I've been raising guineas for two years now. I love them. I want what's best for them. They are super funny. I cry everyday I laugh so hard!
I started off with 16 guinea keets. I raised them in my house for a few weeks, and when they started flying at two weeks, I put them and their brooder on my porch.
Now, I had never raised any other animal before. All I raised was a little leopard gecko. Never 16 noisy birds.
Once we had a small part of my chicken coop built, we put them in.
I moved to a lovely large property with an already built coop. It was very large. We needed to take the roof off, and we are working on rebuilding it. Even after almost three years of living here.
Okay, our idea of a "done" chicken coop, was awful. No roof, no hardware cloth, and no shelter besides a broken dog carrier. (This was two years ago. I had no idea what I was doing. I did do research, but my dad was the one building the coop.)
The day after we put the keets out, one disappeared. Oh well. Just one keet.
The next day was a massacre. I walked out to feed them, and I saw four dead bodies without heads.
I shoveled the bodies up, while bawling my eyes out. I was devastated.
I put them in these large boxes later that night. The boxes were hardware cloth, and wood raised up and made into a brooder.
When I went to put the keets in, I noticed to my dismay, that a Yellow Rat Snake was eating one of my keets.
I grabbed the ten remaining keets and put them in the brooder box.
For months they were in that small box.
Once we PROPERLY had a coop area built, we moved them in. They were so happy. They dropped down and dust bathed, they were chasing each other. It was awesome.
After a few days, we started letting them out a few at a time.
Fast forward a few months we lost two females and a male. One female was there one minute, the next gone.
The other female was killed by a suspected bobcat.
The male was killed by a racoon.
All three of them didn't go in the coop at night. We also needed to rehome one of my males because he was getting bullied.
That left us with six. We had two females and four males. I loved them all dearly.
I started hatching keets from their eggs, and I eventually got eight lovely keets. All Pearl's, but one white.
I got four females, including the white one. That also meant that I got four rowdy males.
I kept them in two brooders, and banded their legs for identification purposes.
Once we had a small lifted cage built, we put them in it. It was hardware cloth, wood, and wheels. Very simple but well built.
They lived in that for about a month. Once we had a section of a coop for them, we put them in it. They were very happy.
For about 8 month they lived in that coop, with their cage to eat in.
A few months ago, I rehomed two females, and three males. I also rehomed one of my original guineas, as he was causing problems. I vist them often.
You might not realize this, but I made my male to female ratio even.
Four males, four females.
I've not integrated them yet, but I am going to eventually.
I also have another male and female guinea. The female is a Pie, and the male is white. The male has neurological problems, and will never be free ranged. The female is going to be the same. She is perfectly healthy, but they are inseparable.
I have them in with my three remaining young guineas.
The males fight, so I always have one male in the cage, and the other in the coop.
I always have a female in with them.
I used to feed them All Flock. I loved it, but I switched to Nutrena Layer Pellets or Crumbles.
I live the brand Nutrena. It's good stuff.
My guineas love Spinach, mealworms, lettuce, and their food.
My adult guineas free range every day, as long as the weather is nice. They go back into their coop every night.
All of my finished coops are sturdy, and have hardware clotch around the lower sides.
I love all of my birds very dearly. All of them have names. My chickens too!
I think that if you have a tick problem, you should get some guineas. They have such goofy personalities, and will make you laugh so hard.
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Pastel.
This is my original white female. She is very sweet. I can pet her and hold her. She loves food. Her name is Ridges.
I started off with 16 guinea keets. I raised them in my house for a few weeks, and when they started flying at two weeks, I put them and their brooder on my porch.
Now, I had never raised any other animal before. All I raised was a little leopard gecko. Never 16 noisy birds.
Once we had a small part of my chicken coop built, we put them in.
I moved to a lovely large property with an already built coop. It was very large. We needed to take the roof off, and we are working on rebuilding it. Even after almost three years of living here.
Okay, our idea of a "done" chicken coop, was awful. No roof, no hardware cloth, and no shelter besides a broken dog carrier. (This was two years ago. I had no idea what I was doing. I did do research, but my dad was the one building the coop.)
The day after we put the keets out, one disappeared. Oh well. Just one keet.
The next day was a massacre. I walked out to feed them, and I saw four dead bodies without heads.
I shoveled the bodies up, while bawling my eyes out. I was devastated.
I put them in these large boxes later that night. The boxes were hardware cloth, and wood raised up and made into a brooder.
When I went to put the keets in, I noticed to my dismay, that a Yellow Rat Snake was eating one of my keets.
I grabbed the ten remaining keets and put them in the brooder box.
For months they were in that small box.
Once we PROPERLY had a coop area built, we moved them in. They were so happy. They dropped down and dust bathed, they were chasing each other. It was awesome.
After a few days, we started letting them out a few at a time.
Fast forward a few months we lost two females and a male. One female was there one minute, the next gone.
The other female was killed by a suspected bobcat.
The male was killed by a racoon.
All three of them didn't go in the coop at night. We also needed to rehome one of my males because he was getting bullied.
That left us with six. We had two females and four males. I loved them all dearly.
I started hatching keets from their eggs, and I eventually got eight lovely keets. All Pearl's, but one white.
I got four females, including the white one. That also meant that I got four rowdy males.
I kept them in two brooders, and banded their legs for identification purposes.
Once we had a small lifted cage built, we put them in it. It was hardware cloth, wood, and wheels. Very simple but well built.
They lived in that for about a month. Once we had a section of a coop for them, we put them in it. They were very happy.
For about 8 month they lived in that coop, with their cage to eat in.
A few months ago, I rehomed two females, and three males. I also rehomed one of my original guineas, as he was causing problems. I vist them often.
You might not realize this, but I made my male to female ratio even.
Four males, four females.
I've not integrated them yet, but I am going to eventually.
I also have another male and female guinea. The female is a Pie, and the male is white. The male has neurological problems, and will never be free ranged. The female is going to be the same. She is perfectly healthy, but they are inseparable.
I have them in with my three remaining young guineas.
The males fight, so I always have one male in the cage, and the other in the coop.
I always have a female in with them.
I used to feed them All Flock. I loved it, but I switched to Nutrena Layer Pellets or Crumbles.
I live the brand Nutrena. It's good stuff.
My guineas love Spinach, mealworms, lettuce, and their food.
My adult guineas free range every day, as long as the weather is nice. They go back into their coop every night.
All of my finished coops are sturdy, and have hardware clotch around the lower sides.
I love all of my birds very dearly. All of them have names. My chickens too!
I think that if you have a tick problem, you should get some guineas. They have such goofy personalities, and will make you laugh so hard.
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
Pastel.
This is my original white female. She is very sweet. I can pet her and hold her. She loves food. Her name is Ridges.
I really liked learning about these guys and your experience