Can I raise them to be tame?

[DuckiesPLZ]

I've seen pictures of guineas who are friendly enough to be pet and sit on people's shoulders, But is this a freak chance of personality? I plan to get a few Guinea eggs come spring, never had a flock of birds before, can I 'train' them? Especially if I want to call them back to the coop at night?

 

[Lunar Ice]

I dunno about everyone else's...but I have a few guineas that I hatched myself and despite raising them and handling them the same as I do my chickens (who are all friendly, follow me around, and LOVE to be pet), they won't have anything to do with me (they'll come close but I can't touch them and if I make a move to try, they cackle and fly off, spooked). As for training your birds to come back to the coop at night, the best advice I can give you is to establish the habit by feeding them at a certain time every night. Trust me, they WILL come back and they will probably harass you if you ever late with their dinner!

Someone else with more experience with them may be able to give you some better tips about how to make them friendly.

 

[al6517]

Quote:

Yeah right

good luck.

 

[AnnaLease]

Here's some good information about taming them: http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/tamed/
I wanted mine to be tame, but with 15 of them, there was no way I could spend enough time with each one of them, and I think that's the key- spending LOTS of time with them. And besides I couldn't even catch them to hold them! They freaked out and flew all over the place when they were younger. I would get so fustrated with the wild, crazy things, I wanted to strangle them! Now that they are older and free ranging outside, for some reason they are alot calmer (I don't know why). I still can't catch them unless they are cornered, but I can get alot closer to them, without them running away.

 

[AnnaLease]

Oh, and I forgot to say that ours do come back into the coop at night. I think that it helps to have chickens to "teach" them.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:

Yeah right

good luck.

x2

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
If you can get at least six or more. They do better in larger groups. And while getting them to tame up like a chicken its kind of rare. But you can definitely condition them to come back to the coop at night or when ever you call them in. Guineas go nutzo for White Proseo Millet the same stuff that is used for Parakeets. I just bought a 40 lb bag at the feed store for about 16 bucks. Use a bell or a kind of call like Treat Treat Treat and feed them the millet just enough for them to get a taste of it. At first they will duck and run..... LOL. but as the Keets get older they get calmer and very soon they will come running. And give you the stink eye till you give them some.

As someone else said in the many posts I have read do this a couple of times per day. Bell or call and treat.... Then when it comes to freerange time do it in small increments. Till you are certain they have the conditioning down. And tuck away their regular feed For those free range times so they will be hungrier... a good motivator.

Consistency is mandatory for it to work.

 

[tomingreeneco]

When they are very young pick them up and talk to them 3-4 times a day. Also, place some feed in your hand and give it to them. Keep doing this until you place them in the outdoor coop (6 weeks). After that keep them locked up in the coop for another 6 weeks. Visit them at least twice a day with goodies (I used thawed frozen corn, cherry tomatoes (cut up), grapes (cut up) and thawed frozen peas. Place them on the floor and in your hand. Soon they will eat these out of your hand. After 6 weeks open up the coop but DO NOT force them out. They may not leave the coop the first day they can. They will eventually leave and should come back in the evening for lock up (mine always have). When they are "teenagers" they may act a little more wild but should call down after they are a year old. Mine still eat out of my hand and while they do not like to be picked up they will let me if I have to. They will sit with me for about 20 seconds then they will have to leave very fast. Good luck!

 

[ksj0225]

Mine are tame, but I didn't do anything special... I think I got lucky!!!!

 

[cgmccary]

AnnaLease:I wanted mine to be tame, but with 15 of them, there was no way I could spend enough time with each one of them, and I think that's the key- spending LOTS of time with them. And besides I couldn't even catch them to hold them! They freaked out and flew all over the place when they were younger. I would get so fustrated with the wild, crazy things, I wanted to strangle them! Now that they are older and free ranging outside, for some reason they are alot calmer (I don't know why). I still can't catch them unless they are cornered, but I can get alot closer to them, without them running away.

Ditto. It depends on what you mean by tame. Mine aren't wild in that they come to me. I maintain a routine. They come running for their 5-grain scratch in the mornings and they don't flee from me (they walk around me calmly). However, they cannot be caught without them going crazy.​