Guineas and Chickens oh my!

For any who didn't know, we have had chickens for the past two years. I never posted anything about them because the HOA wouldn't be too happy about it. All the neighbors knew of them and a few got eggs when the girls were being productive. We originally started with 3 Cochins ~ Dolly, Reba, and Lillie Mae. Later Wynonna (spotted Sussex) and Loretta (barred rock) joined them. Well, to my dismay, Loretta (the barred rock) started to crow and he went to live in the country with a much larger harem. Dolly, our big, buxom, beautiful, black girl quietly died her second summer. That was a very sad loss as she was absolutely gorgeous and so very sweet!

Today: We still have Reba, Lillie Mae, and Henrietta (previously know as the too difficult to say Wynonna). A week before we moved the flock was enlarged to included 3  Frizzle Bantam Cochins and 8 Guinea keets. Frizzle refers to the feather type ~ think of what a chicken might look like if one stuck it's beak in a light socket! Bantam is a small breed of chicken that are just for fun, make great pets, and lay tiny eggs. Cochin is the breed and they have feathered feet. As for the Guineas...

Keet refers to day old Guineas. Reasons for having Guinea fowl are alerting the flock of danger, decimating the tick population, ridding the area of snakes, eggs, and entertainment. Well, that's a bit of what I've read and heard. We'll find out as we go! I don't plan to name them as they are much more wild than domestic so they will not be friendly like my girls and I'll have to work at keeping them close by. We're handling them several times a day and hoping they stay healthy and grow up to be good at what they do!