Cooping guineas?

[extraordinaryfowl]

I will be raising 30 guineas over the summer, and am wondering how much coop space to provide? They will have an outdoor run which they can be in all the time except for night, and by the time winter comes I will have sold most of them so space should not be an issue then - But as far as indoor roost and floor space, how much should 1 guinea have? Thanks

 

[PeepsCA]

4 sq ft of coop floor space is what's recommended per bird, but bigger is always better. 120 sq ft equates to a 10'X12' coop, but if you can build bigger it'll be that much better. Plenty of high roosts are also a must... they will all try to be up as high as they can get, so it helps the squabbling issues if all the roosts are the same height. It's a good idea to make sure you have deep enough bedding so they do not jump down from the roosts and hurt them selves.

 

[livenwpeeps]

Yes, go bigger from the start or you will wish you had of because guineas grow on you!

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

4 sq ft of coop floor space is what's recommended per bird, but bigger is always better. 120 sq ft equates to a 10'X12' coop, but if you can build bigger it'll be that much better. Plenty of high roosts are also a must... they will all try to be up as high as they can get, so it helps the squabbling issues if all the roosts are the same height. It's a good idea to make sure you have deep enough bedding so they do not jump down from the roosts and hurt them selves.

What about though if I only keep them in from dusk till dawn, so in other words just a roost to lock them up in at night? Would the 4 foot of floor space till apply? Thanks for the answers, and sorry about all the questions.

 

[PeepsCA]

Well... they are going to need to be locked in the coop/pen for 4-6 weeks anyway, otherwise they more than likely will not return to the coop to roost at all, because they will not know where home is and will more than likely scatter/take to the trees the first night. Guineas are not like chickens that often learn to coop themselves up at dusk, you will need to work on training/conditioning them to come in for a while after they've been locked up for that 4-6 week time period (6 wks is the average time it takes into programming their brains to know where home/feed/safety is... some get away with less time, some need more time). Guineas like space/elbow room in order to feel comfortable, the 4 sq ft of floor space allows the lower birds in the pecking order to get away from aggressive/dominant birds. Sometimes the flock bullies don't let the more timid birds in or the timid birds will refuse to go in, especially if they are over crowded. One other thing, 30 birds in less than a 10'X12' coop may result in cannibalism, so extra space is always a plus for a happy flock.

We don't mind the questions, we're happy to help if we can