Guineas - Part 12 - Overwinter Report

Warren the Rooster - RIP

I'm down to four Guineas, and three Chickens.

Over the winter we lost Warren the rooster, one of the West Nile chickens and one of the Guineas.

The two chickens died, about three weeks apart, and the guinea just didn't return home one evening, so we're not sure what happened.

The remaining guineas are, conveniently, two male and two female, and have paired off.


First Guinea Egg

Today, I found my first guinea egg. The large brown one is from the remaining West Nile chicken, and the two large white ones are from the two leghorn chickens we rescued last summer.

Remaining West Nile Sentinel Chicken

The remaining small, brownish one is the guinea egg. I found it in the same communal laying spot that the chickens use. We'll see if the other female uses that area, as well. Besides size, there's not much difference between the chicken and guinea eggs, although the guinea eggs are said to be higher in protein, by weight, and their whites whip up faster for a meringue, supposedly, according to the book. And unlike chickens, they'll only produce eggs seasonally, now through September. I'll let you know if there is any difference in flavor. More here.

One Pair

Group Photo

Blondie and Her Mate

UPDATE: Sunday, April 1, 2012 - I ate the egg pictured above this morning for breakfast.  The shell is much tougher, and thicker than chicken eggs, and took a harder whack to crack.  Yolk was the same size as chicken eggs, but there seemed to be less white, and the yolk was a deeper yellow, almost orange color.  Tasted like an egg - no discernible difference in flavor to my taste buds.

They Flew the Coop - Guineas Part 11

And then there were five.  I've been holding off posting about this, in the hope that there would be good news, but it's been a week with no change, so it's time to report it.

Last Tuesday, September 25th, when I returned home from the monthly Master Gardener meeting, I was informed that the keets had not returned to roost.  It was around 9:15 p.m.  I left the light on and the door to the coop open until midnight, checking hourly to see if they'd come home.  Closed the door at midnight for predator protection for the chickens.

The next day, we spotted a group of five in the neighbor's yard.  We rounded them up and got them back to the coop, and spent the next hour or so looking for the rest.  Nothing.

So, the rasp is down to five.

Feeling a little sad ...

Home, Home on The Range - Guineas Part 10



Free Ranging Guineas

It's been a week since the keets started free ranging and fulfilling their role as intended, gobbling up bugs and weed seeds.

Gobbling up Bugs and Weed Seeds

The rasp seems to have a set pattern.  Leave the coop, circle around it, swallow up some grit pebbles from the unpaved part of the driveway, vaccuum the lawn (defined as areas we mow vs. areas we don't), head back to the coop to roost/rest midday, drink some water, then start the process all over before settling back in the coop near sundown.

Roosting at Midday

Until Friday (9/23), we restricted the chickens from joining their cousins, remembering the birds lost to predators a few years back.

Hey. Just Because We Can't Fly As Well is No Reason to Discriminate

We relented, anthropomorphising the forlorn pacing of the chickens as they watched the guineas making their happy chirpy noises as they moved in unison in front of them.  So the chickens are on free range with the Guineas, joining the rasp at times, or just doing their own thing.

The guineas definitely act as a single unit, rarely splitting into separate foragers.

Birds of a Feather ....

The chickens, on the other hand, seem to act more individually, rather than as part of the greater flock.

Maybe It's a Guy Thing

There's a metaphor in there somewhere ...

Coming Out - Guineas Part 9

The keets made their way out of the coop and started their life, home on the free range, Sunday 9/18 during the garden tour.

It was a little difficult to round them up early to go back in the coop to roost, since I was headed to the after-tour party, and didn't trust that they'd just go back on their own.  Just a little new parent jitters to keep my charges safe, I suppose.

The folks taking the tour seemed to enjoy them. 




Joining the Chickens Inside the Fence



First Intrepid Hen (she was "Buck-Wheating")
Outside the Enclosure



Soon Others Joined Her

 Hope it's in time to reduce the number of overwintering stink bugs.

Interesting tidbit of trivia for you.  Someone (forgot who) asked me yesterday what the collective noun for a group of guinea fowl is.  I didn't know, but we did talk about one of the cool ones - a murder of crows. 

According to Wikpedia, the collective noun for a group of guinea fowl is a rasp.  Other fun ones, just from the birds: a parliament of owls, an ostentation of peacocks, a charm of goldfinches, a murmuration of starlings, and an Exaltation of Larks.

Roosting - Guineas Part 8

Since their release from the dog crate, the keets took over the rafters of the playhouse, now coop.  I kept them confined in the coop for the requisite 6 weeks, and now have left the door open during the day to allow for exploration of the wider world, and to free range.  Except, it's been a week now, and they seem to prefer the rafters inside.  I hope it's because of the rain.

One intrepid feller did venture out during the rain yesterday, according to my partner, Bob, but we didn't get a picture. 

I moved their water down to chicken level and stopped feeding them their separate high protein pellets.  They now get to share the chicken fodder, or, with luck, seek greener pastures outside and over the fence.

I haven't been able to determine their genders yet, individually, but I have heard the two-syllable "Buck-Wheat" that only the females can make.  Males can only make the one syllable "Chee" sound, but the females can make both, and will imitate the male sound as a warning. 

Go here to listen to recorded sounds from Guineas, distinguishing male from female, and the soothing coo-cooing sound when happily eating their white millet treat.

Wings - Guineas Part 7

Freedom

The keets are about a month old, and have been in their new home for 2 weeks. 4 or so more weeks to go (around Labor Day), and they'll be released to free range. They'll be roaming the property when the Garden Tour comes around (Sunday, September 18th - save the date).




Lookit Me, I Can Fly


We finished predator-proofing the old children's playhouse by putting up chicken wire over the windows. We then took the lid off the keets' home, and let them explore. Within a few minutes, they each took turns flying up to the roosting bar and checking out their new-found freedom.

Blondie's Getting Bigger

Their food and water will remain inside the dog crate and they can always find refuge by flying back in. They should be able at this stage to avoid any negative encounters with their chicken cousins, but the dog crate will be a safe haven in a pinch. The keets' food is 24% protein, higher than is recommended for chickens.  Chickens can get gout by having too much protein in their diet, so it's a good idea to keep the keets' food away from the chickens.  Once on free range, this will no longer be a problem - the guineas will be eating tons of bugs to get their protein quota, and the food in the coop will be the reduced protein chicken feed, suitable for them and shared by the guineas.  According to the book, guineas will get 90% of their dietic requirements on free range, so the shared source will be fine.

Warren

Here's Warren, cock of the roost. Warren is a rescue rooster. He was wandering around a Chambersburg neighborhood near the Butcher Shoppe, when Karen Hack, Penn State Extension 4-H Educator and Franklin County Extension Director collected him and gave him to me for a home. The other two chickens are rescues from the West Nile sentinel chicken program that was discontinued in 2007.




West Nile Sentinel Chicken



A New Home - Guineas Part 6

Chickens and Guineas Share a Home

The keets have outgrown their cardboard brooder box.  At first we taped up the flaps to make the sides taller, at about 10-12 days old.  When that didn't work any longer, we put a lid on the top, weighted with a partially filled gallon milk jug to keep them from jumping out.  I spent one morning searching for over an hour to find one of the better jumpers wandering around the utility room (Violet 1 or 2).

In the meantime, we finished converting the old children's playhouse into a large chicken coop, to give the chickens room to range, and still be able to lock them up for the night, to protect them from predators. Chicken coop built by the Goetz brothers, given the relatively low carpentry skills our household possesses.

Duck Tape - Is there Anything it Can't Do?

But you can't mix adult chickens and young keets (or chicks), without running the risk of a fatal pecking order incident.  Also, according to the book, the keets need to be confined to the place where you want them to roost at night, once they're adults and on free range.  Six weeks is the recommended time frame.  The idea is to give the keets a sense of security with fresh water, food, and occasional treats to make sure they come back every night, and don't start roosting in the wild, with all the inherent risks of predators (owls at night are the #1 worry.)

However, the spaces between the bars of the kennel were too far apart - the keets, at their current size, can easily squeeze between them.  So, we jerry-rigged a screen wrap of the kennel (sounds a lot easier than it turned out to be - taxing my meager abilities in this area to the limit.)

Here they are, happily (I hope) ensconced in their new home.

They Grow So Fast

Meet the Keets - Guineas Part 5

Guineas come in a variety of colors and patterns. We ordered a selection of assorted colors, chosen at random from the following: Brown, Powder Blue, Chocolate, Violet, Sky Blue, Pewter, Lavender, Royal Purple, coral Blue, Bluff Dundotte, Buff, Porcelaine, Opaline, and Slate. Based soley on my amateur observances, we think our eleven are composed of eight different varieties.

Here they are:

Violet 1

Violet 2

Numbers 1 and 2 are also the first two that hatched. Look at their heads. There's a solid light brown patch on top. We think these will be Violet as adults. Here's the description from the author of Gardening for Guineas.

Keets are a rusty red color with a white belly and wings. These are very cute. As they feather they gradually change to the steel blue color and then darken to a dusty black, with the purple sheen.

Other possibilities are pewter or slate.

Blue 1

 

Blue 2

The next two above are one of the blues.  Which one, I'm not sure, but they could be Coral Blue, Porcelaine, Opaline, or Powder Blue.

Blondie

This one we call Blondie.  Very light tan color.  Chocolate, Buff or Buff Dundotte.

Darker Blondie

This one is a little darker than Blondie, maybe the same as Blondie, but a different sex.  I dunno.

White Face Friendly Fella

 This one has a white face, with brown stripes.  We have two of these.  This one is the most friendly and will hop on your hand when offerring seed.

White Face #2



Number 9 - Narrow Stripe



Number 10 - Medium Stripe

Number 11 - Wide Stripe

Numbers 9-11 are very similar, and we are unable to assign them to a category. Number 9 has a narrow, brown stripe on the middle of his head. Number 10 is the same with a slightly wider stripe, and Number 11 has the widest stripe.

We'll be watching as they feather out and characteristics become more pronounced. Also looking for more names, so make suggestions. No more 'Gimpy', since the bandaids have come off, and they are all walking normally.

Maybe other eyes can look at the various color keys and make guesses.

Color Key 1.  Color Key 2.  Color Key 3.

UPDATE:  Sad news. 10:15 Sunday night.  Just checked on the Keets, and #10, medium sized stripe, has died.  Now have only 10.  Poor thing.

Hatching Part 2 - Guineas Part 4

The Final 11

Hatch completed Thursday evening (6/30). We have 11 healthy looking keets. Not a very good hatch rate (less than 50%), but the good news is there was no need to euthanize any of them. Numbers 6 thru 9 were born Wednesday afternoon.

#10 All Day Pipping

#10 took forever - pipping started Wednesday evening, continued all day Thursday, finally emerging around 4:00 p.m. Last one arrived just before midnight on Thursday. The rest of the eggs showed no signs of life. We left them in the incubator all day Friday, just in case, but nothing. So, we shut down the incubator, saved the unhatched eggs for Barbara and Karen to view, analyze, and diagnose what may have gone wrong.  



First 9 Huddled for a Nap

 

'Gimpy' - #4 Seen at the Top Left, Spraddled

#4 referenced below (unhelpfully dubbed 'Gimpy' by my 19 YO nephew, Tyler - which of course has stuck - so much for my poetic pretensions on naming) has joined the group as an equal after some prosthetic help by me and Tyler. Turns out he/she had a not uncommon condition called "Spraddle Legs." Fixable via bandaid. Here's how. Two others had lesser degrees of the condition, so we treated them as well. According to the site, the condition should correct itself by the time the adhesive wears away.

Unlucky 13

Who Dat?

I'm a Daddy! - Guineas part 3



Happy Birthday!  First two keets were born Tuesday afternoon - June 28th.   

Their former homes.

Two more starting.

More progress.

Number three!

Happy little things, doing well.

Number 4.  Not doing so well.  Doesn't walk, legs wobbly.  Karen and Barbara inform me that's a very bad sign.  If not improved and doing well by Friday, may have to euthanize, since its brothers and sisters will notice its infirmity and destroy it otherwise.  Will keep you up to date.  Sad.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Number five born Wednesday morning - no pictures, yet.