We are getting eggs now

One of the benefits of chlckens for tick control is that you get eggs.

The pullets we recently purchased just started laying. We are getting two eggs per day from five older pullets. Pretty soon we should be seeing a half dozen per day.

As far as the tick and bug population, it appears that the birds are doing their job well.

More eggs and less ticks, I like that!

Down to one guinea from this year's batch

Unfortunately, it appears that we are down to only one bird left from the 12 we were raising this year. I'm not sure what got the most recent bird.

The local fox is not helping things. Also, we have coons and possum.

Some lessons for next year:

- make sure the coop is ironclad. Crittera will find the slightest weakness.
- Once they learn to roost in the trees, let them all out. Otherwise, the free birds hang too close to the cooped birds.
- If possible, be aggressive in trapping coons and possum. Be aware of the danger of rabies and local laws.

We are really hoping that the remaining young bird will survive the summer and winter to be able to pass survival skills to next year's batch.

We are also considering trying to purchase adolescents although it is harder to keep them near the property.

Lyme Disease Pickets protest new guidelines

According to an article in the Atlantic City Press, On June 28th, Lyme Disease activists protested the proposed new guidelines for Lyme disease. These guidelines would make it much more difficult to treat patients with suspected Lyme Disease.

This is a serious disease with devastating implications for those infected and yet it seems that some are trying to minimize it and do everything they can to make treatment more difficult to obtain.

The article makes an excellent point that, if fewer cases are diagnosed due to the stricter guidelines, funding for Lyme Disease research may be cut.




Atlantic City Press Article

Guineas can swim !!!!

I was getting my breakfast together at about 8am.. The chickens were still in their pen when I heard a commotion. I saw a fox less than 15 feet from my kitchen window (and my dang camera was upstairs where I knew I couldn't get to it in time).

The fox seemed to be trying to get to something. I realized that one of the younger guineas had landed in the pool and was swimming like a duck. The problem was that, with his feathers wet, he couldn't seem to get out. He tried to get into the skimmer but luckily the filter had not turned on yet.

When I went out, the fox trotted off. I couldn't hold onto the bird when I pulled him from the skimmer and he started swimming again. I got the skimmer net underneath him and old soggy was able to hop out. With the level of chlorine in the pool, I expect to see that we will have an albino guinea fowl for a while.

The old one eyed guy had gotten up in a tree and the other young bird got up on top of the chicken house, out of harms way. Once I got soggy out of the pool, the three teamed up again.

Anyway, I don't have the pictures to prove it, but guineas can swim pretty well. It actually looked pretty graceful in the water. If the bird had worked it's way to the shallow end, it probably could have gotten out on the steps. I'm not sure how long it could swim though.

Ticks up one's nose and scotch tape.

In spite of all of our precautions, I felt a tick on me while I was in bed the other day. As I sat up, the darn thing fell of my arm and onto my nostrils. For a moment, I had visions of it going up my nose. I have no idea how I would have gotten it out at that point. Fortunately it didn't go up a nostril. We have off white bedsheets so it was easy to spot.

The question now was how to execute the critter. I couldn't find my needlenose pliers and killing it with a lighter on the bedsheets was out of the question... There was a roll of transparent office tape handy. It's great for trapping a tick. You just slam it down on the critter and fold it over. It can't move it's legs, so it can't escape. Also, you don't have to handle it and incur the risk of any diseases that might be on it. Still, its a good idea to wash your hands afterwards.

Our Adolescent Guineas are now roosting with the old guy

We are now down to only 2 of our 12 original keets. A local fox and raccoon have gotten 10 of them. Our son noticed the other day that the 2 remaining birds are now roosting high in an evergreen with the old one eyed guy. That's good news because in the past, they would keep roosting on the ground and end up as easy prey for whatever happened along (fox, possum, raccoon or even cats).

This year I had fenced off part of the outside of the chicken house for the guineas. There was an enclosure where they could get out of the rain if necessary. What I think happened was that the chicken wire kept them relatively safe (We did lose a couple due to a tiny opening. Details, details, details. Anyway, the birds became aware that critters are out there at night looking to eat them and that the ground is not the safest place to be. They had all started roosing on top of the game feeder that was in their part of the enclosure.

Lessons learned so far this year:

• You need to check every square inch of the chicken wire. Predators will find the tinyest weak spot
• If the birds can see what is going on, they will learn to roost off the ground.
• If at least one halfway intelligent bird survives from the previous years, they will be instrumental in teaching survival skills to the young birds.
• Regular 1" chicken wire is not an adequate barrier. In the past critters have reached through and literally pulled the birds through the wire. I went with a double layer that is offset to make it difficult for paws to get through
• Until you let all of the birds free, they free birds will roost near or on top of the enclosure making them vulnerable to predators. However, if you free all of them too early, they might wander off.