The Guinea update

So after 4 months the guinea disappeared one day.  They just weren't at the coop that night.  I told Johnathon to find them the next day after school, he looked and couldn't find them.  That night I received a couple texts from the neighbor saying the birds were by the road and he was trying to herd them back to safety.  He offered to catch them until I came, I said no and went out to look for them.  We looked for 40 minutes in the dark but never saw or heard any of them.

A few days went by where we were looking everywhere for the birds.  Then I asked a friend of mine that was going to the barn to see if our birds were there.  Sure enough the neighbors had caged the birds and never told us.  We went over that day during a big rain storm and got them back.  They'd been in a 10 x 10 dog kennel with about 40 chickens.

We put them in our kennel and closed the top so they couldn't fly out.

A few hours later we saw a couple eggs on the ground.  They're laying eggs now.

Two days later, they were gone again.  Somehow they had gotten out of the roof.

We hoped they'd come home that night, but like before, the neighbor caught them and caged them that same day and we only found out when Johnathon went snooping around.

A few days later JOhnathon went over and got them back.  There were only 5 there, 2 are missing.

He put them back in our kennel and we sealed off the roof so they can't get out.

It's been about 2 weeks now and we still don't know what happen to the 2 missing birds.  The ones we have are laying eggs but not as often so we think the two that went missing were females.  They're still trapped in the coop because I'm worried if we let them out they'll go near the neighbor's barn again and he will cage them up.

How to fix a guinea

Yesterday we caught the guinea, which has become hard.  They are definitely strong birds and with toe nails as long and sharp as his, we don't really want to get close to him.

Every day we've had to let the free-range chickens out of the coop and chicken run and then let the new chickens and the injured guinea out of the coop, but only into the chicken run.  At night we put them all back into the coop and leave the guinea in the chicken run so that no one pecks at him.

We could tell that his hurt leg was incredibly swollen and it also now has a greenish bump on it.  It still doesn't feel broken, at least not a major break, but we can't figure out what is wrong.

On the way home today we stopped off at the feed store and picked up some anti-bacterial wound cleaner for animals, some medicated feed with antibiotics in it, and some electrolytes for the water.  We put the new chickens in the coop so he would have the chicken run to himself and then treated the bird with the wound spray and left the food and water out for him.

We didn't see him drink the water or eat any of the special feed, but hopefully things will improve soon.

Another guinea is down

Today was a day of rain and thunderstorms.  They were pretty crazy, but it came in spurts.

In the morning, I looked out the window and saw six guinea.

Six.

We have seven.

Guinea travel in packs and when they're separated they go crazy trying to get back to each other.

Johnathon went outside and walked through the woods on both sides of the house towards the neighbors' properties and behind the house where the goats are.  I figured a wild animal or the neighbor's dog must have gotten the bird, but he couldn't find any sign of the bird.

Four hours later we got in the car and headed down the driveway, but stopped half way there because the guinea were all about 50 feet from the main road.  Normally the cars driving past us on the road will scare the guinea back up towards the house, but I knew if I drove towards them, they'd probably go out to the road.  So Johnathon and I got out of the car to walk towards them and then herd them back up towards the house.

It was as we were getting out of the car that I realized there were seven guinea again.  I was relieved that nothing had happen to the seventh bird, until I realized that he was hopping around on one foot.  It took awhile, but we eventually caught him and carried him up to the kennel.  We couldn't see what was wrong with his leg, it didn't feel broken, but he definitely wasn't using it and didn't want us touching it.

We put him in the chicken run with the chickens, but the rooster immediately pecked at him.  We herded all of the chickens into the coop and closed them in and then left the guinea in the chicken run by himself before we left.

Tomorrow, we will have to investigate what's wrong and try to find out how to fix it...

And their shenanigans continue

The boys broke the original screen door to our mud room, several times, during our first 4 months in our home.

The original screen door

We were without a door for a month or two before I finally bought a pretty new screen door and installed it a few months ago.

Carrie had pushed through the screen on the bottom half of the door to get into the mud room awhile back.  I left it the way it was partly because I hadn't bought the tool to push the screen back into place, but also because I knew Carrie would just push through again.  The screen served it's purpose to keep bugs out, and Carrie would simply come into the mud room looking for treats, and then just walk back out when she was done.  Almost like a doggie door.

One day last week, the goats were out.  This isn't anything new, in fact we often will open the gate and let them out when we're working the yard.  I'd rather let them out, then to have them jump or climb out.  And once they're out, they typically go right back in when we open the gate or shake their food dishes.

I was done with my work outside, but the goats needed some more time to graze, so I headed inside.

Carrie followed me in, but I stopped her from coming into the house.

I sat at my computer and started working....

And then I heard a bang.  And a crash.  And a bigger thud.  I yelled and jumped up to run out to the mud room to see what they'd knocked off the shelves...

Are you kidding me?!?!?!

They literally ripped the door and the hinges from the frame!

I'm not sure which goat did it.  I am guessing that Kelly came in and tried to jump out the top screen and may have gotten stuck half way through.  Or maybe it was Jenny trying to get in, and not fitting so she just ripped the door off.

The only good news is that the screen isn't torn, so I will finally buy the tool to push the screen back into place, and once I replace the broken part of the door frame I can re-attach the door.  I'm going to be smart and buy a metal grate to cover the bottom of the door to keep them all out this time.

Our First Egg

Sunday night we received our first egg

It's a pale green color.  Here is another picture - I put a stick of chapstick next to it for a size reference.  The plate it is on is white, and the towel is brown - for color references.

Eggs - Store bought, colors, and nutrition

Store Bought Eggs

Eggs in grocery stores are mass produced.  The chickens that lay green eggs are more rare and therefore are not the "mass production" type of birds.  That's why you won't find green eggs in grocery stores.  There are also birds that will lay pink eggs, no really PINK, and they are even more rare than the green layers.

When buying eggs from a grocery store, the brown eggs are no different than the white eggs.  They both have the same nutritional content when bought from the grocery store (mass produced eggs).  To sum up my research, back in the day, white eggs were mass produced by the cheaper birds that were fed cheap food.  Brown eggs were raised by farmers and families and had a more diverse diet of weeds and bugs and this would enhance the eggs (flavor and nutritional content.)  

Mass producers realized that people wanted brown eggs, so they got brown chickens and started mass producing them.  However, they're fed the same cheap food as the white layers, so their eggs come out with the same nutritional value and bland mass-produced flavor - but with a higher price tag. 

The moral of the story - store bought eggs are going to have the same nutritional value and flavor regardless of their color or price.  Eggs from birds that are fed a better diet - outside of a facility - are going to have a better flavor and a better nutritional content.

In fact , research has shown that home raised chicken eggs have these features (compared to store bought/mass produced eggs):

• 1/3 less cholesterol• 1/4 less saturated fat• 2/3 more vitamin A• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids• 3 times more vitamin E• 7 times more beta carotene

Why Green Eggs?

Personally, I wanted green eggs because it's different and funny and because when I had chickens on my dad's land as a teenager, half of them laid green eggs.  I have read in a variety of places that green eggs are slightly different nutritionally, specifically that they have lower cholesterol levels.  

Regardless of "green eggs" being healthier - it's clear that home grown chickens - with access to sunlight, exercise, bugs, and a diverse diet - produce much healthier (and better tasting) eggs.

In case you wanted a few more interesting facts:

• In 1974, the British Journal of Nutrition found that pastured eggs had 50 percent more folic acid and 70 percent more vitamin B12 than eggs from factory farm hens.
• In 1988, Artemis Simopoulos, co-author of The Omega Diet, found pastured eggs in Greece contained 13 times more omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids than U.S. commercial eggs.
• A 1998 study in Animal Feed Science and Technology found that pastured eggs had higher omega-3s and vitamin E than eggs from caged hens.
• A 1999 study by Barb Gorski at Pennsylvania State University found that eggs from pastured birds had 10 percent less fat, 34 percent less cholesterol, 40 percent more vitamin A, and four times the omega-3s compared to the standard USDA data. Her study also tested pastured chicken meat, and found it to have 21 percent less fat, 30 percent less saturated fat and 50 percent more vitamin A than the USDA standard.
• In 2003, Heather Karsten at Pennsylvania State University compared eggs from two groups of Hy-Line variety hens, with one kept in standard crowded factory farm conditions and the other on mixed grass and legume pasture. The eggs had similar levels of fat and cholesterol, but the pastured eggs had three times more omega-3s, 220 percent more vitamin E and 62 percent more vitamin A than eggs from caged hens.
• The 2005 study Mother Earth News conducted of four heritage-breed pastured flocks in Kansas found that pastured eggs had roughly half the cholesterol, 50 percent more vitamin E, and three times more beta carotene.
• The 2007 results from 14 producers are shown here.

Here is just one of the sources I've looked at:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx

The flock is complete

Saturday night we picked up three birds from the fair to finish out our bird family.

A Buff Orpington - known for being calm and friendly birds and they lay large brown eggs 3 times a week.

An Ameraucana - known for laying medium size blue eggs 3 times a week.  This bird was a CHAMPION at the fair and I have a picture of her ribbon to prove it :)

And a Black Australorp - known for being friendly, peaceful, and dignified.  They lay large brown eggs 5 times a week.

We will start to name all of the birds now that we have our flock.  

Here are the birds that we already had:

(breeds are unknown since some are mixed - but will be determined soon)

The hens (4 in all):

The rooster:

Home Grown

Our tomatoes, onions, and potatoes were doing great, but our garden was pretty empty besides weeds.  It took two days to clear the weeds out of the empty rows, and once it was done I decided I wanted to try to plant a few more things.

The only things that will grow now are broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and cabbage so that's what I bought.

Here's part of the garden where the new vegetables were planted.

The long walk home

After living here for a year, we finally got down to the one restaurant in the small town next to us last week.

Chuckwagon Restaurant just sounds country doesn't it?

Johnathon ordered a burger that was larger than mine.  It not only had the typical burger patty, bun, lettuce, tomatoes, and onion, but it also had a sausage patty and a fried egg.

He ate almost the entire burger.

Jeremiah had a kids' burger and green beans.

After dinner the boys decided they wanted to walk home.  In fact they started to run home.

While it was along the main road through the town and there were cars going by, it's still out in the country so it's not too busy.

I drove along with them, pulling to the side of the road in front of them, waiting for them to run past me about a quarter mile, and then driving past them about a half mile and pulling over again.

They made it.

2.6 miles, running almost the entire way.  Laughing and smiling the whole time.

When they got back to the house, I had to drive past our driveway and make a u-turn to come back because of the median in the road.  This is what I saw when I pulled into the driveway:

Faith just doesn't know what to do

This is a good video for being able to hear what guinea fowl sound like.  It's also a good video to see that our dog isn't eating the birds (yet).  She could have gotten to them but she didn't.

Okay, so I will admit that about 5 minutes later one went right past her and she playfully snapped at it.  She could have bit the bird (and eaten it) but she didn't even touch it.  She wants to play and luckily, so far, she understands that she can't actually touch them.