Well, chisel plowing anyhow. Alan got one field done after school last night and started another. Some wet spots but he was able to go most places. Now if it will just hold off on the raining so he can keep going.
The guinea hens are giving us fits. We got them as keets last summer, raised them in a box in the kitchen and kept them in the hen coop we built. They have had that to themselves since the laying hens went out in the new coop...well except for Mr. Fluff the white rooster anyhow.
I got the bright idea of letting one pair outdoors so they could do their whole tick control thing and learn where they live...(oh, and we may have a surprise for you sometime in the not too distant future and may need that coop for other residents.)
Thus Alan let a pair out for me the other day. For several days they were too
Then the other.
They both promptly went down to the heifer barn and vanished, not to be seen or heard all day. So much for keeping ticks off the lawn...they never went anywhere near the lawn, just disappeared into the brush, home to foxes, coyotes, hawks, fishers, etc. etc. I cursed my own idiocy. Guinea fowl, besides being dumb and loud, are for some reason fairly valuable. Liz and I have this keet-rearing-Craigs List-selling scheme going on. I did not want to lose 2/5 of the flock first thing in the summer
They did not show their knobby little heads all day. However, at milking time they were back in the coop near their stay at home pals and Liz was quick to lock them in for the night.
I wonder where they went and whether I should shut them back up. They are not going to be much good to us if they nest down in the wilderness and are eaten by the plethora of varmints that live there.
My old flock, back in the day, stayed by the house and laid eggs (hundreds of them) right on the lawn. They hatched clutches, often of over thirty keets a piece, and proceeded to leave all but one behind each and every time. (Guinea fowl can't count and one chick is a good as a dozen to them.) However, we ran around every time a brood hatched, snatching up babies for indoor incubation. At one point I had at least 75 of the noisy, dramatic, wild and crazy critters.
I hope this bunch figures out where they live and soon.....before they join the menu.
Don't let them out, I want some of those lovely Keets you are going to get ;) Go Alan, hopefully the weather will hold out but is sure is awful cloudy today.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with them, I could never keep ours in
ReplyDelete"Keet". Another new and fun word. I have to find a sentence I can use it in today:0)
ReplyDeleteSuch a richly layered world rural folks inhabit.
Coops, wilderness, hay fields, milking barns - and then all the critters that inhabit these unique domains.
And you lay it before us so well.
I really enjoy your blog, TC.
Well, I'm off to the attached garage to drag the trash forward to the curb.
Sigh.
I second Cathy's comment. It is a rich life!!
ReplyDeleteI had guinea hens once and they did stay close to the house and acted like watchdogs. I hated the mess they made but then 50 birds was probably way too many.
ReplyDeleteI just lost Honey Hen to some varmit. I haven't be able to blog about it yet...
ReplyDeleteI keep hoping she decided to hide herself out and will come in but it's been two days and two nights, so I doubt it.
When you are the end of the food chain you really should stay close too the coop.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I had no idea they ate ticks. We have some property up in the woods and a farmer down the road has a yard full of them. It's unbelievable how loud they are! He says he keeps them because they keep snakes away. Knowing that makes their noise a lot more tolerable LOL
ReplyDeleteHere they get eaten almost immediately by the night hunters, whereas my banty chickens do okay by flying 30+ feet up into the trees to roost.
ReplyDeleteLisa, I am really, really hoping the silly things start laying soon...
ReplyDeleteJeff, thanks, they are amazing birds
Cathy, funny...some Scrable type games recognize "keet" others don't. Wish you could have seen this morning. We had to milk early because Liz has a job interview and it was simply amazing at the end of chores. Such beauty!
Dani, thanks, it is
Linda, um...yeah...I could see where that might be an issue. We used to have seventy-five, but they mostly stayed out away from the house...except when they flew up on the roof. lol
Linda, that is terrible! Poor Honey! I have always enjoyed her posts. The poor girl had such a cool attitude and send of humor. I am really sorry. Darned varmints anyhow!
SCMomma, I have no proof of the tick control thing, but they have amazing press on the topic. They are noisy and alarmist, and believe it or not, ours sounded the alarm yesterday when we were being burglarized. Alas they sound the alarm every time the wind blows or a bird flies over so we paid no attention. I really like them. lol
FC, they take dumb places it has never been before. One flew down out of wherever it roosted last night, screaming its little heart out, in the dark, and almost hit Liz in the head this morning. She really didn't need that second cup of coffee after that experience.