All aboard!

Another guinea down. This morning she was sitting in the greenhouse like she wasn’t ready to leave yet, and I looked at her twice, and had a feeling, from her posture. When she let me pick her up I knew it was bad. I tucked her in this corner, gave her food and water, which I’m sure she didn’t touch, and the other two stayed by her, doting. She just seemed to be breathing a bit hard. An hour later, gone. Such a pretty bird. The feathers around her neck are lilac coloured. If this is some weird bird illness going through the “flock” (2 of 4 in a week), then I’m going to be out of guineas just like that. That would be so strange, they spend all day out in the wild buffet, how could they be healthier? All hope rides on the remaining hen.

In the chickery, the yellow chick is part duckling. She spends all her free time on Mom. Every couple minutes she’s jumping up there. Usually a chick barely stays up on Mom long enough to get a picture. Mom shrugs her off by bringing her head down low and tipping up her wings, so the chick falls off. It’s funny, obviously a deliberate dump off. That’s enough. It’s time for a grass recognition lesson.