Buckwheat!
(Pst! There's a surprise at the end of this blog!)
It's been a while since I've updated everyone on our birds. Their lives have fallen into a routine that we believe is satisfying for them. Every morning Roy checks their food and water before he leaves for work. He leaves before dawn, so when I get up and feel like braving the outdoors, I let them out of their house. They enjoy the freedom of the yard until about an hour before sunset. Then Roy goes out there and throws out some "scratch," which is a mix of seeds and corn (very yummy to chickens and guineas). He throws it into the house to entice them to come in. They are usually waiting near their house for the scratch. Roy says the chickens walk right by him into the house, but the guineas run back and forth anxiously outside the house until he moves. Then they'll rush in to get some and Roy can close the door.
Some people ask me why the birds don't just wander off. Well, their house is the first safe and steady thing they ever knew - the place where there is always food and water available and protection from wind and rain. The yard is full of places to hide and hunt for bugs, so much so that they don't have to go very far to satisfy their bug quotas. With the days getting colder and nastier, they sometimes don't even leave their house even when the door is open. I am curious to see if their roaming territory expands next spring when they're older and braver.
Let's do a little refresher on the appearance of the birds . . .
Here's what our New Hampshire Red chickens look like now - very handsome!
Here are the Barred Rocks, the goofy siblings.
It's been a while since I've updated everyone on our birds. Their lives have fallen into a routine that we believe is satisfying for them. Every morning Roy checks their food and water before he leaves for work. He leaves before dawn, so when I get up and feel like braving the outdoors, I let them out of their house. They enjoy the freedom of the yard until about an hour before sunset. Then Roy goes out there and throws out some "scratch," which is a mix of seeds and corn (very yummy to chickens and guineas). He throws it into the house to entice them to come in. They are usually waiting near their house for the scratch. Roy says the chickens walk right by him into the house, but the guineas run back and forth anxiously outside the house until he moves. Then they'll rush in to get some and Roy can close the door.
Some people ask me why the birds don't just wander off. Well, their house is the first safe and steady thing they ever knew - the place where there is always food and water available and protection from wind and rain. The yard is full of places to hide and hunt for bugs, so much so that they don't have to go very far to satisfy their bug quotas. With the days getting colder and nastier, they sometimes don't even leave their house even when the door is open. I am curious to see if their roaming territory expands next spring when they're older and braver.
Let's do a little refresher on the appearance of the birds . . .
Here's what our New Hampshire Red chickens look like now - very handsome!
Here are the Barred Rocks, the goofy siblings.
| And here are the guineas . . . Did I ever mention that they just keep getting uglier with age? Oh yes, they will continue getting uglier . . . But, look below and you'll find something special! I decided to exercise my option to post a video! It's 1 minute long and it shows a guinea calling "buckwheat!" That's their standard call, but only the females make it. It also has a little bit of footage showing them pecking around our yard (our very unkempt yard) with the chickens. Enjoy! P.S. Today (Wednesday, Oct 21) is a great day to check our Poultry Cam because its snowing outside, so all the birds will be lounging indoors! |  |
Posted by Susan at October 21, 2009 
Categories: Poultry
Tags: barred rock new hampshire red chicken guinea
Categories: Poultry
Tags: barred rock new hampshire red chicken guinea
Comments