Despite my nightmares and worry last night, we found three adult guineas and a passel of keets this morning and successfully herded them into an empty stall in the barn.
So my latest question -- can anyone answer this? How do you count a moving mass of little bodies?? I have no idea whether we have 12 or 15 or 21 keets!
I ran into this same question with the recent hatch of chicks. I did take a photo and perhaps can count from looking at the picture. Yeah, I could do this with the keets as well. But we had a visitor here one year shortly after some keets hatched and she looked at the swarm and said, "Oh, look -- you have 27 keets."
How in the world could she look and count like that???
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Blessed and helpless
They probably go hand in hand.
This afternoon I noticed some of our guineas crossing the road. Not unusual, except there were a bunch of little things moving with them.
KEETS!
Headed for the tall grass across the road. Darn!
Blessed by the arrival of babies. We never know if a guinea has been lost to predators or is sitting on a clutch of eggs. I guess it was the eggs this time.
So I head out and around to herd them (flock them?) back toward the barn yard. I would feel most safe if I could get them all into a stall or bird pen for a few weeks.
I succeeded in getting them turned and headed for the house and barn. Then I heard the peeps. Some of the keets were not with the rest of them and the adult guineas. Darn!!
I went over to the edge of the road and listened. I heard a peep or two and starting a useless and frustrating search, kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. The grass there has not been cut for years, is long and thick and of course, the keets went silent when I moved.
Time for plan B. Herd the larger group of guins and keets back to the tall grass for a reunion. I succeeded with that however they entered in a slightly different place and headed off up the hillside. I saw one keet enter the field separate from the rest, and heard another, but couldn't find them. This is the helpless part. I stood there for 15 minutes, waiting to hear a peep-peep-peep to help me locate them in the jungle of grass. Nothing. Meanwhile the troop had moved on up the hill and out of my sight and earshot.
I took a risk. I suppose either way the same results. Maybe I should have kept the bunch close to home and shrugged my shoulders about the stragglers who would not survive on their own. Ha! Me? Shrug my shoulders when I have a chance to save some baby animals? Not likely!
I have no idea how many will show up tomorrow. The adults do group together, not sure why, but maybe they will share the protective roles out in the wilds tonight. And maybe I can herd them into the barn tomorrow and help keep safe and alive whatever keets survive this first night.
Helpless with no control over Mother Nature. Now that's the truth, isn't it!
This afternoon I noticed some of our guineas crossing the road. Not unusual, except there were a bunch of little things moving with them.
KEETS!
Headed for the tall grass across the road. Darn!
Blessed by the arrival of babies. We never know if a guinea has been lost to predators or is sitting on a clutch of eggs. I guess it was the eggs this time.
So I head out and around to herd them (flock them?) back toward the barn yard. I would feel most safe if I could get them all into a stall or bird pen for a few weeks.
I succeeded in getting them turned and headed for the house and barn. Then I heard the peeps. Some of the keets were not with the rest of them and the adult guineas. Darn!!
I went over to the edge of the road and listened. I heard a peep or two and starting a useless and frustrating search, kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. The grass there has not been cut for years, is long and thick and of course, the keets went silent when I moved.
Time for plan B. Herd the larger group of guins and keets back to the tall grass for a reunion. I succeeded with that however they entered in a slightly different place and headed off up the hillside. I saw one keet enter the field separate from the rest, and heard another, but couldn't find them. This is the helpless part. I stood there for 15 minutes, waiting to hear a peep-peep-peep to help me locate them in the jungle of grass. Nothing. Meanwhile the troop had moved on up the hill and out of my sight and earshot.
I took a risk. I suppose either way the same results. Maybe I should have kept the bunch close to home and shrugged my shoulders about the stragglers who would not survive on their own. Ha! Me? Shrug my shoulders when I have a chance to save some baby animals? Not likely!
I have no idea how many will show up tomorrow. The adults do group together, not sure why, but maybe they will share the protective roles out in the wilds tonight. And maybe I can herd them into the barn tomorrow and help keep safe and alive whatever keets survive this first night.
Helpless with no control over Mother Nature. Now that's the truth, isn't it!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Our good mom
The bantam hen who conscientiously hatched out a dozen eggs earlier this summer (sure doesn't feel like summer tonight!) is sitting again. I estimate any new hatching should occur in about a week. I wonder if she'll catalyze the miracle again?
We have to rearrange some of the bird housing if she does. We put our two new blue peahens in the pen where the hen is broody. Hen is in a little gambrel hutch, peahens are either pacing the fence line or roosting as high as they can get.
The last hatch have taken to roosting in the larger peafowl pen where in fact they grew to a feathered and flying age in safety. The main bird predators here are hawks. So one night I will move each of those youngsters to another roost, and then move the peahens to that larger pen.
Some day I have to let the white peahen and her chick out of the barn. They've been living in a stall with a window, again for safety reasons. How will I know when the chick can fend for her/himself? I wonder if the hen/chick pair would share the peafowl pen with the new blues.
I know, pictures are in order!
We have to rearrange some of the bird housing if she does. We put our two new blue peahens in the pen where the hen is broody. Hen is in a little gambrel hutch, peahens are either pacing the fence line or roosting as high as they can get.
The last hatch have taken to roosting in the larger peafowl pen where in fact they grew to a feathered and flying age in safety. The main bird predators here are hawks. So one night I will move each of those youngsters to another roost, and then move the peahens to that larger pen.
Some day I have to let the white peahen and her chick out of the barn. They've been living in a stall with a window, again for safety reasons. How will I know when the chick can fend for her/himself? I wonder if the hen/chick pair would share the peafowl pen with the new blues.
I know, pictures are in order!
Bats!
So much is going on this time of year, however I am excited to have met two bats this evening flying 'round and 'round in the barn. I did net one of them long enough to have a little look at it then it figured out how to get free of the netting which was clearly too open to hold that clever creature.
RNB says they are probably looking for a cave to winter in. The barn would not be enough temperature protection for them -- sure, for tonight but not for the winter months. I hope they find someplace suitable.
We are being visited by young skunks, probably also looking for a winter home. I can tell when a new one arrives because the dry cat food -- left out for our barn cat -- disappears much faster than her usual consumption rate. So I put out the have a heart trap and the next day ask RNB to please relocate the guest.
They are cute. Too bad they eat cat food, bird food, and raw eggs, not to mention their unwelcome odor should I surprise them!
RNB says they are probably looking for a cave to winter in. The barn would not be enough temperature protection for them -- sure, for tonight but not for the winter months. I hope they find someplace suitable.
We are being visited by young skunks, probably also looking for a winter home. I can tell when a new one arrives because the dry cat food -- left out for our barn cat -- disappears much faster than her usual consumption rate. So I put out the have a heart trap and the next day ask RNB to please relocate the guest.
They are cute. Too bad they eat cat food, bird food, and raw eggs, not to mention their unwelcome odor should I surprise them!
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