Guinea talk.

[GlennLee]

I didn't get around to taking any pictures during the day, but got these few Just Before Sunset. You can see the Keets being ignored by their mother! My neighbor has guineas and at this point it looks like a group of seven males. They come up to visit every morning in hopes of getting my young females to join them.

 

[GlennLee]

 

[GlennLee]

Thanks, @GlennLee....you are always so kind! Believe me, if I could’ve found a way to keep guineas on my boat, it already would’ve been a done deal, poop and all! I do miss my guineas a lot! I also miss my house, my garden, and even my tractor....but mostly the guineas! I do not miss certain things like losing an established part of the flock to a predator or having newly hatched keets die. I am enjoying this “new life” though. It is different in many ways, yet still similar. I have just traded the wide open spaces of land and acreage for the wide open spaces of water and ocean. I find the people to be somewhat similar as well. Sailors remind me a lot of farmers and country folk...they are both layed back, generous people with good hearts that would do almost anything for you!
I don’t know what the future holds long term, but for now I am happy. We are hanging out on the Great Lakes to escape hurricane season in Florida, so life is good! If no one minds, I will just continue to hang out in the background of this thread so I can get my guinea fix through you all!

I am impressed by your ability to adjust to your new lifestyle - from farm to boat - and appreciated reading your thoughts on the similarities between the two. Perhaps we are all agrarian at our core - hunters and gathers one and all. Interesting perspective and you are right, there are "generous people with good hearts" everywhere as long as we are opened to getting to know people.

Enjoy your exploration on the Great Lakes. How beautiful! Any chance you'll be Lake Ontario way? My sister lives just off Lake Ontario near Sodus Bay, NY and we are planning to do a day trip to Selkirk Park near Oswego, NY. I could just picture you showing up for a picnic one of these days.

We enjoy having you continue as a part of this thread and always look forward to learning from your vast experience with social interactions and encouraging hens to brood inside a building. Please continue to get your guinea fix this way and we'll look forward to you having a flock again at some point in the future.



Question for everyone out there in Guinea Talk Land - your thoughts on an observed behavior. Have you ever seen your guineas fluff their feathers, spread out their wings and go up on their "toes"? If so, what have been the circumstances related to you seeing that behavior and what do you think it means?

On a FB page, this behavior was mentioned and it was interpreted as a friendly, social greeting - like, hello there, I've missed you.

I think it means something else based on my observations. I usually see it happen after a dominant bird swoops toward a less dominant bird and the less dominant bird responds with the fluffing up and taller stance. Or if a bird looses footing and falls, it will get up and shake it off.

Based on other behaviors in the animal kingdom (when animals puff up to ward off predators), I would interpret it as a response to be perceived as more dominant, like I'm not as insignificant as you think I am.

My rooster often flaps, fluffs and raises up around the hens and sometimes when I get near him. I think it's his way of communicating he's in charge, rather than a social greeting. BTW - I make sure I flap, fluff up and go on my toes back to him so he knows I'm in charge!

I don't think there's a right or wrong, unless someone has done research on this, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts since we all take time to observe our birds and are aware of their behaviors. What do you think?

 

[Dmontgomery]

How long in the season do your guineas lay there? Mine usually stop by the second week in October, but they are still laying now and I'm sure if given the chance to get some accumulated in a nest, they would go broody and try to hatch them. Good to hear from Guineapeeps, as she has a wealth of experience in this area.

My female "weaned" aka flew the coop on hers about 3 weeks ago and now they are just their own little sub-flock of 5, trying to stick together and dodge the air pecks from guineas and chickens alike.

Hope you have more keets! Fingers crossed that you'll get another brood.

I’m not sure how long they will lay here. I know Gertrude was sitting on clutches in September the last 2 years. In 2016 I took the eggs from her (hidden nest in the woods), and last year the entire hatch failed, I assume due to extreme heat and humidity from the flood. As far as I know she didn’t lay after September either year.
This time she is using the same nesting box she used to hatch them a couple months ago. She’s up to 8 eggs already.

 

[guineapeeps]

I am impressed by your ability to adjust to your new lifestyle - from farm to boat - and appreciated reading your thoughts on the similarities between the two. Perhaps we are all agrarian at our core - hunters and gathers one and all. Interesting perspective and you are right, there are "generous people with good hearts" everywhere as long as we are opened to getting to know people.

Enjoy your exploration on the Great Lakes. How beautiful! Any chance you'll be Lake Ontario way? My sister lives just off Lake Ontario near Sodus Bay, NY and we are planning to do a day trip to Selkirk Park near Oswego, NY. I could just picture you showing up for a picnic one of these days.

We enjoy having you continue as a part of this thread and always look forward to learning from your vast experience with social interactions and encouraging hens to brood inside a building. Please continue to get your guinea fix this way and we'll look forward to you having a flock again at some point in the future.



Question for everyone out there in Guinea Talk Land - your thoughts on an observed behavior. Have you ever seen your guineas fluff their feathers, spread out their wings and go up on their "toes"? If so, what have been the circumstances related to you seeing that behavior and what do you think it means?

On a FB page, this behavior was mentioned and it was interpreted as a friendly, social greeting - like, hello there, I've missed you.

I think it means something else based on my observations. I usually see it happen after a dominant bird swoops toward a less dominant bird and the less dominant bird responds with the fluffing up and taller stance. Or if a bird looses footing and falls, it will get up and shake it off.

Based on other behaviors in the animal kingdom (when animals puff up to ward off predators), I would interpret it as a response to be perceived as more dominant, like I'm not as insignificant as you think I am.

My rooster often flaps, fluffs and raises up around the hens and sometimes when I get near him. I think it's his way of communicating he's in charge, rather than a social greeting. BTW - I make sure I flap, fluff up and go on my toes back to him so he knows I'm in charge!

I don't think there's a right or wrong, unless someone has done research on this, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts since we all take time to observe our birds and are aware of their behaviors. What do you think?

I don’t know that we will make it onto Lake Ontario much, but may be in that general area at some point this fall. We plan to head south sometime next month and sail across Lake Erie to Buffalo, cruise the Erie Canal and down into New York harbor, then sail down the East Coast back to Florida. It should be quite an adventure if it all works out. I’ve never been to much of the northeast before so I am excited to see it! It would be fun to meet if I ever get to your area!
As for the guinea behavior, a lot of my older keets would do this tiptoe dance once they hit the “adolescent” stage. I thought they were playing around at first but the more I watched them, the more I thought they were practicing for adulthood and getting ready for the rough life of guinea politics. A lot of my guineas (of all ages) would also fluff up their feathers, spread their wings wide out and run around the yard on tiptoe. They weren’t really chasing each other, just running around all crazy, sometimes briefly lifting off the ground. It was entertaining to watch and looked more playful than the other tiptoe dance that didn’t involve the nutty running!

 

[GlennLee]

I’m not sure how long they will lay here. I know Gertrude was sitting on clutches in September the last 2 years. In 2016 I took the eggs from her (hidden nest in the woods), and last year the entire hatch failed, I assume due to extreme heat and humidity from the flood. As far as I know she didn’t lay after September either year.
This time she is using the same nesting box she used to hatch them a couple months ago. She’s up to 8 eggs already.

Go, Gertrude, go!

 

[GlennLee]

I don’t know that we will make it onto Lake Ontario much, but may be in that general area at some point this fall. We plan to head south sometime next month and sail across Lake Erie to Buffalo, cruise the Erie Canal and down into New York harbor, then sail down the East Coast back to Florida. It should be quite an adventure if it all works out. I’ve never been to much of the northeast before so I am excited to see it! It would be fun to meet if I ever get to your area!
As for the guinea behavior, a lot of my older keets would do this tiptoe dance once they hit the “adolescent” stage. I thought they were playing around at first but the more I watched them, the more I thought they were practicing for adulthood and getting ready for the rough life of guinea politics. A lot of my guineas (of all ages) would also fluff up their feathers, spread their wings wide out and run around the yard on tiptoe. They weren’t really chasing each other, just running around all crazy, sometimes briefly lifting off the ground. It was entertaining to watch and looked more playful than the other tiptoe dance that didn’t involve the nutty running!

Oh keep me posted. We are just minutes away from the canal. I think that route goes through the Barge Canal too and there are places for boats to tie up with restaurants along the way. Would love to meet you if it works out!

 

[guinealeghorn]

@GlennLee, I have seen my guineas (usually male) stand up and stretch their wings up and back when I let them out of the coop in the morning. They seem to be just stretching to me because they aren't looking at another bird when they do it. They do run around with their wings out, too, but that's usually while they are being chased.

 

[guineapeeps]

Oh keep me posted. We are just minutes away from the canal. I think that route goes through the Barge Canal too and there are places for boats to tie up with restaurants along the way. Would love to meet you if it works out!

Sounds like a plan! I will keep you posted!

 

[Gdog Bossman]

I am impressed by your ability to adjust to your new lifestyle - from farm to boat - and appreciated reading your thoughts on the similarities between the two. Perhaps we are all agrarian at our core - hunters and gathers one and all. Interesting perspective and you are right, there are "generous people with good hearts" everywhere as long as we are opened to getting to know people.

Enjoy your exploration on the Great Lakes. How beautiful! Any chance you'll be Lake Ontario way? My sister lives just off Lake Ontario near Sodus Bay, NY and we are planning to do a day trip to Selkirk Park near Oswego, NY. I could just picture you showing up for a picnic one of these days.

We enjoy having you continue as a part of this thread and always look forward to learning from your vast experience with social interactions and encouraging hens to brood inside a building. Please continue to get your guinea fix this way and we'll look forward to you having a flock again at some point in the future.



Question for everyone out there in Guinea Talk Land - your thoughts on an observed behavior. Have you ever seen your guineas fluff their feathers, spread out their wings and go up on their "toes"? If so, what have been the circumstances related to you seeing that behavior and what do you think it means?

On a FB page, this behavior was mentioned and it was interpreted as a friendly, social greeting - like, hello there, I've missed you.

I think it means something else based on my observations. I usually see it happen after a dominant bird swoops toward a less dominant bird and the less dominant bird responds with the fluffing up and taller stance. Or if a bird looses footing and falls, it will get up and shake it off.

Based on other behaviors in the animal kingdom (when animals puff up to ward off predators), I would interpret it as a response to be perceived as more dominant, like I'm not as insignificant as you think I am.

My rooster often flaps, fluffs and raises up around the hens and sometimes when I get near him. I think it's his way of communicating he's in charge, rather than a social greeting. BTW - I make sure I flap, fluff up and go on my toes back to him so he knows I'm in charge!

I don't think there's a right or wrong, unless someone has done research on this, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts since we all take time to observe our birds and are aware of their behaviors. What do you think?

My keets are only 6 weeks old, but one is already the leader . When I try to get the group to do anything, he gets tall and very loud. It's like he tells them don't do that. But I have meal worms so i win