routine this past weekend. He's no longer a threat.

Several dozen strategically placed moth balls ended the snakes for a while, for now.

Poor Gertrude gave up trying to lay in the coop and went back to the woods. The Bassetts brought her eggs INSIDE the house and placed them on the rug at the front door! The only way I'm ever going to get keets is if I get an incubator for Christmas.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Dear old blue boy ripped the skin right off his cask today. Got it stuck in chicken wire.

 

[BlueShadow]

Poor Gertrude gave up trying to lay in the coop and went back to the woods. The Bassetts brought her eggs INSIDE the house and placed them on the rug at the front door! The only way I'm ever going to get keets is if I get an incubator for Christmas.

Goodness, I've got 4 guinea hens sitting on nests and I expect at least 2 of them to hatch unless I do something (the other 2, who knows... they are places where predators are likely to find them, but so was the last nest that hatched!) I never thought that it might be difficult for them to nest and hatch out keets. Perhaps I need to rethink my "hatch and replace" method of maintaining my guinea population

 

[GlennLee]

@Dmontgomery - I'm glad you were able to take care of your coyote problem. Usually there is a pattern for a few days and if you can figure it out and get on it, you can find a way to solve it. Good thing! And, good news about the moth balls and snakes. Definitely get yourself an incubator or two! I have two of the Styrofoam ones and am thinking about getting a small Brinsea too. The only egg I hatched was Eloise or Elwood and I had to put in 6 ceramic eggs to hold the temperature. It would have been nice to have the option of using a smaller incubator. In my mind, I was going to be hatching LOTS of eggs or have the broody hens hatch to replenish the flock, but between the infertility issues and being down to one female - that didn't happen. Which leads to...

@BlueShadow - you would think that "hatch and replace" would work to sustain a flock. That's what I was planning on as well, but after a year - I'm down to one female and two males. Predators - coyote and fox during the day - took out 13 of them. So, I now have around 40 keets, will keep all of the females and about 1/4 of the males and next spring will limit their free ranging in order to keep them in to nest and hatch. We work really hard to do what we can to keep everyone safe and had to kick things up a notch this spring and summer. I don't like serving a buffet to the wild animals. There are enough rabbits around here without them preying on my guineas and chickens in broad daylight. Good luck with yours!

@MartinsPoultry - oh, poor blue boy... I've heard of so many head and neck injuries due to fences lately. It's very scary, the situations they get themselves into. Good think I have some cream to put on. I hope he heals up well for you, Christy. Love all the pics you post and am amazed by all your hatchings.

Keep safe everyone and keep those keets hatching! I have Polka Dottie laying eggs again and she will probably go broody on me for the second time. These eggs should be fertile... just trying to decide if I'm going to let it happen or just collect her eggs as we go. I don't think they would hatch until October and I'm not sure if that's a good thing... decisions, decisions...

 

[MartinsPoultry]

He should be fine. James had a tube of bacitracin on hand and we put it on to prevent infection.
And we had a chicken loss last night, she was a young pullet some how got vent gleet we had been fighting it with her for a week or a little more and she gave up last night when james and i left the room for a small bit.
Im planning on getting my chicken first aid kot set up this month, going to be hard now that i am jobless.
Also had a chicken catastrophe, she stepped underneath my foot when i was walking in the pin to feed the younger crew and broken two of her toes. She is splinted and in a cage in the coop so they still know her.

 

[guinealeghorn]

Meet the four new surprise keets! Chloe apparently had a nest we didn't know about! We couldn't find their nest for a long time. Yesterday, I heard all of the guineas screaming in the neighbor's horse pasture. I went in to see what the fuss was about, and I heard little peeping noises and saw the keets running around! I took them inside the house to raise, as the brooder box in the coop is occupied by a disabled hen. Today I found the nest in a huge clump of itch weed! She has a lot of eggs under her. I am going to have a lot of keets! I am going to raise them myself, as I don't trust Chloe to be a good mom, and my banties refused them. I will post more pictures later on!

 

[MartinsPoultry]

They're coming!
Just checked to candle and 12 eggs are piped and cracked open.
6 more talking, and the rest are duds.
Be expecting photos tomorrow!