This post is rated: PG (poor guineas)....(some violence is implied)
Sadly, today's tale is not as light hearted as usual. We have had a few days of trying times. It's bad enough that Thursday and Friday morning's snow turned into rain that has continued non-stop for the past 3 days. But, also, during that time we lost several of our young guinea fowl. I had noticed lately that the old guineas were spending most of their day hanging out by the new guineas' house and yard. Then, on Thursday morning there seemed to be some aggression towards the new guineas. One of the older guineas was perched on top of the enclosed yard and trying his darnedest to get inside.
At that time it seemed he was only able to get himself tangled in the netting that we keep across the top of the pen. After freeing him, I didn't think too much more about it.Later that night, when Hubbs went out to close everyone in for the night, he found the guineas terribly excited, flapping and flying all around their enclosure....causing quite a ruckus. He witnessed one of the older guineas escaping thru the roof of the pen followed by several of the younger ones. The rest were quite upset. A quick count revealed that 8 were missing. He returned home quite saddened.
The next morning, I was happy to find 4 of the missing guineas trying to get back into their pen. With a bit of herding, Becky and I were able to reclaim these 4 birds....the other four were never seen again.
After the guineas were back in their pen and fed and watered, I headed to the chickens.....only to find that one of my layers had been pulled head first thru the fence and was de-capitated. What a horrible sight. Well, I removed what was left of the carcass (before her cannibalistic sisters had their way with her...yes that is one of the traits of chickens that I detest).
Not the best morning......but the saying always applies...."Tomorrow will be better." Geez, I hope so!
Post Script: Hubbs and I have decided that perhaps a weasel was in part responsible for the melee in the guinea pen (not to mention the older guinea's presence).....and also for the chicken tragedy. We have started to lock the chickens up tight at night....not just their yard, as we had always done in the past.....but their henhouses are now secured at sundown.
Out-smarting nature.....a constant challenge on the farm.
Post Script: Tomorrow the Littles start swimming lessons, as the front pasture will soon be under water if this rain does not soon stop.
Comments
Kelly
Yep, sounds like a weasel...they are slinky things that can squeeze through the tiniest spaces.
Sad but true....the chickens would just a soon eat one another than anything....just no civilized etiquette at all!! hehe
Glad you are locking up the houses tightly at night....I had to finally pile heavy BIG rocks around my chicken house..the one that was attached to an old barn...the weasels and fox were digging out the soil and entering.
It's cold here! Our first freeze is tonight for a low of 31..but the sun is trying to shine after a week of absence.
Stay warm,
Steph