Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

Wanted to update everyone that we rehomed our 3 male guineas, and kept the 3 females. The ladies don't even seem to notice at all. There is no more aggression towards the rooster they bloodied. The Guineas were raised from a day old with Bielefelder pullets, and have always roosted with the chickens. The guinea girls just follow my largest rooster as they always have. I'm happy there is peace because I really do love having the guineas.

I am glad it is working for you. I would not get too complacent though, Gun Molls can be as dangerous as gunman.


They can turn in a second on you. BTW I also love having guineas. Love is blind.

 

[holm25]

How old are your Guineas? How long have you had them and how long have you been trying to get them to free range? If they are young and/or new to their surroundings then they may need some time to mature and adjust. I would be patient and not force them too much, as they just turn to crazed lunatics when forced to do something and won't do what they are supposed to until they are good and ready! When I first started my flock and my Guineas were young, they were scared of everything and very reluctant to go anywhere new. In fact, for the first couple of weeks, I had to force them to go outside, and when they did, they would just hide in the tall grass the whole time and wouldn't even eat bugs...I thought I was raising a bunch of vegetarian Guineas! Over time, though, they became much less freaky and now are normal free range Guineas (if you can consider any of them to be normal).

They are probably 8-10 weeks old by now. I had a broody hatch them all out for me so they were born and raised here. I don't blame them for wanting to leave the run. Except for when they start getting aggressive I am booting their little butts out of there!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Hi all,

Wanted to share a pic of the keets in their new coop, they have been in it almost 2 weeks, they are 12 weeks old now. They love it. I look forward to their being able to free range, I know they really want to roam.

This photo was taken at dusk. All 25 keets like to crowd onto the first 2 cross-ties up top for roosting, it looks out over the field. Their waterer is not in here, I was changing the water and wanted to grab this photo of them roosting before I opened the door. The ceiling height is a little over 10 feet. There are more photos in several posts on my thread about designing and building this coop at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120946/modified-hoop-coop-design-development/50#post_17492370

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi all,

Wanted to share a pic of the keets in their new coop, they have been in it almost 2 weeks, they are 12 weeks old now. They love it. I look forward to their being able to free range, I know they really want to roam.

This photo was taken at dusk. All 25 keets like to crowd onto the first 2 cross-ties up top for roosting, it looks out over the field. Their waterer is not in here, I was changing the water and wanted to grab this photo of them roosting before I opened the door. The ceiling height is a little over 10 feet. There are more photos in several posts on my thread about designing and building this coop at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120946/modified-hoop-coop-design-development/50#post_17492370

I really LOVE this coop and the picture too.

deb

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Well, I'm proud to say I just entered the Guinea venture! I ordered 8 Pied Guineas from Ideal Poultry yesterday

 

[holm25]

My little brats are getting big! The hayfields are FULL of grasshoppers and black crickets right now! I wish they would go out lol!

 

[guineapeeps]

Well, I'm proud to say I just entered the Guinea venture! I ordered 8 Pied Guineas from Ideal Poultry yesterday 

Congrats on your new Guineas! I hope you enjoy the adventure! Have you owned Guineas before? They are quirky, crazy birds but a lot of fun! I love my Guineas!

It looks like your in Washington state. What part of the state do you live in? I grew up in SE Washington and all my family still lives there. I'm in SE Iowa now but miss my family and the that beautiful area of the country!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Congrats on your new Guineas! I hope you enjoy the adventure! Have you owned Guineas before? They are quirky, crazy birds but a lot of fun! I love my Guineas!

It looks like your in Washington state. What part of the state do you live in? I grew up in SE Washington and all my family still lives there. I'm in SE Iowa now but miss my family and the that beautiful area of the country!

I have never owned Guineas before. I'm hoping they don't annoy us or our neighbors.

I'm from NW Washington. Is your family from Tri-cities? That's the only city I can think of in the SE corner.

 

[guineapeeps]

My little brats are getting big! The hayfields are FULL of grasshoppers and black crickets right now! I wish they would go out lol!

Are these the ones you were talking that won't leave the coop? If so, they are pretty big! I would think that they would get brave enough to venture out soon. We are overrun with crickets here too even though I've got 6 adults and 20 keets free ranging. I hope yours get out there and get to work soon!

 

[holm25]

Are these the ones you were talking that won't leave the coop? If so, they are pretty big! I would think that they would get brave enough to venture out soon. We are overrun with crickets here too even though I've got 6 adults and 20 keets free ranging. I hope yours get out there and get to work soon!

Two these are the ones I was talking about. They are spoiled rotten and think they're chickens! I have a screwed up Cochin rooster who lives in our hay shed and I might see if they will stay with him. That rooster loves watching over babies!