The birds are being let out every weekend, and seemingly enjoy every second.
There is still a tendency for the younger birds to get chased; and with Rotisserie at the helm, being chased himself by the older birds, they tend to wander quite far. Well, far from the perspective of the coop they live in -- last week I herded them down from the top hill, nearly up to my neighbor's house. And today I found Rotisserie wandering around the house, obviously upset that his troop was not with him. I eventually found the Jumbo Pack, down at the road; they were digging themselves dust bowls. (And amusing the occupants of the cars, stopping to watch.)
They seem to get spooked at least once a day, causing them to take flight and land in the coyote brush. After much calling to each other, they eventually regroup.
Also of note last week was what appeared to be a bunch of males ganging up on one poor female. Turns out this was mating behaviour. They're growing up!
2005/02/21
2005/02/06
7 months, 5 months
Time for a new unit of measurement for the age of the birds.
The 6 youngsters had a bit of outdoor time today -- not unplanned, but surprised, judging by how well Rotisserie keeps them herded safely inside the coop. He slacked in his duties, however, and as a result 5 of the Jumbos are up in a Douglas Fir tonight. We'll see in the morning whether they became owl treats or not.
The Jumbos have been bad boys before: a few weeks ago a few got out when I was checking up on them before going to work. I couldn't get within 50 feet of the pack, and left them outside for the day (the others were caged up). I feared the worst, but when I got home, I found they had all returned, and on top of that, the outside door had closed. Either the patron saint of guineas visited that day, or the gusty winds slammed the door shut after they had returned. Lucky in any case.
On a positive note, they are huge and look tastier by the day.
This weekend I taught YT how to dust himself, and today he taught the others. Smart bird.
Here's Kiki striking a pose:
The 6 youngsters had a bit of outdoor time today -- not unplanned, but surprised, judging by how well Rotisserie keeps them herded safely inside the coop. He slacked in his duties, however, and as a result 5 of the Jumbos are up in a Douglas Fir tonight. We'll see in the morning whether they became owl treats or not.
The Jumbos have been bad boys before: a few weeks ago a few got out when I was checking up on them before going to work. I couldn't get within 50 feet of the pack, and left them outside for the day (the others were caged up). I feared the worst, but when I got home, I found they had all returned, and on top of that, the outside door had closed. Either the patron saint of guineas visited that day, or the gusty winds slammed the door shut after they had returned. Lucky in any case.
On a positive note, they are huge and look tastier by the day.
This weekend I taught YT how to dust himself, and today he taught the others. Smart bird.
Here's Kiki striking a pose:
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