Dear friends,
Exciting news! The first pullet (brown) egg arrived April 22nd in the afternoon (below photo). The young pullets are still a little slow out of the gate, however, we did collect 6 eggs last week and anticipate a lot more very soon. Sandra was the winner, earning her first place prize of 2 dozen eggs and a jar of Uncle Joe peppers. Congratulations !!
Farm activity centered around completing compost deliveries in time for planting, cleaning coops, working the garden and fertilizing the pastures to keep up with the hungry sheep, alpacas and llama. Next Sunday the sheep will be shorn for the summer. We would really like to complete more firewood deliveries, please email if interested
The geese and ducks are enjoying the spring as they pair up and wander off together. A wonderful pair of wood ducks can be seen on occasion and we hope they will stay and nest
Early in the morning last week, a carpenter working next door spotted a weasel running in the ravine. Surprisingly, he called the weasel by making a squeaking sound. The little guy ran up to within 3 feet of Ray before scurrying back to the woods. I am not sure who was more scared
In 10 days, 25 guinea hens will arrive via the post office. I have an order for 15 and plan to keep 10. Keeping them close will be a challenge as they love to roam away. Every night we will be feeding them white millet by hand to train them to stay close, starting the first night. We will be looking for volunteers to help
Fun Fact: The Guinea fowl belong to the Numida family – they are related to pheasants, turkeys and other game fowl. The Romans brought them back from their African campaigns and tried to domesticate them. They were semi-successful in this venture, raising them on farms. The home of the Guinea fowl is Africa where they run wild in large flocks.
The Guinea is about the size of a large chicken and when fully grown will weigh around 4lb. Head and neck area is bare skin, which helps to regulate temperature. The coloration of the skin is a combination of blue, red and black hues, giving it a somewhat clownish appearance.
Guineas are highly social with their own kind; where one goes, they all go. If one gets lost it will call out until the flock comes to find it. Since they are semi-domesticated at best, it is not unusual to find them roosting in trees, or other high places come dusk.
Guinea fowl are seasonal layers between March/April to September/October. On average a hen will lay around 100 eggs per season. Their eggs are smaller than chicken eggs and are very hard shelled. The eggs are light brown and speckled and are also very rich eating.
Guineas aren’t fussy about where they lay an egg, anywhere they happen to be will do. However, when they decide to make a nest, one will be hard pressed to find it! They prefer woods, long grass – anything that will hide them from predators. The male will stand guard for the hen and watch for danger during the daylight hours. Often Guineas are ‘communal’ layers; all laying in one nest until there are sufficient eggs, 50 is not unheard of! The hens can be communal brooders too, taking turns in nest sitting.
Guineas are great entertainment to watch as they patrol the yard chattering away all the time. They also make great alarm callers – anything that is new or out of place will elicit the alarm; which can be annoying or reassuring depending on the outlook!
We hope you have a wonderful week
Harry, Lauren and Harry
