Anyway, this past spring love was in the air and I watched as my male Guineas competed for the heart of their beloved by chasing and racing each other all over the farm. Occasionally there were fights. We had more males than females and Guineas don't share mates. They aren't swingers like those freaky kinky ducks around the corner. Some of the fights were pretty epic and all of the races were fast and exciting.
Once the ladies picked their main men, the rest of the guys formed a bachelor squad and had a fun time running around perfecting their skill for the next love festival. I only witnessed actual mating a few times- feathers all over the place and some confused running around afterward. All in all, it was a lot less disturbing than seeing the ducks mate. Mostly during this time the love pairs walked around together and at together and were loathe to be out of each other's sight.
Eventually I stopped seeing the females. At first I worried that they were fox or hawk food, but once Aaron found the nest site, I stopped worrying. Three of the girls decided to nest together in a surprising display of intelligence. There's strength in numbers, especially when you are sitting on a clutch of eggs. Later we found an abandoned nest site in a different field. We knew it was a Guinea nest because the eggs are very recognizable. One of the three girls was not from the dozen I purchased. She was part of the original flock that lived here with the previous owners. I suspect it is because of her that these other two females were so successful with their nests.
The oldest Mother sitting on the nest. She's not happy with me, so I didn't stick around long. No need to stress her out.
There are three Guinea Mothers in a row here. The furtherest is hard to see, but she's light gray.
It took a few weeks (I admit, I lost track how long) for the eggs to start hatching. Guineas lay way more eggs than will actually survive. So if they lay 24 eggs, about half will hatch and then a fraction of that will reach adulthood. Our Guineas hatched 13 chicks. Here are a few photos:
The nest after the main hatching event.
One little one sitting next to it's Mother. The rest are hiding under her.
Here they are out grazing behind my studio. The chicks are super tiny.
The chicks are also very well camouflaged during the first few weeks.
Here are the three Mothers in a row. The eldest is the dark one on the far left. In the background you can see another white Guinea. He's the mate of the light gray Guinea. I call the pair Monsieur and Madame Hulot. Now that the chicks are born, he (and sometimes the other Fathers- they take turns) escorts the group around and helps keep an eye out for predators.
It's been 3 weeks and just this past week we have, unfortunately, had some losses. We started with 13 Keets and now are down to 9. They don't grow as fast or are as hearty as ducks. By three weeks my ducklings would have been towering over these little ones. Keep your fingers crossed that the 9 will survive! One of the amazing things I've seen is how the Guineas are communally raising them. The mothers are always with them, but if any get too far behind or get lost, that group of bachelor Guineas will help with the search and rescue. I actually saw one Keet get separated from the group (thanks Atticus) and get lost in the tall grass while it's siblings and Mothers went off in a different direction. The bachelors heard the Keet's cries and chirps and went on the hunt for it. It was like the Guinea Fowl version of Marco Polo. They found the little one quickly and AS A GROUP escorted it back to the Mothers. I was really not expecting that. I though I would have to go and get it, but nope. The dudes had it covered.
When Atticus scattered the family- and it was just for fun on his part- a few of the Keets ran under the tool shed. Most eventually got back to their mother but one was caught by Wiley. Luckily, Wiley has no idea what to do with baby birds when he finds them (this isn't the first baby bird he's encountered) so he just makes them stay still. He doesn't want them to move- ever the little policeman. I've seen him do this before with escaped chicken chicks. He just sort of stares them down into staying still. So although I couldn't see the Keet, I saw what Wiley was doing and I guessed that he had one under his spell. I rescued it and saw that it had a bit of a scrape on it's wing. So I took it inside to clean it up and stop the bleeding.
Surprisingly calm. Also, I'm sure, terrified.
I wish they stayed this cute!
I wasn't sure if I should keep this baby and raise it myself, thus guaranteeing it will live to adulthood at least. But the ducklings were still using the baby coop (Which they are almost totally too big for as a group) and I thought, "The Mothers are doing a great job. This little one has a good chance of surviving." Then, a few days later we kept counting only 9 and I regretted not hand raising this one. Next time, I won't second guess myself.
And lastly, I know I have so much to update you all on with the greenhouse and the ducklings. That's coming and I'll try to get that done and posted this week!
The Guineas don't know what to make of this strange dog doing strange things in the grass.. I like how one approaches as if he's thinking, "Does this guy need help? Is he ok? I better check on him."
One of the first family outings!
Monsieur Hulot
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