a very stupid question

[Henny peeny]

I have a guinea I think is a hen it has two syllable call when excited anyhow most times I am in with my chickens they finnly accepted the guinea but my giunea was not hatched from a chicken and she is very flighty I have had her since my son died like 2 weeks after (it's ok I am doing ok I have my days) but somethimes when I go into the pen with my chickens the giunea goes bolistic I think there is something in with them that the chickens don'tsee as to be alarmed about but she is going nuts so I think then it is me I am no where near her and she is just on rampage yelling and cussing and I thik she is going to hurt herself.

My question well maybe more then one, what can I do to tame her down some so at least she doesn't hurt herself and does a giunea ever calm down that you have not raised. I saw the video of them jumping for a treat but my qiunea will not come near me all the hen were raised with me some even look like they are to be bred (don't know how to explain this I am trying) by me they sqaut down. anyhow any one have any idea I have tried catching her but I think they protect themselves by their feet I get awful scratchs from her feet.

Any Ideas out there. ?? I know how to tame down animals but I am fearful of stressing my giunea out too much.

Rhayden

 

[KrisH]

lots of sitting quietly in the pen (probably on a stool) offering treats like tiny pieces of bread, or millet seed. patience and calm slow movements. it will take time, she may never be like the chickens, but remember, she is not a chicken.

I do know that it kind of hurts your feelings, but don't let it. it takes lots of patience.

boys will be boys, and guinea will be guinea.

RobertH

 

[JLeigh]

Henny Penny, KrisH is right. What he suggested is exactly how I got my adult guineas to accept me. The solution is going to take some time.

Put on your dirty yard clothes and shoes, and sit down in the pen and be as still as possible, moving as slowly as you can. Just sit for about an hour (take a magazine and some water!) Don't expect her to get used to you quickly - she probably won't - and don't give in to the temptation to move towards her because you'll freak her out. It will take several "therapy sessions" for her to get used to you, but she might surprise you after a few sessions in the pen.

Also sit far away from the food and water dishes so you don't block her from those. Show her you aren't competing for food and water.

Why are you trying to catch her? I wouldn't try to catch her ever unless it's medically necessary. She sees that as a death threat. Guineas are wild animals with all of their wild instincts intact. They aren't domesticated like dogs and cats and most guineas never get physical with their owners, but many guineas appreciate their owners because of TREATS.

I saw the video, too, and it was adorable - but she's one of the lucky ones. Mine wouldn't let me touch them at all, but over time, they did take treats from my hand - but it took a few months to get to that point, and they wouldn't jump for them. The best it got for me was when I brought out the mealworm container that had a bright yellow cap. I'd hold that cap up so they could see it and they came running, otherwise, they politely ignored me.

One other thing - from your post, it sounds like you have one guinea. Have you thought about getting one more to provide her with guinea company? If you get a male for her, they might be happy together and you can hatch their eggs if you want. If you got another female, you'd get twice the breakfast eggs. I had two that were well bonded and I hatched some of their eggs. It was fun.

Right now I have 15, 5 week old keets in the pen. I'm spending time in the pen almost every day. They haven't accepted me yet, but I'm not giving up. They'll come around eventually.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[Ntsees]

The above posts are good advice since that's pretty much what I did to tame up my wild birds. It never got to the point where you could go up and pick them up, but they were tame enough where they could be viewable a few feet from you (compared to you going outside and them running and hiding from you in the bushes). Pay attention to how you walk and look at your bird's reaction. You'll eventually learn at what walking speeds spook your bird(s). Also, one thing to add: I don't know about other birds, but don't wear bright colors like yellow, orange, red when going out to see them. I did that once and one of my "tame" birds flew over the fence out of fear.

 

[JLeigh]

Also good advice, Ntsees. I'll keep color choices in mind while working with my keets! Thanks for the good idea.

 

[Henny peeny]

once in a while they get big clumps of dirt on their toes and I have to take it of their toes. I had to do this once in a while last year I didn't have this happen I never had bumble foot either and but this year I had a hen get it weren't nothing to it she is good now all healed up but I wondered of the guineas as to if they ever are tame I reckon not now you say you had raise some guinea chicks ??? were they more tame did they act the same as the other guineas. I don't have the housing to have to many chickens, last year I wanted to have some I got them at Tractor Supply I was not wanting a show bird I had hoped but there are not but it didn't matter but I had no idea what I was getting into they were fun and all but I only have a little amount of space and I can't have but maybe 10 I have space now one of my chickens had to be dispatched she had 7 eggs in her and he poop shoot a.. vent was patruding awful bad I didn't feel a egg in her no matter so I felt it was her time I am gonna replace her with a chicken since I lost a chicken. but the giuneas as I understand do not bond with the chickens.
Then what of the crosses of giunea an chicken or are the guinea males like my male bunny they don't care what it is if the female is willing that is all need be. I try not to be to noisy and I sit on a bucket in the pen the chickens I have raised come peck at me but the guinea want no part of me. I thought sine the chikens come up to me the guinea would see I am not a treat I pick up the chickens and they don't go bolistic but the giunea she just don't care. when I got her I think it is a her since someone say a female has 2 syllable call she was free roaming and now she is in a pen I can't let them free roam we have dogs neighbors will not control and they run and we have hawks and other things that would put them in danger. Do you think from free roaming to being in a pen this might be something to?
She is a dark colored guinea so pretty I wanted one for a looing time I got her in spring from the fleamarket I get most my animals from the fleamarket the chicken were the only ones so far I have not got from there. So the best I can hope for is that she will eat from my hand. not cuddly huh?

Rhayden

 

[JLeigh]

Rhayden, You bring up a lot of good points. Sometimes chickens and guineas can live together very happily - sometimes they don't. Everyone has a different flock dynamic. My guineas and chickens co-existed peacefully, but they weren't buddies and they segregated themselves while free-ranging. The secret (I think) to successfully integrating chickens with guineas in a pen is to have plenty of room for them to "go to their corners" and get away from each other. I suspect one problem your guinea may be having is not having a companion. I don't mean to harp on this, because it's just my opinion. She may have never seen a chicken before - who knows? But evaluate your space. You may have too many birds for your space. How many chickens do you have - nine? How large is your pen? Do you have a coop? Is your pen covered to keep rain out?

Do you put a clean bedding, like straw, in the pen? That helps keep my flocks' feet clean. My pen has a dirt floor and is covered on top. I'm using a large tarp until I can afford a permanent covering for the pen. Covering keeps the rain out, which helps keep mud down, which helps keep feet clean. The straw breaks down after a couple of weeks, and that helps keep the mud down, too. I rake the pen and replace the straw once a month. You may already do these things. If not, it might be worth considering. There are lots of good reasons to keep the pen clean with straw when you have a non-free-ranging flock; it also helps keeps the chances of mites, bacterial illnesses down, etc.

If she's making the two-syllable call (some call it "buckwheat" but it sounds more to me like "pot-rack"...whatever) you've got a female. A male will never make a two-syllable call. A companion for her might help her calm down - male or female. There's no way to know up front. It would be trial and error. I'm preaching again...sorry . It sounds like you have either a Royal Purple or a Pearl Gray. If you can post a picture, we can tell you. Is she dark, dark gray with spots all over her? If so, she's a pearl gray.

You don't know what happened to this guinea before she came to you, so you could be fighting an uphill battle with taming her, but I wouldn't give up yet. Don't try to pick her up. Don't pick up the chickens if you can help it. Of course if there's a medical problem, you have to - so be it. But the less physical contact you have with her, the sooner she'll accept you. You'll probably never be able to pick her up unless it's dark.

I'm not the person to address the foot health issue, or any health issue. PeepsCA is the one to answer that as well as how best to approach a guinea for capture. She told me a while back that the best way is to go out when it's dark and they're roosting. I did that with mine, and they were calm, but your hen may be so frightened that she freaks anyway. It may be that you can towel her in the dark to take care of health issues.

(PeepsCA, please help here. I'm just guessing about a lot of this. And of course feel free to correct me on anything - won't hurt my feelings! )

I had two adult guineas, and I was lucky that they bonded and weren't stressed. It's better to have several guineas, but as in my case, it's possible to have just two and have it work out. I was lucky though. That usually isn't the case, but you can try to have two and see how it goes. I had to re-home my two adults because of rotten neighbors. I didn't have the space to keep them penned 24/7, and I didn't have the money to expand the pen and build another coop. Recently, I built a second coop and expanded the pen so that I can have a few that don't free-range. I hatched several eggs and have sold some, but have 15 keets left (they're 5 weeks old now). I'll keep three or four and sell the rest as I can. They don't freak out when I'm in the pen, but they move away from me when I walk in their direction. That's just their nature. If I were to attempt to pick them up, they'd freak. It's just going to take time, which I'm willing to put in. I'll work with the few I keep and have them taking treats from me soon enough.

I spent a lot of time just sitting with the two adults and they got used to me. I used mealworms as a treat so that they saw me as a GOOD thing to have around. Over time, they would take mealworms, grass, weeds, from my hand. They'd walk up to me and I could drop treats near them. I always moved slowly around them even when they were used to me. Sudden movement frightens guineas (and chickens). It makes sense if you think about it. Predators don't move in slowly - they come in fast for the kill - so any fast movement triggers their flight instinct. They think they're about to become lunch. That instinct won't go away ever.

Guineas getting "warm and fuzzy" with their humans is wonderful, but most of us don't get to that point with our guineas. I doubt you'll ever get to that point with yours. She's just too frightened now, but if you keep trying, you'll probably have a nice relationship where she just "politely" ignores you. At best, she'll come to take treats from your hand. Don't expect too much more than that.

I'm curious, how long have you had her? Do you know about how old she is?

Thanks for reading my VERY long responses. I really hope things work out for you!

Leigh

 

[Henny peeny]

I am having trouble posting pictures anyone help I use photobucket never had trouble be for


Rhayden

 

[JLeigh]

When you write a post, there is an icon bar at the top. The "insert image" icon is 5 icons left of the smiley face. Hope that helps.

 

[Henny peeny]

ok I couldn't do this befor something about AOL before I get started do you think a rooster would be the thing to get for everyone to be one happy family?

Rhayden