A local dude ranch gave us nine guineas.  They are good for the land, help to get rid of bugs & snakes and provide decent fertilizer that is helpful for the compost pile.

Unfortunately, we also have predators in our neck o’the woods.  As far as we can tell, it’s feral cats that have been thinning our flock.  We are now down to just three guineas, and we thought all of them were male.

Until DD#1 found a nest, and eggs scattered everywhere.  She picked up the eggs that had been kicked out of the next and then counted 14 eggs within a nest.  We figure the eggs were from one of the other birds who was killed and the sitting guinea didn’t want them in her clutch in this very thorny agareta bush:

Guess one of the guy guineas is actually a girl guinea:

The gestation for guinea eggs is less than 30 days, and we had no clue how long ago she’d laid the eggs….so, we had a lot of work to do, to get ready for babies – and to try to save them from further harm.  Hubby and the kids enlarged our chicken coop and then lined half of it with chicken wire, to help contain the keets when they make their appearance.  DD#1 noticed today that the mother guinea had been pulling out her fluffy down and lining the clutch with them.  Seems that is a sign that the keets should hatch soon enough.  The kids are excited to see the babies, and I’m just wondering how many more “kids” we can keep up with!