Happy Harvest Blog
Galahad is step-fathering the new keets
The bee swarm denouement can wait - this is too cute. So, also yesterday, I picked up ten beautiful little guinea babies! Keets are crazy cute, with their orange puffin beaks and long necks. They were almost completely silent on the drive home. Birds seem to like car rides, if not the transitions and banging doors. I was looking forward to Galahad's reaction to them, but I got home at bedtime. G hopped right up to his perch, and I installed the keets in a vacant chickery,
Real snow, and one lucky keet
Real snow, and one lucky keet:After a long patient wait, finally all the birds were back enclosed. Until an hour later, just before dark, when I went in the yard to close the greenhouse door, disturbed them, and three guineas escaped again! And the keet. Good grief.This time I propped the fence open, waited until I saw the keet make its run out of the brush pile to reunite with the others, and they were all milling around by the open gate. I left them to it, confident they were fine.After dark I closed all the coops, and all the guineas were back in the greenhouse. No keet. You're kidding me. I rarely do see the keet at night, it tucks itself away somewhere, so I told myself it may be in there but it's hiding. Worst case scenario it didn't find its way back in, it's in the brush pile, but it will most likely be able to survive the night, since it's got a full suit of feathers now.
Near tragedy
Anyhoo, he was driving around, mowing, and once, right when he came to a stop, I saw the weeds rustle directly in front of his front wheel. As he backed out, I ran to the spot, fearing that a bird had been hit (I'd been paranoid and been tramping through all the weeds in front of him trying to flush out frightened chickens that were used to the tall weeds being a safe zone).
Guinea sleepover II
HW did some out loud wondering whether we´d have another visitation. If this little bird maybe had a sprain; was having a hard time and the falling in the tank was a symptom, not cause.In the evening, he closed the coops again and returned without remark. He climbed to the loft, where I was, and halted meaningfully at the top of the ladder.No way!
Oreos and the Cobra mom
The guinea hen is definitely setting.No idea how many eggs she´s got. Easily 20. Perhaps a chicken egg got in there too. In fact, she could be due any day. I don´t know about guinea terms, but she´s got to be close.And since there´s only three birds walking about yet, I suspect those three are the boys, and the other hen has found her own nest site somewhere in the woods. May she walk out healthy one day with a trail of chicks.
Guinea on the loose
She was quite comfortable, settling in for a long stay. The others in the greenhouse were going off like fire alarms We aren't together! WE AREN'T TOGETHER!
Instagram.
I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.
