Of Geese... and Guineas

Two Canadian geese have been hanging out at our pond for the last few weeks.  They've come quite close to the house, as close as the chicken coop.  Last week, our two younger guineas weren't very happy about their intrusion --the male guinea and male goose did a bit of sparring.

The guinea hens started laying eggs about 4 weeks ago.  In a rather surprising turn of events, they started a clutch of eggs in a corner of the coop.  This was very unusual since last year they attempted to build two different nests in hidden outdoor locations.  The natural inclination of guineas is to find a hidden location in nature.  In last year's case, we brought some of their eggs indoors and incubated the hatches.

But today, one of the guinea hens has gone broody!  So we'll let nature take its course and see if she actually hatches some chicks.  If she does, then we will move the hatched chicks to the brooder on our back porch, where they will have a better chance of survival.

Guineas don't have the greatest reputation as mothers -- they will go out to feed in dew-laden grass and newborn chicks will follow mom, dying soon thereafter from the exposure.

And so the countdown begins... 26 days!