Broody guinea hatch

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

So yesterday was move day for the garage keets to the little coop and let the big coop keets out for there first foray into the world (yard). Ebay and the other two adults had been climbing the chicken wire for the last few days to get out and when they did Ebay and her bf headed out. I said oh ,some mother you are! They ran as far out of sight into the the edges and ping ponged all around the yard. The young male had it hard because he had to run between my lavender and Ebay and some of the times he was half flying back and forth while trying to please them both. So after 15/20 minutes things kind of slowed down. The keets were just hanging by the coop grazing and as ebay came back that way she found my young pearl's nest and immediately got broody and started moving the two eggs that I leave in there around and then hung there for 5 minutes or so.View attachment 2278546
She finally found her way back to the keets and all was well. They all moved around the yard as a typical dysfunctional guinea family.View attachment 2278547
My big male and mate joined the party but he got kind of ornery and wanted to peck everybody so I pointed my big stick at him and he took his mate and went another way.View attachment 2278559
The six garage keets were freaked out but doing ok in the small coop. Today i'm sure they will be happier.
After three plus hours everybody was glad to run back into the coop.View attachment 2278561

Silly birds! Did you tell eBay that she really doesn’t need more eggs to incubate??? Welch is working on free ranging with the keets but keeps getting keets on separate sides of fences! Guineas and fences!!!

 

[southwind00]

Silly birds! Did you tell eBay that she really doesn’t need more eggs to incubate??? Welch is working on free ranging with the keets but keeps getting keets on separate sides of fences! Guineas and fences!!!

I hear ya about fences, the little guys made it thru the lattice work behind the coops and of course freaked out and ran down to where there is chicken wire. The adults just ignored them.I had to save them. Today when I let them out Ebay ran over to the nest and dropped her egg. I've been finding an egg in the coop the last couple days and now I know it was my lavenders, I think yesterday when Ebay saw that nest and she said yea...egg laying time. I don't need anymore guinea

 

[Sydney65]

I hear ya about fences, the little guys made it thru the lattice work behind the coops and of course freaked out and ran down to where there is chicken wire. The adults just ignored them.I had to save them. Today when I let them out Ebay ran over to the nest and dropped her egg. I've been finding an egg in the coop the last couple days and now I know it was my lavenders, I think yesterday when Ebay saw that nest and she said yea...egg laying time. I don't need anymore guinea

Sure ya do, you've got a two story coop there!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

We are slowly letting Welch take the keets out of the run in the evening. I follow and watch and help out. They need help because this group is terrible at staying with Mom, and they keep ending up on different sides of the fence or flying into the netting on top of the run... She is trying to roost with them, but half can’t or won’t fly to the roosts, so she gives up and stays on the ground with them, and the ones that made it up have to fly back down. Bruiser is evil to the keets. I’m grateful that he’s just taken clumps of feathers instead of killing them when they have the temerity to annoy him with their mere presence....

 

[Sydney65]

We are slowly letting Welch take the keets out of the run in the evening. I follow and watch and help out. They need help because this group is terrible at staying with Mom, and they keep ending up on different sides of the fence or flying into the netting on top of the run... She is trying to roost with them, but half can’t or won’t fly to the roosts, so she gives up and stays on the ground with them, and the ones that made it up have to fly back down. Bruiser is evil to the keets. I’m grateful that he’s just taken clumps of feathers instead of killing them when they have the temerity to annoy him with their mere presence....

Omgoodness #5 is
gorgeous!

 

[southwind00]

We are slowly letting Welch take the keets out of the run in the evening. I follow and watch and help out. They need help because this group is terrible at staying with Mom, and they keep ending up on different sides of the fence or flying into the netting on top of the run... She is trying to roost with them, but half can’t or won’t fly to the roosts, so she gives up and stays on the ground with them, and the ones that made it up have to fly back down. Bruiser is evil to the keets. I’m grateful that he’s just taken clumps of feathers instead of killing them when they have the temerity to annoy him with their mere presence....

I had to put some plastic fence on my lattice because the little guys kept squeezing through but they do try to hang with the adults. When they were younger the same thing would happen as you have, all but one or two would fly up to the roosts but Ebay would go back down on the floor to be with the ones that couldn't make it,then the rest would fly back down. My big male does pull some feathers but its so funny because with six that are getting so much faster and more agile than him and are flying 10 feet at a clip, he's no match. Tonight all the adults roosted in the run and the keets where in the coop. I think some distancing is starting to happen.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Omgoodness #5 is
gorgeous!

Thanks! I think it’s a pied pearl gray.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had to put some plastic fence on my lattice because the little guys kept squeezing through but they do try to hang with the adults. When they were younger the same thing would happen as you have, all but one or two would fly up to the roosts but Ebay would go back down on the floor to be with the ones that couldn't make it,then the rest would fly back down. My big male does pull some feathers but its so funny because with six that are getting so much faster and more agile than him and are flying 10 feet at a clip, he's no match. Tonight all the adults roosted in the run and the keets where in the coop. I think some distancing is starting to happen.

Tonight when I looked in on them at dusk, Welch had managed to get all 7 keets onto a roost!!! She is the most patient mom ever! I didn’t get a picture because I was afraid I’d startle them off the roost. Do your guineas regularly roost in the run? I was rather horrified when Bruiser took a big clump of keet feathers yesterday... I kept looking at that clump of feathers on the ground and thinking it looked like a wing (it wasn’t of course but an awful thought!).

 

[southwind00]

Tonight when I looked in on them at dusk, Welch had managed to get all 7 keets onto a roost!!! She is the most patient mom ever! I didn’t get a picture because I was afraid I’d startle them off the roost. Do your guineas regularly roost in the run? I was rather horrified when Bruiser took a big clump of keet feathers yesterday... I kept looking at that clump of feathers on the ground and thinking it looked like a wing (it wasn’t of course but an awful thought!).

Up to a week or so ago all birds where in the coop every night. When some of the keets started to fly up to the roosts Big Male would peck at them incessantly and the little ones would jump out of his reach. And then all fly down to the floor to be in there group. But for a few days everybody was roosting in the coop with my Big males mate getting in between him and the keets and being that they where the the last ones to roost the pecking was at a minimum. Sometime in a week or so Big male and mate started roosting in the run and a couple nights later my Lavender was out there with them which is weird because he harasses her constantly. And then last night when I went out to close the door to their yard the adults where all together. I'm in the process of getting a temporary yard to the little coop so those six can start seeing more of the world. There is some pecking by Big male(of course) through there mesh but the other guineas seem to be ok with them. Once my little coop six get used to their new yard I'll open the door and let one or two out and see how that goes.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Up to a week or so ago all birds where in the coop every night. When some of the keets started to fly up to the roosts Big Male would peck at them incessantly and the little ones would jump out of his reach. And then all fly down to the floor to be in there group. But for a few days everybody was roosting in the coop with my Big males mate getting in between him and the keets and being that they where the the last ones to roost the pecking was at a minimum. Sometime in a week or so Big male and mate started roosting in the run and a couple nights later my Lavender was out there with them which is weird because he harasses her constantly. And then last night when I went out to close the door to their yard the adults where all together. I'm in the process of getting a temporary yard to the little coop so those six can start seeing more of the world. There is some pecking by Big male(of course) through there mesh but the other guineas seem to be ok with them. Once my little coop six get used to their new yard I'll open the door and let one or two out and see how that goes.

So your keets have been confined to the coop until you make a little run for them? We have several unpopular roosts near the ends of the coop. Welch and babies are roosting on one of those, so the other birds ignore them there....