Happy Harvest Blog
Excuse me, it's morning.
The little door has fallen off the viewing window in the side of the coop. Now there's just a little grill, and in the morning, a chicken can eyeball me through it, impatiently.I can see the sun is up. Let us out already.
Nosy guineas
I was sitting on the sill of my open front door, a convenient place I've found for potting upstarts, my dirt and trays arrayed in front of me, when the guineas wandered up. They arrived quite suddenly, maintaining their constant twittering conversation about everything, and they came right up on the deck to see what I was doing. Whatrya doing? I was so glad I was in arms-reach of my camera. I thought they were after the green stuff, but they didn't make a move for it.
Escape escapades
Little Nosey, being herself. I'm teasing her with a litter grabber. She's like Why. Why are you pointing a robot arm at me? The guineas had a big adventure, escaping in the morning. Good day for it. They came yelling down the trail, went grazing in the woods, but around lunchtime they were wanting back in. It's cold. We would like to be back with the food. They found this challenging. I propped the fence open, away from the corner of the greenhouse.
Escapee
One of the guineas escaped from my carefully constructed bird shield. It flapped and scramble-ran up the plastic, therefore slipping under the edge of the mesh and out into the clear air.I actually saw it in progress, yet was unable to stop it from happening. It had just enough foot friction, I supposeI'm up here. Now what? Looked neat from inside. I left her up there to figure it out.Later... how's that guinea doing? Well, it's on the wrong side of the mesh, and now suspended, like it's in a mesh bag.
Roof sitting
Apparently the coop roof is the place for the guineas to camp out. It's nice to work in the greenhouse for some time, enough to see them relax into completely ignoring me and resume their chicken activities. Dozing on the roof. Grooming...Chilin' This is the gang that hangs out on the other roof. Too bad the roofs don't get washed by the rain when in the greenhouse.
I won't forget to close the doors again
Forecast: Snow changing to ice pellets then developing to rain later in the afternoon. In other words, gross. This morning at dawn already there were a couple of inches of snow accumulated, and it was eerily dark in the greenhouse, but also very warm, with the blanket of snow. To my horror, only one guinea was walking around. What the? I started closing up the drafty holes in the wall for the chickens to access their yard. I could see by the snow that there were no footprints using them.
The guinea graze
The guineas haven't had their evening graze for a couple of days due to rain, and I let them out a touch early. (Time change! What time is it? Old time or new time?)Perchick shot out along with the guineas. That's a Cheeks move, to get in the middle of the guinea crowd and run where they're going. Can't see me! Guinea speed is a dead run for a chicken. I wouldn't mind some grass too. Then a few other chickens squeezed out. What's going on out here?
Galahad goes to bed
It's the last day of July, and I'm noticing the day drift already. Bedtime is slightly earlier at night. Before dark, I have to go out and open a door of the greenhouse to let Galahad the guinea in. The sweet spot is the time the chickens are still milling around but have lost their curiosity and have turned their chickpea sized brains toward their own going to bed, so that they don't also dart in (because they dream of it all day).
The guinea solution
I'm so pleased to have sorted out the guineas.I've tried so much. Building them a sky coop...well come to think of it that's about it. And giving them roosting apparatuses, like the laundry rack. They've tried lots of things. Roosting on the sky coop, roosting on top of the greenhouse, roosting in the trees, and roosting on my apparatuses, like the laundry rack. They are choosy, and illogical, and stubborn. But I've got it. They are accustomed now to living in the greenhouse all winter, and they have their stick swings where they sleep.
Sunny bird times
I have a guinea who's been taking an interest in the former skycoop, now grounded. I don't know if she's the mother who raised a brood in it, or if she was one of the brood. I was born here. However, she's been spending time in this little coop every day, very much making herself at home, like she's rocking on her front porch watching the world pass by. And sometimes she has company. The others hang around near her. Then there are the Silkies. They love a good pine tree.
evening snacking
The evening is a peaceful time. Chicken peace ebbs and flows. The early morning is not peaceful at all. The afternoon is a long siesta, usually broken by a period of ruckus, and then the late evening is time for some mellow scrounging before bed. A coop time snack. Here come the guineas. They get right in there. So different, yet so accustomed to living with chickens. At this time, the Silkies are all mostly in bed. The guineas are so cute, grazing in the lumpy field in their pair bonds, looking like rocks.
Fowl life in the Greenhouse
Fowl life in the GreenhouseThe Chanticleer teenagers are now very large, still growing every day, and coming into their gender. White one on the left is the fastest developing roo, and he is refining his crow. So far he sounds like Frankenstein laughing with marbles in his mouth.
Livin' in the greenhouse
The two broody Silkie hens co-hatched two chicks. What with all the competition and apartment swapping, there is no apparent parentage of the two new chicks. Even the hens don't seem to be clear. I installed both of them in the chickery with a broody box and new eggs. This is for their comfort, for protection from the amorous roosters (How I have longed for you!), and the teenagers who pile in at night. No one wants teenagers around, even your own.Broody hens are so funny, they act like it's Christmas when you give them eggs. Eggs?! You shouldn't have! Cluck cluck cluck, and they settle right on, like they're slipping into a warm bath.
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