DogwoodMtnFarm
Chirping
Morning Ya'll,
Our 14 GF are 9 weeks and 4 days old today and quite healthy and vocal: they all have adult voices now and I'm hearing boys and girls. We moved them into their new coop 3 1/2 weeks ago and started letting them roam around the yards close to the house a week ago. All has gone great and they simply LOVE to explore the yard, find green "treasures", fight over the green "treasures", take dust baths, annoy Flirt the farm cat, chat up a storm and just be Guineas. We ONLY let them out when we're home and can keep an eye on them. They almost always just hang out under our large Japanese weeping maple next to our front wrap around porch and under that porch. They have explored other parts of the yard and like to spend a few minutes in my kitchen garden up front. When I check on them they answer my calls with adorable cheeps. They will follow me around and sometimes freak out when they realize I've walked away. They also freak out about just about everything and at least once or twice a day we have the world class flying freak-out. One of the Lavenders got caught in a tomato cage during the very first flying freak-out and I had to show him/her that they just needed to step out of it. They figured out quickly that they may be able to alight on the Japanese weeping maple but if they try to walk on it they simply drop like a rock.
On their 2nd day out they decided to walk up our driveway and suddenly they noticed a big, blue monster in front of them: my beloved VW Golf R. They ALL sounded the alarm and froze. I was behind them trying to herd them up the steps of our retaining wall so they could work on my herb garden and tomatoes. They couldn't be coaxed or herded within 10 feet of the blue monster. They put up a ruckus that would raise the dead. I realized it was futile and similar to herding cats so I reversed course and had them walk up a grassy ramp beside the retaining wall behind their coop.
A couple of days later they discovered the maple all on their own. When it was time to go to the coop I walked around to the driveway and behind the VW and started calling and getting them herded in the right direction. All 14 were walking on the edge of the retaining wall when someone noticed the big blue monster was 8' away - what a ruckus!!! I finally got them to leave the safety of the maple tree and go to the coop but it took both of us and a scattering of BSF larvae to remind them what the reward was for going to the coop. Eventually they figured it out and RAN behind me to the coop and eagerly waited for their "bugs". We definitely found their "currency"!
We started training them with the larvae when we moved them to a larger brooder at about 3 weeks. We call "keet, keet, keet, keetie!" to call them to the coop and reward with their "bugs" and "Guinea, Guinea, Guinea" when we need to find where they are. They actually do recognize and respond the the different calls. We sometimes have to coax them out from under the maple tree but once they see me walking down the sidewalk they RUN to the coop. Pretty amazing considering they've only been out 5 times and never for more than 5 hours. Some of them will tolerate me more than others and some will cheep back when I talk to them. I handled them, talked to them and sang to them when they were in the brooders and the Hubster often fed them and changed their bedding, especially in the large brooder (6'X2' stock tank.) They aren't quite as sure about the Hubster but they're getting more comfortable around him.
I've joked for awhile that if they perched on my beloved VW and scratched the paint we'd find out why Europeans consider GF a delicacy! Houdini, our escape artisit, did fly onto it but left immediately and didn't really scratch the paint. After that I moved the car back where it was tucked beside our large 5th wheel RV to keep it safe and to make life a little less scary for the flock. The next day I drove our ginormous silver Ford F350 Diesel Dually and when I returned I parked it where the VW had been. Usually it's near their coop. The flock didn't even notice or care. So far they haven't tried to land on it or squawk at it or anything.
What gives with my car? Is it the color? Is it the shape? Is it the slightly throaty, slightly growly exhaust? I rarely take it because we live on a 1.3 mile dirt road and our 1/5 mile driveway is steep and rocky and my VW has very low clearance. It's a hyper rare car with extremely low mileage that I want to keep in perfect condition. I love it and admit it's not practical for a homestead but I'll never sell it. It usually in the garage but has been out since March because the Hubster is working on the house and needed the room. I don't think the Guineas had only heard and seen it when I drove it the day before the 1st freak-out. Our Dually is MUCH larger and makes at least as much, if not more noise since it's a Diesel. I will admit my VW can be a bit loud but I don't rev it up or drive like a nutso.
I'd love to find out what's causing these freak-outs! I need to get a real Homestead vehicle and am looking at trucks and SUVS but I will be keeping my baby. If it's the color that's triggering them then I'll have to find something that's not blue. That's stinks as blue is my 2nd favorite color (purple is #1 but try finding a purple truck or SUV!) Do I need to bring whatever I'm considering home to get the Guineas approval on it? Should I try to acclimate them? Can their tiny brains work that hard without blowing up? Curious minds NEED to know!
Thanks and God Bless,
Trish
PS: I've become a Guinea Gal!!! I'm already looking at colors for the next set of keets!
Our 14 GF are 9 weeks and 4 days old today and quite healthy and vocal: they all have adult voices now and I'm hearing boys and girls. We moved them into their new coop 3 1/2 weeks ago and started letting them roam around the yards close to the house a week ago. All has gone great and they simply LOVE to explore the yard, find green "treasures", fight over the green "treasures", take dust baths, annoy Flirt the farm cat, chat up a storm and just be Guineas. We ONLY let them out when we're home and can keep an eye on them. They almost always just hang out under our large Japanese weeping maple next to our front wrap around porch and under that porch. They have explored other parts of the yard and like to spend a few minutes in my kitchen garden up front. When I check on them they answer my calls with adorable cheeps. They will follow me around and sometimes freak out when they realize I've walked away. They also freak out about just about everything and at least once or twice a day we have the world class flying freak-out. One of the Lavenders got caught in a tomato cage during the very first flying freak-out and I had to show him/her that they just needed to step out of it. They figured out quickly that they may be able to alight on the Japanese weeping maple but if they try to walk on it they simply drop like a rock.
On their 2nd day out they decided to walk up our driveway and suddenly they noticed a big, blue monster in front of them: my beloved VW Golf R. They ALL sounded the alarm and froze. I was behind them trying to herd them up the steps of our retaining wall so they could work on my herb garden and tomatoes. They couldn't be coaxed or herded within 10 feet of the blue monster. They put up a ruckus that would raise the dead. I realized it was futile and similar to herding cats so I reversed course and had them walk up a grassy ramp beside the retaining wall behind their coop.
A couple of days later they discovered the maple all on their own. When it was time to go to the coop I walked around to the driveway and behind the VW and started calling and getting them herded in the right direction. All 14 were walking on the edge of the retaining wall when someone noticed the big blue monster was 8' away - what a ruckus!!! I finally got them to leave the safety of the maple tree and go to the coop but it took both of us and a scattering of BSF larvae to remind them what the reward was for going to the coop. Eventually they figured it out and RAN behind me to the coop and eagerly waited for their "bugs". We definitely found their "currency"!
We started training them with the larvae when we moved them to a larger brooder at about 3 weeks. We call "keet, keet, keet, keetie!" to call them to the coop and reward with their "bugs" and "Guinea, Guinea, Guinea" when we need to find where they are. They actually do recognize and respond the the different calls. We sometimes have to coax them out from under the maple tree but once they see me walking down the sidewalk they RUN to the coop. Pretty amazing considering they've only been out 5 times and never for more than 5 hours. Some of them will tolerate me more than others and some will cheep back when I talk to them. I handled them, talked to them and sang to them when they were in the brooders and the Hubster often fed them and changed their bedding, especially in the large brooder (6'X2' stock tank.) They aren't quite as sure about the Hubster but they're getting more comfortable around him.
I've joked for awhile that if they perched on my beloved VW and scratched the paint we'd find out why Europeans consider GF a delicacy! Houdini, our escape artisit, did fly onto it but left immediately and didn't really scratch the paint. After that I moved the car back where it was tucked beside our large 5th wheel RV to keep it safe and to make life a little less scary for the flock. The next day I drove our ginormous silver Ford F350 Diesel Dually and when I returned I parked it where the VW had been. Usually it's near their coop. The flock didn't even notice or care. So far they haven't tried to land on it or squawk at it or anything.
What gives with my car? Is it the color? Is it the shape? Is it the slightly throaty, slightly growly exhaust? I rarely take it because we live on a 1.3 mile dirt road and our 1/5 mile driveway is steep and rocky and my VW has very low clearance. It's a hyper rare car with extremely low mileage that I want to keep in perfect condition. I love it and admit it's not practical for a homestead but I'll never sell it. It usually in the garage but has been out since March because the Hubster is working on the house and needed the room. I don't think the Guineas had only heard and seen it when I drove it the day before the 1st freak-out. Our Dually is MUCH larger and makes at least as much, if not more noise since it's a Diesel. I will admit my VW can be a bit loud but I don't rev it up or drive like a nutso.
I'd love to find out what's causing these freak-outs! I need to get a real Homestead vehicle and am looking at trucks and SUVS but I will be keeping my baby. If it's the color that's triggering them then I'll have to find something that's not blue. That's stinks as blue is my 2nd favorite color (purple is #1 but try finding a purple truck or SUV!) Do I need to bring whatever I'm considering home to get the Guineas approval on it? Should I try to acclimate them? Can their tiny brains work that hard without blowing up? Curious minds NEED to know!
Thanks and God Bless,
Trish
PS: I've become a Guinea Gal!!! I'm already looking at colors for the next set of keets!
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