BYC Guinea hen club

[barrie001]

Hi! I'm new to the BackYard Chickens and just stumbled across the website today while Googling "how to raise guinea hens." I'm so glad to find a forum where guineas are discussed! We just got our first keets (six) this past weekend and they are two weeks old today. They haven't been handled much and are pretty wild. Will my holding them a couple times a day calm them down? We are building an A-frame coop for them and will put them out there once they are fully feathered out. If anyone has advice on taming them down, I'd love to hear it. Right now they are in a big old water trough and my husband is going to make a top for it so they can't get out. How I'm going to catch them once we need the top is beyond me. Any advice there is also welcomed!

 

[kenzier093]

Hi! I'm new to the BackYard Chickens and just stumbled across the website today while Googling "how to raise guinea hens." I'm so glad to find a forum where guineas are discussed! We just got our first keets (six) this past weekend and they are two weeks old today. They haven't been handled much and are pretty wild. Will my holding them a couple times a day calm them down? We are building an A-frame coop for them and will put them out there once they are fully feathered out. If anyone has advice on taming them down, I'd love to hear it. Right now they are in a big old water trough and my husband is going to make a top for it so they can't get out. How I'm going to catch them once we need the top is beyond me. Any advice there is also welcomed!

Welcome! This is my first time raising guineas too! I have 12 of them. You can try holding them more, but good luck!

Keep in mind they are wild birds and don't want much attention as they get older. Mine are close to two months old and I just put them outside in the small coop and run. I just put netting up to so they can't get out. I used other people's advice, and put them outside, but so that they can't get out. That way they get used to seeing things around the yard and so they don't run off to wherever. Once they finish what's is left of my 50 pound feed bag, I think they are big enough to go out on their own.

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

At two weeks your keets should be feathered out but depending on your temps you should keep them warm for a bit longer .........


Do you have any photos of your keets ???????

Yes if you handle you keets a bit they will mellow out but always wash your hands first and best if you wait another couple of weeks as you do not want to pass on germs and get them sick but once you let them go they will be harder to catch and they are just naturally a wild animal bird and not in any way like a chicken but if you spend some time with them they will become comfortable around you but you need to get them use to you wile they are young for sure ....

 

[ducklucky]

As far as guinea fowl in winter, if they have a shelter they know, they are used to, you should be okay. They are not the brightest feathers in the bird world, but if they are used to something, they will return to it. Tame them as much as you can to come back to that place at night, we never fed ours except at dusk, and called them in, they always returned and roosted safely in the enclosure.

We recently gave ours away to a guy who breeds and raises and gives the keets away, they were too much for us. Winter comes early here in Maine and hub is sick, so downsizing. However, will say that while we had them, we enjoyed them a lot, so funny and entertaining, they are certainly different from our chickens and ducks. But too much worrying about them, out in the road and wandering far, but they always came back. This guy has a big barn with different openings, all of his various fowl species go in at night, nest, lay, hatch in there, so if you have a big old building like that, would be ideal. Plus now we have a huge hawk hanging around, but think he is after our little puppy. Good luck to you all, and yes, it is time to start planning for winter already!!!

 

[gander007]

I've got 3 guineas. 2 females and one male. Hoping for more soon! There's a nest with about 6 eggs in it so far! Wondering how many there will be before she starts sitting on them...

We have tons of grasshoppers to keep them busy in summer! The guineas are great in the garden! They see a grasshopper and make a beeline for it...even if another is in the way

When she is ready to start sitting on her clutch it will look something like this ....



This give you some idea of what you are in for ???????

 

[redpennies15]

When she is ready to start sitting on her clutch it will look something like this ....



This give you some idea of what you are in for ???????

That would be awesome if she hatched even half of those! Bring it on!

 

[margaret8]

e That would be awesome if she hatched even half of those! Bring it on!e

I have a sweet little guinea hen setting on about 30 eggs. Well..... She was sweet until she started setting! Now she is ferocious !

 

[harrisonwalsto]

Im really looking for some keets and im sad i font have one is any bofy wanna sell me one.

 

[margaret8]

Im really looking for some keets and im sad i font have one is any bofy wanna sell me one.

Where are you located?

 

[margaret8]

Where are you located?