You may remember me telling you about the rescue of 11 guinea fowl keets a few months back.
They were scruffy-looking things in various shades of grey., we found them where the guinea fowl roost and they were hatched from small white eggs. Bound to be guinea fowl keets weren’t they?
Only one person disagreed, and suggested they were actually chicks.
Well, as time progressed they started to look a little more like chicks, but it didn’t really register as I was convinced they were keets, and because I really wanted more guinea fowl.
A couple of them started growing feathers on their legs, a trait of one of our farmyard cockerels.
“Well,” I thought, “it looks like we have a mixed batch of chicks and keets.”
It took another few weeks, and a move to an outdoor coop, before I had a good look at them in good light.
They are all chicks.
The chicks that used to be keets
I’m embarrassed. I remember handling chicks before my sister was born – so I was 2 or 3 years old. In those days my dad worked for Thornbers Hatchery. I really should have known…
The mother, we think, is the black Polish bantam pullet that escaped last year and has continued living in the yard. One of the fathers is the black cockerel with feathers on its legs. He might be the father of all of them, but let’s face it, chickens aren’t too fussy about that sort of thing. When you look at the research, neither are most birds. If this is the case, she’s working hard, and she’s going against the trend as Polish are well known for being poor sitters.
Meanwhile, we’ve just been given a selection of bantams, including Pekins, Minorcas and some alleged Barnevelders. All six weeks plus and all looking bright and healthy.
Though, as we’ve seen, my ID skills aren’t great. They could be ducks for all I know…
Oooh you actually mentioned me! 😀 I’m famous!! I feel a bit mean now though! LOL. Never mind what they are! They are adorable. I have been guilty of wishful thinking many times too – especially when 75% of our chicks were showing alarming signs of being cockerels. Amazing how I was able to convince myself they were actually girls!! (They weren’t.)
No need to apologise for being right. 😉
I spent some time with them today (trying to spot cockerels) – they are looking good and I will try for some better photographs tomorrow.
Don’t worry – that’s what the blogosphere is for. There’s always someone who will put you right. It happens to me quite often. 🙂
Julia isn’t going to like someone taking her job…
Birds… they are definitely all birds
Yes, I will bear that in mind and start saying “They are all birds.” followed by “I’m not a detail man.”
Thank you, I feel less embarrassed already after that injection of Happy Snail Therapy.
😉
In my early days as a field biologist I learned that taxonomists can be separated into ‘splitters’ and ‘lumpers’. After a few years working on bryophyte identification I moved firmly into the lumpers camp and have been a happy resident ever since.
😉