Okies in the BYC The Original

[BetsyOK]

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Actually the wattles won't always tell you the sex, though most of the time they will. My friends and I have all had females with large, cupped wattles (I have two now) and males with somewhat smaller ones. You will definitely know the difference when they fully mature and make their calls and when the hens lay. The hens make a two-syllable "puh-track" (many people call it "buck wheat," but it doesn't sound anything like that) call, while the males can only make a one syllable call. The hens also make the male sound. Often, though, the less dominant hens don't make the two-syllable call for a long time. Their posture is different after they mature. The males have a more upright stance and the hens bodies are more parallel to the ground. The hens will also develop a "bustle" that the males never have. Another way, if you're VERY observant, is to look closely at their profiles. The hens will have a more "feminine" profile with a smaller, smoother cere. The cere is the band of flesh that separates the beak from the face and holds the nostrils.

I belong to Guinea Fowl International Association, and we have an excellent web site with a huge amount of information and a forum with wonderful, helpful people.

 

[BetsyOK]

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A use for your shredded paper is use it as mulch in your gardens. I sometimes use it along the paths in the veggie garden to keep the weeds and such down. Of if I am starting a new garden I put it down then pile the compost materials on top, with the final topping being wood mulch.

Hooray! The incubator effort was worthwhile!!

 

[sjarvis00]

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Can I be president? I feel like I have ran everbody off the last 3 or 4 times I've been on here....

 

[Poco Pollo]

joshbob,

Congrats on your recent purchase from Ideal. Is Ideal close to Oklahoma? It sounds like they must be for the shipment to arrive so quickly. I hope you have lots of brooder space. 50 at once can be challenging. I'll probably have 25 - 30 here in a few days as I've got a Christmas hatch coming along nicely.

Betsy,

Thanks for the good information about guineas. I'll spend some time at the end of this week observing them. Do they breed in the winter? I'd hate for one to hide, protecting a clutch of eggs, and end up as a coyote snack. If they do breed in the winter, what are likely places I'd find eggs? I pen them up at night to protect them from our resident great horned owl, and so far they've all come running when I call, "Spagetti! Guinea, Guinea! Spagetti!" They love pasta. Regular chicken feed and game bird feed have not been enticing enough to bring them into the pen at night.

Monty,

The Welsummer cockerels are starting crow practice. They crack me up. I nearly spilled a bucket of warm water (the joys of hauling water can never be expressed) when one of the little guys let loose.

 

[quenston]

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Can I be president? I feel like I have ran everbody off the last 3 or 4 times I've been on here....

I reckon you can I wanna be Vice president then lol!!! I will get off of here after while I gotta go pick up more birds today and then they will come crawling out of the wood work!!

 

[Buster52]

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No not tonight Michael, I took a pass today.

Well you don't know what you missed, then. I guess they didn't have any buyers show up for the junk portion of the show so they sold it during the poultry auction. You could have scored several big bags of lady's makeup for your next POOPS gig!

That or some nice furniture.

I think the auction pros (as in those who make money buying and selling at auctions) are making a mistake by skipping Fletcher. I'm not saying they could make anything by selling there, but last night they could have scored a bunch of roosters for a dollar or less that would go for as much as $8 at Blanchard. Guineas went for $2. Ducks were selling for between $1.50 and two bucks, and there must have been more than 40 of those. I got a nice Muskogee duck (auctioneer's term, not mine) for $2 to join my menagerie of waterfowl on the pond (he loves our big pond) and a nice big Dark Cornish rooster to add to my bloodline for a dollar. That's the first standard Cornish I have seen at an auction that I can recall.

I was pretty proud of that last buy. He was in a battery of cages selling choice and I followed Michael's tip given to me at Blanchard and let the bidding war go. As I suspected they were after the pretty birds in the middle cage. After that, the bidding started over and I waited until I was sure the auctioneer was at the lowest point he was going to do and "reluctantly" raised my hand. I was the one and only bidder.

I think I'm getting the hang of this auction thing. I need to shadow Mike again at the next auction I see him at.

 

[sjarvis00]

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Can I be president? I feel like I have ran everbody off the last 3 or 4 times I've been on here....

I reckon you can I wanna be Vice president then lol!!! I will get off of here after while I gotta go pick up more birds today and then they will come crawling out of the wood work!!

Hooray! I get to be president. LOl. I left for a bit and Buster came on, is that what we need to do is trick them.. Walk away but watch... lol

 

[BetsyOK]

Poco, guineas don't normally breed or lay in the winter (there's always the possibility of an exception). If your picture is current, yours are still pretty young, and probably won't lay until next spring. I don't use lights at night with mine, so they normally start to lay in late April or Early May. In more southern, warmer areas, or if you keep lights on them, they'll start to lay earlier. They seem to be surprised by their first eggs and will often just drop them anywhere, including right out in the middle of the yard. After they catch on, they'll find secluded spots, usually brush or under large leaved plants--hostas seem to be a favorite. They will often lay up against the trunk of a fairly large tree if the spot is protected by leaves or brush. They're very good at hiding their nests; I've walked within inches of a setting hen without seeing it until I go back over the area more carefully. Some people will confine them to their house until midday, in hopes they will lay inside. That only works part of the time, as their laying time shifts a little each day until they'll be laying in the afternoon or evening.

Are yours cooped at night? If not, you might give thought to putting them up because of predators. Owls and raccoons will pick them off one or two at a time if they roost in the trees.

Sorry, I should have read more closely--you SAID you pen them at night!

 

[Poco Pollo]

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It's a relief to hear they probably won't lay until the spring. I do pen them at night. I lost a couple to coyotes and a couple more to a great horned owl. The six that I have left are friendly and curious. When I first let them free range they dug up a bunch of borer bees. That was amazing to watch. They also cleaned out the cricket population and ate all the spiders that used to make webs around the house and in the trees. I'm thinking I may want to have more, but DH is still getting used to them following his car to the gate each morning. He's not keen on having a honking escort.

If I set up a nesting area in the spring, is there a chance the guineas would use it? It would be an area that's open all day, but I'd want a way to lock it at night to keep predators out.

 

[al6517]

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LOL Ok you got me, I am in. What is the scuttlebut this morning in Okie land.

AL