It was 6 degrees F this morning and will be dropping down to -2 degrees F tonight. That is cold, but it gets a lot colder here.
The Guineas normally stick to the coop area on cold days but when the sun is shining they sometimes venture out into the trees to dream.
Guineas are indigenous to Africa (excerpt from Wiki): The Helmeted and Vulturine Guineafowl generally reside in open or semiopen habitats such as savanna or semideserts, while the remaining species of guineafowl mainly inhabit forests.
Not much resembling that kind of habitat here.
They are lovely, entertaining birds to have around your farm. They simply eradicate ticks and provide a summer supply of eggs to supplement the chickens production. They are excellent sentries and call out whenever a stranger or non-farm animal makes an appearance. Once one gets used to their "singing" they are wonderful additions to the homestead.
That being said I'm sure today they are thinking that it is COLD.
I never thought of Guinea eggs as a foodstuff. I can't have them here but, maybe one day.
ReplyDeleteMike - Guinea eggs a bit smaller and have really hard shells, but they taste good. We tell the little ones that they are Princess eggs.
DeleteI thought about getting guineas, but I had people build a house directly across the road from me and figured they might not like free ranging guineas. I love their feathers!
ReplyDeleteTeresa - If they have ticks in their yard they will be happy to see them! The feathers are wonderfully colored.
DeleteI miss my jungle fowl-they used to love being up in the trees too!! Hope to add guineas to my little flock this spring!
ReplyDeleteRain - You will love them, they look and sound unlike any other foul I have seen.
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