Tricks to Raising Guinea Keets

Guinea fowl were the very first addition to my farm four years ago. I was complaining one day to my aunt that I couldn't even step out the door without getting ticks on me. She told me that guinea fowl were known for eating ticks. At that point, I had never heard of a guinea before so I checked them out on the Internet. They seemed easy enough to raise and care for so I called the local feed store. He gave me the name of a woman that raised guineas nearby and I called her. She was a very kind elderly woman and told me to stop by at my leisure.

My husband and I decided to go visit her the next day. As we pulled into driveway we saw guineas and chickens scattered everywhere! She gave us a tour of about an acre that had some old barns and lots of small nesting boxes set up everywhere. As we walked, my husband and I asked a lot of questions about feed, grit, housing, and other necessities. When it came time to purchase she told us she sells them for $2.50 a keet. I asked if it was possible to buy adult guineas and she said they would probably fly away and return to their original home. So I asked for just 3-4 keets and she said that I should get at least 10-12 due to the rate at which they get lost to predators. I agreed and we quickly boxed up 12 keets. The ride home was a noisy one!

The keets I bought were only about a week old so I set them up in the house with a heat lamp and regualr starter feed. They were so cute and fuzzy. My young daughter loved them! The next few weeks were full of lessons. First, once the keets get old enough to jump around, regular chick feeders and waterers will not work. Inevitably there was always a keet on top pooping into the feed or water. After a few unsuccessful attempts, we finally fashioned cardboard cones to duck tape to the top so they could not sit.

Second lesson, birds poop a lot! Changing the paper in the bottom of the box everyday was no small feat when you have 12 birds trying to escape. We finally figures out to put LOTS of paper in as layers. Then all we had to do everyday was roll up the top layer.

Third lesson, they always manage to spill their water so cardboard boxes are not the best option. Instead we purchased a $3.00 plastic tote and layered it with lots of paper. The bonus was that when we were done raising them, it could be disinfected and reused for the next batch of birds. This idea was then expanded upon when we taped two totes together in a T shape and cut a hole for them to get through. We then placed the water in one of the totes and the feeder in the other. This solved the problem of the water spilling and getting into the food that had fallen out of the feeder, thus creating much less waste. The keets actually preferred pecking for their food off the newspaper anyway.

Eventually the keets were large enough to be released outside. In the next posting I will give the details of that adventure and how we built a guinea house from pallets.

Sugar Is Safe For Hummingbirds

I learned something new today. As I gazed out my kitchen window watching two hummingbirds chase each other for the feeder, I suddenly wondered if the sugar solution I was making for them was actually safe. Often times animal lovers think they are doing something nice for wildlife and it can actually wind up harming them. I try not to do that so I hopped onto the handy dandy internet. I was delighted to learn that table sugar is perfectly safe for hummingsbids, but appalled to learn that the red dye that I have been using to attract them was not. I also learned that the general accepted ratio seems to be 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. There was some debate on whether or not to boil the water first...personally I vote for boiling because it certainly can't hurt. You can never tells what lives in your water these days.

Now time to go outside, get my hummingbird feeder and make a fresh batch of dye free solution.
Below I have attached a couple of the really good websites I looked at.
http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html
http://www.asheville.wbu.com/content/show/11866

My Horse Has White Line Disease

My farrier told me at the last couple of visits that my horse has a mild case of White Line Disease (aka Fungal Onyochomycosis or Seedy Toe). By definition Equine White Line Disease is a fungal infection in the stratum medium. The infection sort of eats up the tissue. It can advance to the point where the hoof wall can no longer hold a shoe and the wall breaks down.

Since it was just a tiny little crack, my horse is barefoot and not getting ridden very often I had hoped after the first time she told me that it would sort of clear up on its own...but unfortunately it did not. Therefore, now I have started daily treatment. Everyday I clean out the infected hoof with a shoe nail (gladly provided by the farrier). Then I apply a topical gel prescribed specifically for White Line Disease. The intention is that if the anaerobic infection is cleaned out everyday then it will not have a habitat in which to thrive. Lets hope that my delay in treatment has not cost my horse his hoof!

Lost a Chick!

As I walked into the chicken house to look for eggs and fill the feeder, I noticed one lone chicken claw on the floor! My heart sank as I counted the remaining chicks and only saw 6 of the 11. Quickly I did a perimeter search and found that some of the chicks had squeezed through the fence and were hiding under the house. One, two, three, four....thank goodness I only lost one chick and not five. As I tried to catch them I spied the remains of the final chick in some tall grass. Poor thing was missing its head and most of its body. I concluded that it must have been something small like a weasel because there was no damage to the fence (so it must have fit through it) and it did not pluck any of the feathers off like a fox usually does. Time to get some fencing with smaller holes. I have had this fence up for the last three years and not had a problem until now (except for the occasional snake), but I think this is because I used to always have horses in this field keeping the grass short. I had decided this summer to give that field a break from grazing...good for the pasture ... bad for the chickens I guess!!!! Lessons learned...off to the store now!

My Perfect Chicken House Design

After raising guineas, chickens, and quails for the past few years, I have designed what I think would be the perfect chicken/bird house. This is my own personal design that would allow the different age groups to have exactly what they need and allow egg collecting, feeding, and watering without being mobbed by birds. Each room would include a large, fenced run and electricity. The feeder set up reduces spillage and makes cleanup easy. Having a mesh floor allows droppings to fall through into collection pans so they can be composted and keeps the inside clean and airy. I would also add some roosting posts...I have found old wooden ladders work great. The entire house would be tall so that a person could stand comfortably while collecting eggs and guineas can roost in their preferred high areas.

As of right now I do not have the talent or the funds to build this chicken/bird house so if any of you are interested in building it ...please let me know how it comes out. I would be excited to hear how different people would adapt it to fit their personal needs and the different materials used. One thing I know about people who build stuff for farm animals is they can be very creative using materials they have around already!

One of My Favorite Recipes

Now that I have accrued a sizable amount of green beans and potatoes it is time to make one of my favorite childhood recipes. When I was young I frequently spent summers with my grandparents in Maine. My grandmother and I would drive to a nearby produce stand to pick up the freshest green beans and potatoes. When we got home she would clean everything up and throw it all in a pot. Then she would add a good amount of cream, milk and some butter and let the whole thing simmer until the potatoes were done. To date, I have not been unable to recreate just the right taste of this recipe. I believe now that I have the freshest of ingredients myself, grown with love, I will be able to make my grandmother proud. Here's to good memories and good food!

More potatoes!

Now I know why so many people are returning to the homesteading life style. Growing your own food is sooo satisfying!!! Yesterday I harvested a bunch of potatoes and green beans and added them to my basket of chicken eggs I had just collected. As I walked into the house with my basket full of goodies I thought about how wonderful it was knowing that all of this organic food I had helped to create was going to be so healthy for our bodies. I did not have to worry about pesticides or hormones. I did not have to worry about how fresh it was or the expiration date. My only problem is that this makes it that much more difficult to go to the grocery store and buy produce. Hopefully someday I will have a great greenhouse so that I can make more of my own produce and extend my growing season. Here's to healthier living!!!