Love my guineas but fear they are to stupid to survive

[Chickiemom25]

the keets are doing great free ranging They have started moving through the back pasture, around the house and pecking everywhere.... They get along with the ducks and chickens. They now come running when they see me for treats.. However they keep trying to fly into a tree next to the garage.. they get stuck and end up on the roof, then they cant get down and go higher to the peak and squawk and squawk... One flew down in the dogs fenced area and narrowly escaped yesterday. Today another flew in and couldn't figure out how to fly out of a 5' fence. fortunately had told my daughter to bring the dogs in to feed them when I saw the guineas on the roof. I opened a gate and it got out.. Seriously I am worried they are not going to survive if they cant stay off the roof.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Simple. Teach the dogs not to hunt your birds. Some dogs cough*beagles*cough are blockheads and need to be taught more than once. But a good dog should learn fairly quickly after a few supervised interactions.

Our border collie never had to be taught to behave around chickens. Our German Shepherd/lab mix never touched a chicken, even though he was six when he was first introduced to one.

One grabbed the rooster by the throat, so I grabbed her by the throat. She never did it again.

A puppy killed a chick. He got a thrashing and locked in the basement for three hours to think over his sins.

This probably sounds a little harsh--but you're inflicting momentary pain on a dog and preventing the permanent and painful end of another animal.

 

[Chickiemom25]

Simple. Teach the dogs not to hunt your birds. Some dogs cough*beagles*cough are blockheads and need to be taught more than once. But a good dog should learn fairly quickly after a few supervised interactions.

Our border collie never had to be taught to behave around chickens. Our German Shepherd/lab mix never touched a chicken, even though he was six when he was first introduced to one.

One grabbed the rooster by the throat, so I grabbed her by the throat. She never did it again.

A puppy killed a chick. He got a thrashing and locked in the basement for three hours to think over his sins.

This probably sounds a little harsh--but you're inflicting momentary pain on a dog and preventing the permanent and painful end of another animal.

yeah the healer is the biggest problem. I cant believe she can still bark.. Any time a bird of any species gets near her yard she barks and barks. ,Thankfully we are pretty far from neighbors. I need to seriously sit down and "teach her" when I get back from vacation. The shepherd just thinks they are another play thing.. like the cats.. Fun to chase but I don't see that he means to hurt them. He is just butt up going lets play!!!!!

 

[ChiefSuperFly]

I've got guineas too! Out of 9 there were for sure at least 2 males and some would fight relentlessly. I broke them down into two groups, 4 and 5 and the fighting stopped. They yell at everything! Our place is a butterfly "sanctuary" and they yell at every one of them-lol! My mom got 11 and she says hers never holler. I wonder if the endless squawking is because of the butterflies or is it because I separated them? They are the dumbest things but I really like the way they look. Our German shepherd killed most of our chickens in 2 attacks when he was 6 months old. He's almost 2 now and hasn't killed any more but the other day 4 guineas got into the yard and he would come near them then walk away. I watched him do this about 7 times. Then he would get close and sit and boom full on attack! He was desensitizing them I guess. Luckily I was watching the whole thing to see what he would do and there were no injuries. At least I know I still can't trust him :/

 

[BlueShadow]

Yeah, guineas can be really dumb about fences. Whatever side of the fence they usually are on, they can get over it no problem. But to get back to their normal side, they will pace the fence for hours trying to find a hole to walk through. Mine used to be IN the chicken run, and they would fly out and could not figure out how to get back in. Now they have their own coop, so they are OUT of the chicken run. Sometimes they accidentally fly in, and I always hear the commotion (EVERYONE needs to say something about it!) so I go and get them out.

Is there any way you can fence the top of the dog run? That may be the easiest solution. Otherwise, the guineas should eventually figure out the roof (mine have no trouble with roofs now) but it may take them a bit. The slope of your roof may make it more difficult for them too.

 

[mayoman]

We have a hobby farm where we have (today) about 300 fowl (and lots of furry animals, too), but as to the birds, we try to release our guinea fowl much the same as quail or pheasant or peafowl are released. We keep them caged long enough so that they will imprint on the farm and at the same time relate to the other animals. This means relating to other fowl, cats, farm animals and guardian dogs (especially the guardian dogs, guineas aren't real bright but they are easily excited.). When released, they act like guineas. They flock together for a few days, then they split into groups. No fence will keep a guinea inside and when faced with a boundary fence, it's like they forget they can fly and will walk back and forth till they drop. The worst thing I have seen about young guineas who are released too early is that when they sense danger, they will lay down and get eaten.

 

[mayoman]

yeah the healer is the biggest problem. I cant believe she can still bark.. Any time a bird of any species gets near her yard she barks and barks. ,Thankfully we are pretty far from neighbors. I need to seriously sit down and "teach her" when I get back from vacation. The shepherd just thinks they are another play thing.. like the cats.. Fun to chase but I don't see that he means to hurt them. He is just butt up going lets play!!!!!

Please be patient. Next to the border Coliie, the Blue Healer is probably the best herd dog found. He barks because this is how he communicates. And he is SOOOOO loyal to his master.

 

[mayoman]

the keets are doing great free ranging They have started moving through the back pasture, around the house and pecking everywhere.... They get along with the ducks and chickens. They now come running when they see me for treats.. However they keep trying to fly into a tree next to the garage.. they get stuck and end up on the roof, then they cant get down and go higher to the peak and squawk and squawk... One flew down in the dogs fenced area and narrowly escaped yesterday. Today another flew in and couldn't figure out how to fly out of a 5' fence. fortunately had told my daughter to bring the dogs in to feed them when I saw the guineas on the roof. I opened a gate and it got out.. Seriously I am worried they are not going to survive if they cant stay off the roof.

Chickiemom. You are letting your keets free range? How old are they?

 

[Kelsey Santeusanio]

I've got guineas too! Out of 9 there were for sure at least 2 males and some would fight relentlessly. I broke them down into two groups, 4 and 5 and the fighting stopped. They yell at everything! Our place is a butterfly "sanctuary" and they yell at every one of them-lol! My mom got 11 and she says hers never holler. I wonder if the endless squawking is because of the butterflies or is it because I separated them? They are the dumbest things but I really like the way they look. Our German shepherd killed most of our chickens in 2 attacks when he was 6 months old. He's almost 2 now and hasn't killed any more but the other day 4 guineas got into the yard and he would come near them then walk away. I watched him do this about 7 times. Then he would get close and sit and boom full on attack! He was desensitizing them I guess. Luckily I was watching the whole thing to see what he would do and there were no injuries. At least I know I still can't trust him :/

When I had one female and 3 male guinea hens this one male I named "mean bird" would chase his brothers relentlessly, they'd go around the house for 45 minutes straight with their little feet patting on the ground, it was like a scene from a cartoon!
Two of our males have disappeared since and mean bird now chases humans instead, which I think is even funnier!
I think guinea fowl are great for being mean and stupid, it's charming and funny!