Unity Farm Journal - Second Week of June 2014

My wife and I did not think it was possible for a duck to hatch guinea fowl, but this week it happened.

Guinea fowl are horrible parents.

They lay their eggs in piles throughout the forest and then abandon them.   Even if a �designated layer� sits on the communal egg pile, the young often get wet and chilled after hatching and do not make it back to the coop.

A few weeks ago, the guineas decided to lay a few eggs in the duck house.    Five of the ducks instantly began sitting on the eggs in shifts, keep them warm and protected.

Our sense was that dry guineas offer a very different humidity environment than constantly wet ducks.

Imagine Kathy�s surprise when she went into the duck house and found baby guineas running around.

In the end, it was nature over nurture - the guineas had no interest in swimming and the duck parents thought their new offspring were defective - a different kind of ugly duckling.   We brought four baby guineas into the warmth of our brooder and today they are happy and healthy.   In a few weeks, when they�re older and stronger, we�ll introduce the babies to the community of guineas so they can integrate into the family.

Speaking of ducks, one of our harlequins, Belle, had a traumatic eye injury, likely from her interactions with wild ducks which frequently visit the duck pond.   As the farm medical care professional, I know that Pseudomonas infection of the eye is a real barnyard risk.    Kathy and I did minor surgery to clean remove debris and loose tissue from the eye.   We washed the eye with saline and have been using Tobramycin ophthalmic twice a day.    They eye is now open and healing.   Here's a comparison of the injured eye to the good eye.   In a few weeks, we hope Belle will be good as new.

I�m 52 and too old for a mid-life crisis.   Some older men seek a red car that brings back memories of their youth.    Now that we are producing hundreds of pounds of vegetables, honey, mushrooms, and fiber, we needed something other than a Prius to haul farm goods to our customers.      We purchased a 2013 Ford Transit, the last of the �european style� delivery vans available from Ford.   Here�s my post mid-life crisis red car.

The weekend ahead will be a �honey do� list - spin honey, maintain hives, build new hives,  create new honey frames, etc.   I look forward to less trail building and more bee work.