Watermelon day

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Our main treats: Millet, dried meal worms, and sunflower seeds (they don't like those as much but eat some of them - they come in a millet mix from Costco and that's why I get them)

Millet and mealworms every day for "homecoming" - they come home for that and all is well so far.

Watermelon is expensive since I buy organic only with few exceptions. They eat the rind and the inside and I often steal the inside for myself. I would worry about the sugar in the watermelon and yeast overgrowth, possibly, if fed too much. Our Guineas get it when it is very hot sometimes, if I have any, and I give it to them out of the fridge.

In the winter, baby salad greens, kale, lettuce, etc are sought after treats! I think you have to be careful with kale, forgot exactly why, so those treats I really use in moderation.

My main purpose for treats is a homecoming reward too, though I sprinkle around outside to prevent aggression. I think that mealworms, white millet, sunflower seeds, and scratch are about all the treats I give (not together!). Our scratch has red millet in it so I sometimes give them that when more convenient and not hot out. While our chickens get all sorts of veggies and fruits, I was leery of that with the guineas, as my hubby has a lot of garden space. We do also grow clover and turnips for them, and they love foraging for those greens in winter.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

I'm curious abt your buff dundottes -if you've offspring from them w/different colored mate. This is the roo from my eggs. Ofcourse your pic doesn't show the back and this one is pied, but the shading difference caught my eye.

Very pretty bird!!!

I have no idea, with our Guineas, though, who is mom and dad to whom - got my hands full to keep them as happy as possible and am going with the flow, letting the Guineas pick their partners, make communal nests, etc. We got several Buff Dundottes and one Pastel (looks like Buff, too) last year and I was really surprised. I guess a disproportionate number of Pearl Grays died over the last few years and that is why we are getting more colors now. If anything crosses with a Pearl, it will usually be a Pearl keet. I am not up on color breeding, because, like I said, after the initial color choice in shipped eggs (one carton each of Pearl Gray, Coral Blue, Buff Dundotte) and one shippment of keets the second year, I just let the Guineas determine the rest.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Very pretty bird!!!

I have no idea, with our Guineas, though, who is mom and dad to whom - got my hands full to keep them as happy as possible and am going with the flow, letting the Guineas pick their partners, make communal nests, etc. We got several Buff Dundottes and one Pastel (looks like Buff, too) last year and I was really surprised. I guess a disproportionate number of Pearl Grays died over the last few years and that is why we are getting more colors now. If anything crosses with a Pearl, it will usually be a Pearl keet. I am not up on color breeding, because, like I said, after the initial color choice in shipped eggs (one carton each of Pearl Gray, Coral Blue, Buff Dundotte) and one shippment of keets the second year, I just let the Guineas determine the rest.

Did you keep the pastel or have any pictures? I am trying to figure out if Violet, sold to me as a violet color, is really pastel...

 

[Sydney65]

Very pretty bird!!!

I have no idea, with our Guineas, though, who is mom and dad to whom - got my hands full to keep them as happy as possible and am going with the flow, letting the Guineas pick their partners, make communal nests, etc. We got several Buff Dundottes and one Pastel (looks like Buff, too) last year and I was really surprised. I guess a disproportionate number of Pearl Grays died over the last few years and that is why we are getting more colors now. If anything crosses with a Pearl, it will usually be a Pearl keet. I am not up on color breeding, because, like I said, after the initial color choice in shipped eggs (one carton each of Pearl Gray, Coral Blue, Buff Dundotte) and one shippment of keets the second year, I just let the Guineas determine the rest.

50/50 pied gray is what I end up with. He only spec females were pied gray and lav, but not a def on which I'd get. Not sure if that meant communal nests or . Lol.."cartons"...if I started having cartons of eggs shipped, I think Himself wld have a coronary!

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Did you keep the pastel or have any pictures? I am trying to figure out if Violet, sold to me as a violet color, is really pastel...

Yours does look like this pastel... http://www.guineafarm.com/product/pastel-keet/

And I think I misspoke: our Rebecca is porcelain, not pastel. I'll try to get a photo later. He hatched with three Buff Dundottes and was named Rebecca before we knew he was male - oh, well.

 

[Sydney65]

I was chastised earlier when I took scraps out to the compost w/nothing in it for the goonies. To make amends I took off some leafy tops from celery, thinking they'd turn their beaks up at it.
They had a blast (or I did, watching). They ate it, but they had to "kill" it first, pecking it, throwing it up in the air, walking away as if ignoring it before attacking again, then proudly sharing their "kill" w/the one remaining hen.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

I was chastised earlier when I took scraps out to the compost w/nothing in it for the goonies. To make amends I took off some leafy tops from celery, thinking they'd turn their beaks up at it.
They had a blast (or I did, watching). They ate it, but they had to "kill" it first, pecking it, throwing it up in the air, walking away as if ignoring it before attacking again, then proudly sharing their "kill" w/the one remaining hen.

That is so funny! I can see them now - all serious about it. Hey, take a camera or phone/camera next time....we want to seeeee