we made guineas!

They made it!  Not 7, as I originally had hoped, but 9 little fluffy guinea keets to add to our flock.  There are a few more eggs in the incubator that haven't hatched and we'll give them a few more days, just in case, but I'm thrilled with 9 babies in the house.

We've hatched chickens before and last year I hatched out Goose the duck, who is now a big handsome boy (who still loves his momma), but this was our first experience with guineas.

 

There's always that one guy who stands in the food dish.

 

They'll be in our makeshift brooder (a plastic bin with rags and grass in the bottom and a stuffed animal to cuddle under) in the dining room for the first few days before we move them out to the brooder box in the garage.  That will give me a chance to keep a close eye on them and give them a chance to thrive in the crucial first few days.

 

Hey dude, someone's peeping on you.

 

It amazes me how quickly instinct kicks in.  Even before they were fully dried off they were wobbling around the brooder, pecking at the bits of grass.  Just overnight they went from wobbling to running and that's the only way they travel, no strolling for these guys, run, run, run.  In a few days if the weather is warm enough they'll get to spend time out in the tractor (a moveable cage we pull around the yard so they can run in the grass) and then the hilarity will really begin as they try to catch bugs and learn about the world.

There's always something going on around here.  The kids have already started gathering eggs from the chickens to hatch next.  Maybe Kit was right, maybe I am the Keeper.

Happy mid-week, everyone.