Wow - what a lot of you love knitting on circulars, dpns, and the magic loop! Great contest considering it is the heat of summer and lots of people are away on vacation. I loved reading all the circular learning adventures - good and bad. But everyone keeps on trying! The winner is Carol who wrote....My first project was a pair of socks which I knitted inside out. Got half finished and my daughter noticed this. Had to rip them out. Quite the learning experience.
It's been really hot here. The sunflower field is prepped to go, my garden is shaping up, farmer's markets are in full swing. Summer is at full speed it seems. Last night we had a thunderstorm which cooled it off a little. The best part was an enormous double rainbow over our hill. Magical.
And look who I found sitting on eggs. One of my 4 guinea fowl is nesting on a clutch of eggs. I've never had guineas hatch here so I've got my fingers crossed she stays safe and something comes of all her sitting! With her mottled feathers she blends right into the ground she is sitting on.
I love having guinea fowl because they are extremely noisy. I can tell when anyone has driven up to the house, when there is something nasty happening in the hen house, or when there is some kind of wildlife around that the guineas think everyone should be aware of. Mine roam free, existing on bugs and grasses. They stick rather close to the farmyard and are frequently seen amongst the sheep pecking at the ground. They are really busy creatures. Funny looking and might entertaining to watch. One of my first experiences with guineas was when we first moved here. It was before poultry keeping was a popular hobby so I had to order guineas through the mail because no one sold them. The minimum order was 25 keets (that is what baby guinea fowl are called). I raised them in the kitchen in a box separate from the chickens. Boy, could they fly at an early age. They were all over - on top of cabinets, in the bookcase. It was quite comical. When I could no longer stand it, we moved them outside to the chicken coop one evening - all 25 of them. They promptly all took off through the chicken wire. The Farmer and I were crazily chasing them, trying to catch them in the tall grass, knowing that they had to go back in the house. We caught 16 of the 25 and brought them back in, this time putting them on the screened in porch which they demolished in no time. We never found the other 9. Another one of those mysteries of farm life.
I love having guinea fowl because they are extremely noisy. I can tell when anyone has driven up to the house, when there is something nasty happening in the hen house, or when there is some kind of wildlife around that the guineas think everyone should be aware of. Mine roam free, existing on bugs and grasses. They stick rather close to the farmyard and are frequently seen amongst the sheep pecking at the ground. They are really busy creatures. Funny looking and might entertaining to watch. One of my first experiences with guineas was when we first moved here. It was before poultry keeping was a popular hobby so I had to order guineas through the mail because no one sold them. The minimum order was 25 keets (that is what baby guinea fowl are called). I raised them in the kitchen in a box separate from the chickens. Boy, could they fly at an early age. They were all over - on top of cabinets, in the bookcase. It was quite comical. When I could no longer stand it, we moved them outside to the chicken coop one evening - all 25 of them. They promptly all took off through the chicken wire. The Farmer and I were crazily chasing them, trying to catch them in the tall grass, knowing that they had to go back in the house. We caught 16 of the 25 and brought them back in, this time putting them on the screened in porch which they demolished in no time. We never found the other 9. Another one of those mysteries of farm life.
4 comments:
I have a dozen chickens, my first, but no guineas. I've heard that I need a couple because they let you know when something is amiss.
I hope you get some babies.
xo, Cheryl
Hope your guinea hen isn't just being a little broody. They are known for that unfortunate habit. I always noticed that ours would rotate the "job" of watchbird through the flock, although there were a few birds that seemed to have the position more than others. Between the guineas, the geese and the dogs our farm was well alarmed.
I love the story about the Guineas!! Many years ago my grandmother's neighbor had guinea hens and I thoroughly enjoyed walking to her farm to try and catch one. To me everything was a pet and I had to learn the hard way that Mr. Rooster was not interested in being a pet!! Ah, long ago and far away.
Great story about your first guineas! I had a similar experience with my first ones. Most of them took off and were never seen or heard again. Hard lesson! I love the racket the guineas make. We now have peafowl and they are our "alert" patrol. They don't miss a thing.
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