BYC Guinea hen club

[margaret8]

It has come to my attention that guinea hens will often fly over the neighbors fence, in our case it would not be such a big deal because our neighbors have both ducks and chickens.

I would like to know whether or not it is a good idea to clip the guinea's wings as a solution.

NO!!!!! Then they have no defense against predators.

 

[Bean789]

Here are 2 questions. 1 - if I were to order keets and brood them in my garage in may or june and wanted to raise them with chicks how many chicks would be a good match?
2- What is the percent rate of male / female when you order from a feed store?

I read somewhere that guinea do well in larger groups and it was suggested that you do not have any less than 4 if you can help it.

I raised 4 guinea with 6 chicks, group 2. I fed them medicated chick starter with a game bird feed mixed in, about 1/4 ratio on the game bird feed. I bought the guineas from one feed store (it's a luck of the draw female to male ratio) and the chicks from another feed store the same day so they all went into the brooder together (all hatched Aug 6 this year so they are still young). They were all about a week old at the time. All survived and were held daily several times a day. They were also transported from inside to outside and back again daily when they were fully feathered to a run area set up just for them and then they got their own coop. When they all began free ranging there were no problems for the first week or so. After that, the guineas refused to go into the coop again and roosted in the trees above the coop. They were 'messing' with the chicks so it was ok with me if they wanted to live outside. They have outside feed and water and also wait for the coop door to open to go inside and get more food. They do not partake of the usual chicken treats very often but do seem to like papaya. They come when I call 'guinea, guinea' or 'chick chick chick'. They follow me around our little acre and have so far stayed on our property. They come and sit on the pool deck railing every morning when I go out for my morning coffee. They 'chitter' (that's what I call it) and I talk to them as well. I have 3 white guinea with one of them being a female. The other is a male lavender pearl guinea (only 4 guineas left at the feed store that day and I just couldn't leave the lavender one all by itself). They kick up a ruckus in the evening when the chickens all go in their coops ( I have 2 chicken flocks, group 1 and group 2 who all free range at the same time but still don't get along very well as 1 flock). The guineas steer clear of group 1.

All has been well......for quite a while.....and then the problems started/grew more intense.....

See my post below hoping for some suggestions and/or answers from people in my similar situation.

 

[Bean789]

Guinea situation with chickens. I have 4 guineas, 3 white with one being female, and 1 lavender/grey pearled male who grew up with 6 chicks. In recent weeks while they are all free ranging, I have noticed that the 3 white ones, especially the largest of the males, are chasing the lavender pearl one away from the food and water sources available to them all. These same 3 white ones, especially the largest male, chase and peck and pull feathers from a barred rock rooster and a black star (sex link) pullet to the point that I am very concerned. They were all brooded/cooped together until the guineas decided they wanted to live in the trees instead. They are all the same age. The 2 smaller white guineas seem to have bonded as a pair but I could be wrong about that.

1. Do I find the lavender male a mate of the same color and re-home the larger white male? I have asked on this site before about the colors and did it make a difference and the answers were all no. Well, I don't know if that would hold true with such a small number of guineas and the ratio of males to female.

2. How difficult is it to bring in a female guinea with the ones I have now especially when they free range with the chicks they were brooded with? How do I go about doing that and maintain the safety of the chickens in both flocks? ( I have 2 flocks of chickens, group 1 and group 2 with guineas and group 2 being 4 months younger than group 1).

3. In group 2 (same group with guineas) there is also a Splash Silkie young roo who has just now began to crow (more like a gurgling low sound so far) but they do not seem to bother him at all. I will eventually need to re-home the barred rock as he will grow to be too large for the bantams in group 1 chickens.

4. In the spring, I have 6 new chicks coming into the fray but they will be cooped with their own separate run for breeding purposes. Is this going to be an issue with the guineas when I let them all out to free range?

 

[cicilianb97]

NO!!!!! Then they have no defense against predators.

kk thanks

 

[BusyBearMama]

I have a similar question to the one above. I had 11 Guineans and between selling and predation have just 3, 3 is fine but I've had to keep them penned now as they are just too few and the foxes spotted the flock. I'm wondering if I should get a couple more or would additions be too stressful? and set up a large chicken tractor I'm thinking since I don't know if they'll like being locked in with the chickens.

 

[margaret8]

I have a similar question to the one above. I had 11 Guineans and between selling and predation have just 3, 3 is fine but I've had to keep them penned now as they are just too few and the foxes spotted the flock. I'm wondering if I should get a couple more or would additions be too stressful? and set up a large chicken tractor I'm thinking since I don't know if they'll like being locked in with the chickens.

Guineas do better free ranging, but if you have a lot of predators lock them up at night. If they are with chickens keep them wormed. Safeguard is the best bet.

 

[margaret8]

It's a few days before Christmas and I found a guinea nest! She had made her a nest there were no eggs yet. The reason I found her she was calling. She was in a bunch of vines. My DH saw them mating about 3 days ago! All I can say it's a little early!

 

[herrdogs]

I don't think my guineas have any sense at all to not to have eggs and keets in the winter! And I have learned that I am a better mommy than they are. For a while, the birds were sitting on the newborn keets when they were making them run MILES a day through our fields in the cold...and they would warm them up. Eventually within the week, they would leave a couple behind and they would get too chilled. So, I've started a new plan of bringing all newbies into the warm brooding situation for about 3 weeks,and then putting them outside in a pen with a lot of hay. The "parents" come by several times a day to visit, but they won't be together until the keets are at least 10 weeks old and I know they can fly into the trees. I love guineas--even though they go on the road, our roof, etc....but they come when I call them, and are a joy to have! These are tough birds too--last year we had a couple of weeks in the single digits, and they were okay in the cold.

 

[Bean789]

I don't think my guineas have any sense at all to not to have eggs and keets in the winter! And I have learned that I am a better mommy than they are. For a while, the birds were sitting on the newborn keets when they were making them run MILES a day through our fields in the cold...and they would warm them up. Eventually within the week, they would leave a couple behind and they would get too chilled. So, I've started a new plan of bringing all newbies into the warm brooding situation for about 3 weeks,and then putting them outside in a pen with a lot of hay. The "parents" come by several times a day to visit, but they won't be together until the keets are at least 10 weeks old and I know they can fly into the trees. I love guineas--even though they go on the road, our roof, etc....but they come when I call them, and are a joy to have! These are tough birds too--last year we had a couple of weeks in the single digits, and they were okay in the cold.

They are adorable! Glad you 'rescued' them.

 

[casportpony]

I don't think my guineas have any sense at all to not to have eggs and keets in the winter! And I have learned that I am a better mommy than they are. For a while, the birds were sitting on the newborn keets when they were making them run MILES a day through our fields in the cold...and they would warm them up. Eventually within the week, they would leave a couple behind and they would get too chilled. So, I've started a new plan of bringing all newbies into the warm brooding situation for about 3 weeks,and then putting them outside in a pen with a lot of hay. The "parents" come by several times a day to visit, but they won't be together until the keets are at least 10 weeks old and I know they can fly into the trees. I love guineas--even though they go on the road, our roof, etc....but they come when I call them, and are a joy to have! These are tough birds too--last year we had a couple of weeks in the single digits, and they were okay in the cold.

Cute!

-Kathy