Friday, July 26, 2013

chirp, chirp, chirp

NOTE:  I have published a new page on my Junk Drawer blog.  It's an old joke in case you want to check it out.
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I've been listening to this for awhile now.  Thought I would share.

Actually this was yesterday and they chirped, or at least one did, for maybe 3 to 4 hours.  Since then it's been sounds reminding me of those that adult guineas make but in baby form.  Very soft...peep, peep, peep, similar to baby chicks.

That's right.  I'm the proud owner of twelve, two day old guineas.  They look older, don't they?  Maybe not if you've never seen two day old baby chicks.  I might be kind of an expert but that's a story for another day.  Maybe the reason these keets look more mature than chicks is they actually did mature more before hatching.  Since they are way better at survival in adverse environments than chickens it would make sense.  Of course this is pure speculation.  Maybe I'll look it up.  Sometime.

Leo and I have a difference of opinion about the keets.  I think they look cute.  He thinks they look delicious!

Okay, I'm exaggerating.  After his initial curiosity, incredibly Leo has left them alone.  I am not confident this is a pattern of behavior I can depend on so I'm taking as few chances as possible.

In case you are wondering how I came by these little cuties...well you remember I wanted to get my old piano tuned.  No?  Well, I did.  I found a guy using Google.  When I called him he said he lived near Phil Campbell as well.  What luck!

He had only been here a few minutes when he said, "you know me."  I didn't.  But he continued, "I've eaten dinner at your Mother's house many 'a time."  Then it hit me, he was the pastor of my Mom's church years ago.  I remembered her mentioning him several times.  This led to much more talk when he took a break.  He told me about my Mom always making two pumpkin pies, one she served for dinner and one she would send home with him.

Leo had been stretched out on the couch asleep all this time.  I mentioned that I had just gotten flea medication for him and he was really resting for the first time in a couple weeks.  I also told him about my fruitless search for guineas on craigslist...that "Ricky" from Corinth was supposed to call when he had some more hatch.  Yes, Ricky eventually returned my call.  He did not however, ever call and say he had guineas for me.

At this point the Preacher said, "oh, I can sell you some guineas.  But if you want baby guineas you will have to wait until some hatch."  I waited and as you can clearly see, the Preacher is as good as his word.

26 comments:

Andrew Leon said...

It is so weird to meet someone that knows you that you don't know. For whatever reason. Very surreal and twilight zone-ish.

Now, am I understand correctly that you want the birds to eat fleas?
And is it the comfortis that worked for your cat?

ADRIAN said...

That's typical of a churchman. Selling to you when your mum has fed him for free.
They are grand little chicks and well worth whatever you paid.

Phillip Oliver said...

That is so cool! So, how long do you keep them inside? I would guard them from Leo! That could be disastrous.

Phillip Oliver said...

I notice in the photo a tag that says $89.95. Expensive guineas! hehe

Gorilla Bananas said...

I'm glad to hear the preacher was as good as his word - they rarely are in the movies. How are you going to protect those cute and delicious chicks from Mr Tom?

David Oliver said...

Andrew, I absolutely agree. The two of us standing there in an awkward silence...I was grateful when my memory kicked in.

I wasn't sure if the guineas would eat fleas. I know we never had fleas, ticks or anything else when I was growing up and my Mom always kept chickens. I just googled the question and got this from mothereathnews.com: Guinea Fowl Keep The Bugs Away. Guinea fowl will eat fleas, grasshoppers and ticks.

I couldn't find Comfortis at amazon.com. I suspect what I got was a generic form of the drug. I had been meaning to say this - thank you so much for telling me about the drug. It worked like a charm but I don't think it is a permanent solution for me since I would have to be using it constantly. What I got says "Little City Dogs" on the label but has a picture of a cat. Go figure. :)
In all fairness it also says "Flea Killer Capsules for Cats and Small Dogs"

David Oliver said...

hehe yep. Maybe I should have said, "Thank you very much for the guineas. My Mom has already paid you in fried chicken and pumpkin pies." :)

I paid only $2 each for them - delivered - so I can't complain about the price.

...and I think they're grand too. I'm going to try and not get too attached.

David Oliver said...

Not sure yet how long I can/should keep them inside. Maybe until they get feathers instead of fuzz.

I do plan on being vigilant guarding them from Leo.

David Oliver said...

Phillip your eyes are wonderful! That is just some paper I had shredded up for the bottom of the box.

David Oliver said...

Truthfully I don't think the movies portray preachers the way they are generally in real life. Not the ones around here anyway. Most that I know are good people just very backward in their thinking which of course causes problems...

About protecting the keets...well, if threats don't do it, I'm going to take more drastic measures like putting them in a closet whenever Leo is inside the house. No worries about it being dark. I have to keep a light on them at this age anyway.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

From pastor to piano tuner. Has the preacher man denounced The Lord? You could name the guinea chicks afer bloggers. The scruffy one at the back could be Earl John Gray and the cute one to the right might be Lettice Leaf. I will be the rough tough one at the front who bosses al the other guinea chicks around.

David Oliver said...

I don't believe the preacher has denounced the Lord. However, the Lord's work is not as profitable as tuning pianos or selling guineas so I guess he has to prioritize his time.

I shall study the picture and name the chicks per your instruction. I think it is an excellent idea and further names you suggest will be appreciated as rest are simply called, "hey you."

Should Fish More said...

My neighbor had, two summers ago, a pair of doves. Not sure why she got them, perhaps one of her three boys had something to do with it. They were classic wild doves, and very plump....she got tired of feeding them and whatever, and asked if I wanted them.

A few days later she asked how they were. "Um, they were fine." I said, wondering if she'd notice the past tense.

Andrew Leon said...

The regular stuff is designed as a once a month treatment, which isn't too bad.

David Oliver said...

Once a month would be fine. The stuff I have had hardly any instruction. Most of the info I got was from comments at amazon. Apparently it lasts for only 24 hours. And I don't know how often is safe to give to your pet.

The first place I checked was Wal-Mart's website since I could just run down to the store and get it. Nothing there. When I searched amazon several items was listed and this seemed the closest to Comfortis.

David Oliver said...

*chuckle* Sounds to me like their fate was pretty clear and if she didn't have a shocked look on her face I'm betting she didn't care.

My Mother-in-law gave us a some kind of bird once. It was supposed to be able to talk. All it did was make annoying noises - constantly - and scatter birdseed all over the floor. We finally found another sucker, err person to give it to. If they ate it, well, I don't care.

Andrew Leon said...

You should check the active ingredients against comfortis. If it's the same the stuff, it's just once a month. Or, even, 5-6 weeks, depending upon the flea concentration. And it's good for dogs and cats. Any size, really; the dosage is weight-based.

David Oliver said...

There is either more info now or I was just in such a rush to get it when I ordered, I didn't pay close attention. At any rate, here is the part applicable to our talk:

It's safe: Can be used daily on adults, pups, kittens & pregnant or nursing pets. It exits through your pet's skin as an insect NEUROTOXIN and is out of their system in 24 hours.

Oh and BTW, they do have Comfortis now.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Yay! You got your guineas. They're adorable, but is the chirping driving you mad?

xoRobyn

David Oliver said...

It did begin to get worrisome that first 3 hours. Now, they either make no noise at all or it is just a low pleasant sound. They seem to have adapted to their new home so all is well.

troutbirder said...

I don't know much about fowl except its a growing urban hobby. In fact my son and his family are now raising chickens in the middle of Phoenix. Seriously....:)

David Oliver said...

That is interesting! Doing things like that where I live - in a rural area - is no problem but I had assumed there would be city ordinances and such in a city. I'm glad he is able to do it. I assume he and his family are eating the eggs produced. I know a lot of people prefer eggs that home grown.

If you decide to write a blog about it, I would be interested and I'm guessing other people would.

Cro Magnon said...

I too once bought a dozen Guinea chicks; I'm ashamed to say that the rats ate them all. I didn't bother again.

David Oliver said...

On my Cat Tales blog I go into some detail about all the trouble I had once upon a time with mice. It is the reason that if something happened to Leo, even with my emotional attachment to him, I would immediately be looking for another cat. I've never seen any evidence of rats here but when we lived on the farm I did. They were huge and ugly. Still, I never saw any near or in the house so they weren't nearly as destructive as mice. I guess they eat mostly small or baby animals as was your experience.

I am concerned with the chicks safety once I have to take them outside. The preacher told me I would need to keep them a wire cage until they're almost grown.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Those are very cute, but birds drive me mad. My mother-in-law has a parakeet that just loves to screech at all hours of the day. My cat, meanwhile, may be annoying (and rubbing on my face at this exact moment, trying to divert my attention from this comment) but at least she doesn't screech.

David Oliver said...

*laughing* Yeah that parakeet sounds like the bird we got rid of. These little babes have been mostly quiet lately except at times they peck on the side of the box. You wouldn't believe how loud they are. I keep running to the front door to see who has dropped by.

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