Guineas Can Be Mean Mothers
Oct 20th 2008RuralWriterFarm Critters
Having raised guineas for years, it never ceases to amaze me what a bundle of contradictions they are. They can do some pretty smart things, but most of the time they act like they haven’t got a brain in that little bitty head of theirs.
For instance, every night they fly way up in one of the walnut trees to roost, coming to rest on branches 30-40’ off the ground. Yet, during the day they’ll run along side a 4’ fence, up and down, up and down, and can’t figure out how to get to the other side.
However, while they can’t figure out to fly over a little fence, they’re smart enough to use a concept of team mothering. Most of the time around here, a couple of guineas will have side-by-side nests. When the keets hatch, they both take care of them. In fact, quite often their whole sub-group looks after the babies, with three to seven adults looking after one bunch of keets.
Now they can be very good mothers, but they can also be very mean mothers. On one hand if a hawk passes overhead the keets will hide is the grass while the adult guineas go running off in different directions, trying to draw the hawk’s attention away from the babies.
On the other hand, the adults go zipping along all day, and if those little keet legs can’t keep up, too bad. They just get left behind. Seems kind of mean, cause on the average, only half the keets survive and thrive. Yeah, I know, survival of the fittest and all that, but it still seems mean.
Saturday we were surprised to see that although it’s getting colder, a couple of the guineas had 7 or 8 new keets of the little-bitty-no-bigger-than-a-golf-ball variety following them around. Obviously newly hatched, they could barely keep up with Mama Guinea.
(Sorry the picture is fuzzy!)
And following the usual pattern, the next morning they were down to 4 keets. Somewhere along the line, the rest just didn’t keep up. Mean mothers.
Then yesterday evening when I went out to do evening chores, I went walking towards the shed only to hear a lot of peep-peep-peeping at my feet. Looking down, I finally located the little keets hiding in the grass. Since I happened to have my camera with me, I thought, “Oh cool! I’ll just get some close-up pictures of these little guys.” Ha! I just thought I was going to get some pictures.
I squatted down close to them and brought my camera up to focus in when all of a sudden….
WHAP!
Something slammed into the top of my bent-over head and knocked me on my butt, leaving a few trails of fire on my forehead and in my hair.
I sat there for a while shaking my head, and finally tumbled to the fact there was Mama Guinea scurrying off with all her little keets. To her way of thinking, I had gotten too close to her babies. She thought she needed to defend her keets from me, and the best way to do that was to slam into me as hard as she could while raking me with those wicked claws of hers.
Dang! Did I mention guineas can be mean mothers? My head still hurts! Guineas may not be very big, but when one slams into the top of your bent-over head, it gets your attention!
You can bet when I went out this morning to do chores I made sure I didn’t get between Mama Guinea and her babies, and all picture taking was done from a distance.
Since I didn’t have sense enough to stay away from those babies last night, I didn’t want Mama Guinea knocking out what little sense might be left in my head this morning!
Cause you know, guineas can be mean mothers.
10 Comments »
Tammy Wrensong Farmon 20 Oct 2008 at 9:06 pm 1Hi, I drifted over to your blog from Twelve Acres! I loved reading about your guineas. I also have marveled at my guineas at how smart, yet stupid they can be! I used to separate the keets from the parents and raise them in a separate pen. However I found they have a greater chance of survival if I let my adults raise them. I always feel so bad for those ones that can’t keep up.
I’ve never been attacked by one of the females but I’m sure going to be on my guard from now on! That mama sounds like a great keet protector!! Tammy
Lilyon 21 Oct 2008 at 6:38 am 2I hope your head is better. It must be hard to resist trying to get a close up of such cute little things! They are adorable.
ceeceeon 21 Oct 2008 at 10:30 am 3Wow! So that’s the thanks you get for finding the two lost babies? Ouch!
Rural Writeron 21 Oct 2008 at 10:35 am 4Thanks for visiting Tammy! I came to the same conclusion about letting the adults raise the keets. I tried rescuing some that were lost, but they died fairly quickly. Now I just leave the raising and natural selection up to the guineas themselves.
Lily, thanks for the kind thoughts about my sore head. (ha, ha, so now I’m a REAL sorehead!
) It’s slowly getting better. I’ve never had a guinea attack me before, so it was a real surprise!
Yeah, Ceecee, can you believe it? Ungrateful wretches. I will stay a safe distance from now on. None of the guineas have ever bothered people before, so I was really taken by surprise.
Jennyon 21 Oct 2008 at 9:06 pm 5If you raise chickens, they will grow up to be fairly friendly. is it not the same with the keets?
internet-band-aids to your head
Rural Writeron 21 Oct 2008 at 11:58 pm 6Thanks for the internet-band-aids. Very ingenious.
The guineas free range here so they can control the ticks and other insects. They are used to humans, and come running when I go out, looking for food. However, when an animal has babies, all bets are off. They have strong instincts to protect them, so sometimes that wins out.
Even the mother hen I hand raised from a chick won’t let me near her babies. I was the only mother she knew, but it doesn’t make any difference - she won’t trust me close to her chicks. Though she just runs off with them. She’s never tried to attack me.
2sweetnsaxyon 22 Oct 2008 at 12:21 am 7I know I shouldn’t be laughing but dang! That mother was mean wasn’t she? I sure hope you’re okay.
Celineon 22 Oct 2008 at 3:35 am 8This post held my attention till the end. Sorry about the WHAP, but I couldn’t help smiling from the way you have described it all. Lovely narrative.
Rural Writeron 22 Oct 2008 at 7:13 am 9Thanks for stopping by!
2sweetnsaxy - Laugh away. I’ll admit it IS funny. Good thing the cuts weren’t very deep. Can you see going to an Emergency Room and answering the question, “What happened to you?” “Oh, I was attacked by a guinea.” They’d be putting me in a padded room, ha! But thanks for your concern! My head’s a little sore, but I’m okay (just my dignity is bruised somewhat).
Celine - I’m glad you enjoyed the post and that it elicited a smile. I like to make people smile, and try to turn some of my misadventures into humorous narratives! Glad this one worked!
Laughing Orca Ranchon 28 Oct 2008 at 12:48 am 10What no photos of your maimed and injured head, too?
What kind of blogger are you anyway?
Haven’t you heard, that if you don’t blog about it, it didn’t happen? lol!
Just kidding’
Sounds like life with guineas is never a dull moment.
~Lisa
New Mexico