I've only had Fred and Ethel for a few months and without me even noticing, their constant chatter has seeped into the 'normal' noise around here.
Guinea Fowl males call " chichichi" and the girls call " buckwheat buckwheat" [ a bit like a squeaky gate ] and they talk to each other constantly, seldom straying more than a foot or so away from each other as they potter happily around the goat paddock
So it seemed eerily silent - despite the normal morning noise of umpty gazillion magpies, pigeons, wrens and honeyeaters and the the background mumbling of four goats - when I went out to feed everyone and found only a bewildered Ethel, buck-wheating at a fraction of her normal volume.
Maybe I'll be able to report Fred's return soon but I'm not feeling spectacularly hopeful
Oh, poor Ethel. I hope you find Fred.
ReplyDeleteOh no!! Come home Fred! :(:(:(
ReplyDeleteno!! that's awful - i hope he just went off on a saturday night bender and that he turns up soon
ReplyDeletehugs
f xx
come home fred
ReplyDeletewe miss you.....
Won't you come home my dear Fred, Ethel is worried and won't go to bed.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you find Fred soon...Hugs
Oh, no. Not good. Not good at all. I'll hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteIronically, my word verification is "geesse", which could be a misspelling of "geese", another type of bird.
I was just thinking how nice it was to see the two of them and it made me laugh when I realised that my grandmother and her brother were those exact same names and used to talk to each other all the time. I do hope Fred returns safely.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Here's hoping!
ReplyDeletePoor Fred!
ReplyDeletePoor Ethyl :(
Here's hoping!
Please keep us updated on Fred...couldn't you send Bear out looking for him??
ReplyDeleteDo you have any nearby predators?
And where's Crocodile dundee when you need him??
blessings and hugs,
marcy
I love Guinea Fowl. I did a lot of growing up on a placier gold mine in the middle of nowhere. We had them for watchdogs. Nothing will wake you up like a scared/pissed Guinea Hen. They kept the grizzlies away from our camp.
ReplyDeletePoor Ethel. I pray Fred has gone for a break from the nagging.
ReplyDeleteFred phone home. Better still come home.
Oh dear. Maybe he's just gone out for milk or a walk. I like happy endings so I need to believe that Fred is on his way back as I type this. Poor Ethel...
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Melbourne, we had a daily visit from two ducks (didn't name them as you have (Fred and Ethel Mertz from I Love Lucy?)) then sometimes there would only be one - Chris thought that the female must have been sitting on the nest. But this time of year is a little early for that.
ReplyDeleteYeah Maz, I'd love for that to be the reason, but guinea fowl don't even start nesting until October apparently
ReplyDeleteUh-oh, poor Ethel!
ReplyDeleteI had to stop for a couple of guinea fowl last Thursday on my drive to work. They say they are death on ticks.