I'm following this thread, as I just acquired a 4 month old pullet who's previous owner/breeder said she often flew over a 6 foot fence. Yikes. I have her in quarantine right now, so time will tell how this goes. I'm not a fan of clipping wings in general, but think it's probably what I will...
I had to give up my two guineas because of the noise. It didn't bother us, but it did bother our one next door neighbor, and we want to be good neighbors. Broke my heart - I miss my guineas so very much. :(
I've been using pine shavings in the coop and straw in the nest boxes with some herbs from the garden. It stays smelling fresh and clean. Sometimes I add a little straw on top mid-week to the coop bedding. It's what's working for me, though I have a very small flock.
Thank you so much for all of the thoughtful replies and for sharing your experiences. I ended up re-homing 3 of my guineas so just have two now. They free range most of the day now and always come back to the run for dinner. However, they've decided they won't go into the coop anymore. So after...
I've done both but will avoid getting them from the feed store in the future. I found my feed store chicks to be falsely identified as incorrect breeds and incorrect sex too. My Meyer Hatchery chicks were ALOT friendlier and I attribute it to them being newly hatched. Plus I was able to...
I stopped using the red heat lamp just a few days ago. My chicks are almost 5 weeks and are outside during the day now and loving it. They're in the house at night with an oil filled radiator near them.
Mealworms and white millet are your friends in helping to tame guineas. I used these treats to help train mine to come for the bell and to go into their coop at night.
My keeps were the same way when they were younger. I stopped handling them because it seemed to make them more unhappy. Now at 12 weeks they think I'm their mommy. Lol. They love to come over and interact.
Honestly, there's NO WAY you can confine guineas in a run and not let them free range some during the day IMO. To do so would be cruel. Their space requirements are twice that of a chicken. I have five 12 week old keeps that I've raised and am giving 3 up to a wonderful home because of the...
As mentioned in the OP, I do have a hard cloth roof to keep predators out. I was asking about putting a solid roof over top to keep snow and rain out. I guess I was concerned about the lack of sunlight but since they will be free ranging in a half acre space, I'm sure it will be fine.
We love our little Dominique chick. Of all of our other breeds to include Wyandottes, Welsummer, and Speckled Sussex, our Dominique is just the cutest, funniest, most personable chicken. Very friendly and loves to be petted with the softest feathers. Very animated too.
Following. I am in the exact same situation as you. I wanted to have chickens but have to do so incognito. I so wanted a kitchy coop and run but instead went for the dog kennel run and coop that resembles a dog house so as not to draw attention. I live on 3 wooded acres and have mine well...
I am a new chicken owner and trying to do everything right for my babies. I have a shady 10 X 10 run that is covered with hard cloth to keep predators out. However, there's no actual roof to keep rain and snow out. Should I add a roof?
I have a Silver Laced and a Columbian. The Silver Laced one is incredibly aggressive toward humans even at a young age. She actually BITES me. The Columbian is just super skittish. Both are VERY noisy and loud every waking moment. Not at all like my other breeds (Dominique and Speckled...