Guinea Babies!

June has always been the most popular month for birthdays in my family. It seems the Guineas on our farm have followed tradition! Yesterday, while chatting with my sister on the phone, I glanced out the window and saw this...

Of course, this is a shot from our side of the screen window. Go outside, and one gets a clearer view...

Well, by golly! Imagine my surprise, and delight, to see these little ones hopping around in the grass. If you've been following the Guinea saga, you know that this Guinea hen has been disappearing frequently for a few weeks now. I assumed there might be a nest, but I never suspected she'd succeed in hatching her own little brood. Way to go girl!

Mom & Dad are so proud. The keets (guinea babies) are 1 or 2 days old. There are a total of nine little balls of fluff, each small enough to fit into a tiny teacup. Too cute!!!

Both parents are involved in caring for the keets during the day. Even Daddy is sooo gentle with his babies. However, at night he returns to the barn to roost, and Momma and chicks go back to their nest. They are so well-hidden from view that I can't find them, even by flashlight at 1:30 am! I was up anyway, and I thought I might see them better by flashlight. Nope. Well, nature's doing just fine without my help so far. So, we'll just see how it goes. I'll be impressed if all babies make it to adulthood, but that is the natural course of survival. If they do all make it, it's surely going to be one noisy farm! We thought 3 adults Guineas were loud. Ha!

Does anyone out there know anything about Guinea genetics? It looks as though we have Royal Purple keets (same as parents in pic), Pearl keets (same as the first brooding hen who disappeared, permanently), and maybe one chick that could be Bronze or Chocolate (which would be rare), or just a faded Pearl. I'm wondering if two Royal Purple parents can make a Pearl? Or, is it possible the Pearl keets are actually babies from our lost Pearl hen? That would be neat, passing on her legacy.

We humans, so sentimental!