New to this guinea forum

[Sandshaven]

But not new to guineas.. I have been raising, training and selling them for the past few years now.
We only raise guineas at our location.
We are NPIP Certified and our birds are registered as therapy flocks. We use them to help people with autism.
I am a Certified Poultry Technician (CPT) for the PA Dept.of Agriculture - Region 1.


Well that's a little about me... Happy to meet you all...

 

[PeepsCA]

Hiya S

,
Good to see ya over here

 

[Sandshaven]

Hey Peeps,

Nice to see you again. I see you are still as busy as ever. I was looking at your page. You have some beautiful birds.

 

[BarbaraNH]

Hi Sandshaven! Nice to see you here. I come here as often as I can to check out the posts on guinea fowl. I learn from reading what others have to say, and I try to answer a question if I think I can help. Almost 14 years of raising guineas has to account for something.

 

[Sandshaven]

Hi Barbara... Nice to see you also. I just found this place and I think I like it. I'm not sure how this site totally works. I just found your post... lol

 

[VermontTex]

I am new to guineas and I found your intro amazing! Therapy Birds? I have read so much lately about how wild they are and not really able to "tame" them. It was disappointing. After reading Gardening with Guinea's I was hopeful I could tame them. This is a nice surprise and unbelievable. How do they work for you and how did you train them? Do you have a website or blog or other I can read about your efforts/success?

VermontTex

 

[Sandshaven]

Hi Vermont Tex...
Welcome to the wonderful adventure of guineas and nice to meet you.
Yes, We have 2 flocks of registered therapy birds. And they are amazing...
I will be the first to admit they are wild and hard to tame for some. But I have 28 birds that will prove them all different.
I am not saying that they listen like my dogs. But I can pet them.. I can touch feet, lift wings...
They are all trained to come to the ring of bells. And they can be herded with no problem.
We have them trained to stay in our yard and woods... Most of the time.. But they are birds, they need attention to stay focused.
One of the reason they work so well for autism.. lol
Actually they have many reasons.. Their noise, their calls, mannerism, feathers.. Even their feed and seeds are beneficial for our autism work.
I do have some sites out there.. I think I have my hatchery page listed here but I will share it again. www.sandshaven.com/hatchery.php
I also have a facebook page just search sandshaven. On facebook I have our pics from the beginning. One of these days I will finish adding the captions. lol
If you enjoy our page... please "like us"
I will be adding a video there of my nest raid today... I have to grab the babies or the hens seem to squish them. The downfall of a public nest. Needless to say they do not like the invasion.
I have yet to find the time to write a blog... Maybe someday.. I have kept recorded documents of our journey. I am working on a training page.. Also a work in progress.
My best advice in how I train... If you have a flock... Train the whole flock. If you train 1 or 2 when maturity hits and instincts kick in they will take the side of the wild birds.
And your tame couple will revert back to wild.
Next.. I try to chase them very little. Since they are on the wild side they need to want to come to you. I sit in front of their cage and work on computer stuff a lot.
Keeps me from getting bored and helps them feel comfy with me. They are very curious and will end up checking you out. Pet at first with the back of your fingers/hand..
They seem to know you can't grab them that way. Talk softly and move slowly.. If you dedicate enough time you will be able to tame them.
If I can answer anymore questions.. I am happy to..

 

[hcranch]

I find it really interesting that you can use these birds as therapy for people with autism. Do you have a separate website for that program or is it the same site you listed in an earlier thread? I have a nephew with severe, but functioning autism and a niece with Aspergers Syndrome and although no one in THIS state will diagnose it (long story) I have two grandchildren who have all the markers for Aspergers Syndrome. So you can see why I am very interested in how you use your birds for therapy! Thanks for any information you can give me.

 

[Sandshaven]

I love to find people with interest... I just have the website that I listed above. Thou we also have a Facebook page that we have pics from the start.

Yes, I can understand your interest. My drive was/is fueled by my son, who is autistic. Brighton is non-verbal with major sensory issues. I believe his autism was caused by shots when he was 18 months old. It was like shutting off the lights. We tried everything... Then one day, when I was at the cancer clinic, with my Dad. I read an article about birds helping autism and my obsession began. I researched different flocks of birds finally finding guineas. I picked them because of their unruliness.. their bit of wild. And they have changed our lives.

Let me see if I can simplify how we have used ours...
1. We used them to get Brighton's attention and hold it.
*The birds playing and climbing on us got his attention. Without the birds he would stare past us like we were a chair.
*As young keets I would feed them treats in order.. It was a very trying trick to get 14 birds to take turns with Brighton getting a treat if he was there at the end.
2. Used them as visual examples of family units
*He was finally able to grasp that he was part of our family just like the birds are part of the flock.. He started to realize that in our family he was safe even in places he was uncomfortable. It stopped him from "bolting"
3. Used them to aid in stopping meltdowns in crowded places.
*They were perfect for this.. since they are so sweet and docile at first.. Eventually growing into crazy loud insane critters. Kind of like public crowds.. lol.. Great conditioning..
4. Brighton is non-verbal but can talk guinea.
*He can make all the sounds and knows what they mean.
5. Great for sensory... feathers, seed, and feed.. Also wonderful games.. searching for eggs, matching feathers, counting guineas.

And they are hysterical.. laughter is very therapeutic.

They gave us that bond... connection we were missing.. They opened up his want to communicate. When we started with the guineas Brighton was in an IU4 Autistic Support Group. Now he is mainstreaming in our school district. Brighton is still autistic and non-verbal.. But with the help of the guineas we have our boy back.

Does it make sense? Hard to condense years..

I know this is silly to even ask... Any questions?

 

[hcranch]

I love to find people with interest... I just have the website that I listed above. Thou we also have a Facebook page that we have pics from the start.

Yes, I can understand your interest. My drive was/is fueled by my son, who is autistic. Brighton is non-verbal with major sensory issues. I believe his autism was caused by shots when he was 18 months old. It was like shutting off the lights. We tried everything... Then one day, when I was at the cancer clinic, with my Dad. I read an article about birds helping autism and my obsession began. I researched different flocks of birds finally finding guineas.  I picked them because of their unruliness.. their bit of wild. And they have changed our lives.

Let me see if I can simplify how we have used ours...
1. We used them to get Brighton's attention and hold it.
    *The birds playing and climbing on us got his attention. Without the birds he would stare past us like we were a chair.
    *As young keets I would feed them treats in order.. It was a very trying trick to get 14 birds to take turns with Brighton getting a treat if he was there at the end.
2. Used them as visual examples of family units
    *He was finally able to grasp that he was part of our family just like the birds are part of the flock.. He started to realize that in our family he was safe even in places he was uncomfortable. It stopped him from "bolting"
3. Used them to aid in stopping meltdowns in crowded places.
    *They were perfect for this.. since they are so sweet and docile at first.. Eventually growing into crazy loud insane critters. Kind of like public crowds.. lol.. Great conditioning..
4. Brighton is non-verbal but can talk guinea.
    *He can make all the sounds and knows what they mean.
5. Great for sensory... feathers, seed, and feed.. Also wonderful games.. searching for eggs, matching feathers, counting guineas.

And they are hysterical.. laughter is very therapeutic.

They gave us that bond... connection we were missing.. They opened up his want to communicate. When we started with the guineas Brighton was in an IU4 Autistic Support Group. Now he is mainstreaming in our school district. Brighton is still autistic and non-verbal.. But with the help of the guineas we have our boy back.

Does it make sense? Hard to condense years..

I know this is silly to even ask... Any questions?