Couple of Guinea questions

[Wimomof2]

My guineas are 6 and a half weeks old, moved them from the brooder to the coop at 3 weeks old. They still don't want to come into the coop at night! I ring a bell and feed them and use white millet. I am worried when I start to free range they won't come back. I plan on keeping them in for another 4 weeks or so for training. I read that they should stay in their "home" for 8-10 weeks so they know where home is. I have been putting the millet on top of their food, is that okay?

Also, the outdoor run is getting really smelly from their poop. They are on grass. My question is should I put some hay in there? I use pine chips inside the coop. Should I put pine chips outside too to keep it fresh?

I am still feeding game bird feed, at what age should I switch them to the flock grower? Is there a good place online to order large amounts of food? The gamebird feed is 26% protein. That was the highest I could find. I was told that Hubbard brand is not good and that is all I have available around where I live.
Thanks all!

 

[Arya28]

Hello

I'm new to guinea gen keeping too so I may not have the exact answer you're looking for. Ours are about the same age, still in the brooder (a fairly big one with perches) while we figure out what to do with them. They are CRAZY! Lol. So fast and skittish. We are training them with eggs though. Since we are using chick grower which doesn't have as high as a protein % we scramble them up eggs every day, which they absolutely love, for the protein. We are working with them training them because we don't want them to run away when the time comes to let them free range! They are so cute I would pet them more often if they let me pick them up lol. But they are so pretty! We got them really hoping they would eat the ticks, because we have so many of them in our yard.

 

[R2elk]

Hello

I'm new to guinea gen keeping too so I may not have the exact answer you're looking for. Ours are about the same age, still in the brooder (a fairly big one with perches) while we figure out what to do with them. They are CRAZY! Lol. So fast and skittish. We are training them with eggs though. Since we are using chick grower which doesn't have as high as a protein % we scramble them up eggs every day, which they absolutely love, for the protein. We are working with them training them because we don't want them to run away when the time comes to let them free range! They are so cute I would pet them more often if they let me pick them up lol. But they are so pretty! We got them really hoping they would eat the ticks, because we have so many of them in our yard.

There are lots of good reasons to feed hard boiled eggs but the belief that doing so is a protein boost is not true. Hard boiled eggs are about 12% protein so you are actually diluting the amount of protein they are getting. Keets need the high protein starter but it is not just because of the high protein but the other additives that a turkey or gamebird starter has such as a higher percentage of niacin and methionine.

 

[BoogieBug]

My guineas are 6 and a half weeks old, moved them from the brooder to the coop at 3 weeks old. They still don't want to come into the coop at night! I ring a bell and feed them and use white millet. I am worried when I start to free range they won't come back. I plan on keeping them in for another 4 weeks or so for training. I read that they should stay in their "home" for 8-10 weeks so they know where home is. I have been putting the millet on top of their food, is that okay?

Hi Wimomof2,
I'm a newbie guinea mama too but I'll share what I do. We have our four 12-week old guineas in a chicken tractor that is surrounded by fencing so that they have a very small area to "practice" free ranging. Every evening at dusk, I ring a cow bell and bring them dehydrated meal worms. I believe they were 3 weeks old when I started doing this. They are at the point now that they stand there and wait for me at dusk. I really don't even need to ring the bell anymore, but i do it anyway for when they are released to complete freedom. I haven't released them yet because I'm waiting for them to be full grown. We lost three of our original four to a possum. Also, a hawk tried to get to them while in the pen in broad daylight, so I'm really afraid to let them out.

When I give them millet, I just sprinkle it on the ground in their tractor. For now, I put no food outside of the tractor because I want them to associate the their "home" with food.

Also, the outdoor run is getting really smelly from their poop. They are on grass. My question is should I put some hay in there? I use pine chips inside the coop. Should I put pine chips outside too to keep it fresh

Our guinea tractor was starting to stink too, so I covered the landing and the covered areas with straw. When it gets too dirty, I scoop the poop and straw and put it into my compost pile and refresh with clean straw. The guineas spread the straw to the outer edges of their tractor. lol.

I am still feeding game bird feed, at what age should I switch them to the flock grower? Is there a good place online to order large amounts of food? The gamebird feed is 26% protein. That was the highest I could find. I was told that Hubbard brand is not good and that is all I have available around where I live.
Thanks all!

I feed my guineas H and H Soy Free Non-GMO GAMEBIRD with Animal Protein 28% Protein and supplement with Nutri-Drench as recommended by R2elk. Oh, and I also throw in some chic starter into their feed. I sprinkle grit on the ground for them as well. I don't know if others consider H&H a good option but that's all I've been able to find with 28% protein that is soy-free and non GMO and recommended for game birds.

As for switching to flock grower... good question! I too wonder if I need to change them to a different feed at some point. We'll see if any of the more seasoned guinea keepers have any additional advice for us.

I hope this helps.

 

[R2elk]

Oh, and I also throw in some chic starter into their feed.

If the chick starter is medicated, this is a bad idea since the amount of medication they will receive is far below what they would get if the chick starter was all that was fed. This is worse than no medication at all since it has the potential of creating a resistance to the medicine by its target.

I believe the turkey/gamebird starter is recommended for the first 6 weeks. After that they can be switched to a turkey/gamebird grower or even to an all flock feed. Layer feed along with free choice oyster shell is appropriate once they are near laying age.

 

[BoogieBug]

If the chick starter is medicated, this is a bad idea since the amount of medication they will receive is far below what they would get if the chick starter was all that was fed. This is worse than no medication at all since it has the potential of creating a resistance to the medicine by its target.

I believe the turkey/gamebird starter is recommended for the first 6 weeks. After that they can be switched to a turkey/gamebird grower or even to an all flock feed. Layer feed along with free choice oyster shell is appropriate once they are near laying age.

I don't know how my poor birds stay alive! They're 12 weeks and still on baby food!!!

Ugh!!!

THANK YOU R2elk!! I will adjust accordingly. I appreciate your wisdom and guidance!!

 

[Arya28]

There are lots of good reasons to feed hard boiled eggs but the belief that doing so is a protein boost is not true. Hard boiled eggs are about 12% protein so you are actually diluting the amount of protein they are getting. Keets need the high protein starter but it is not just because of the high protein but the other additives that a turkey or gamebird starter has such as a higher percentage of niacin and methionine.

We started them with the game bird starter, but we give them eggs almost every day. Either way they love them and they still get more protein than they would otherwise. We scramble them.

 

[R2elk]

We started them with the game bird starter, but we give them eggs almost every day. Either way they love them and they still get more protein than they would otherwise. We scramble them.

Hard boiled and then crumbled is preferred for the eggs since it doesn't add anything to the eggs during the cooking process and as far as I know retains more of the nutrients.

 

[BoogieBug]

If the chick starter is medicated, this is a bad idea since the amount of medication they will receive is far below what they would get if the chick starter was all that was fed. This is worse than no medication at all since it has the potential of creating a resistance to the medicine by its target.

I believe the turkey/gamebird starter is recommended for the first 6 weeks. After that they can be switched to a turkey/gamebird grower or even to an all flock feed. Layer feed along with free choice oyster shell is appropriate once they are near laying age.

I've been trying to find a grower or all flock feed and I came across this. It's turns out its the same thing I'm feeding them now. Will this work? Thanks, as always.

"This Game Bird Feed is crumble style so it can be fed to all size game birds from quail to turkeys. It is 28% protein, which is perfect for most game birds. It is also non-medicated, so it is safe for feeding chicks as well as adult birds. This is an optimal ration for ducks, guineas, peafowl, quail, partridge, pheasants, grouse, and turkeys. It is also nutritionally fortified with Fertrell Nutri-Balancer perfect for healthy and vibrant game birds."

 

[R2elk]

I've been trying to find a grower or all flock feed and I came across this. It's turns out its the same thing I'm feeding them now. Will this work? Thanks, as always.

"This Game Bird Feed is crumble style so it can be fed to all size game birds from quail to turkeys. It is 28% protein, which is perfect for most game birds. It is also non-medicated, so it is safe for feeding chicks as well as adult birds. This is an optimal ration for ducks, guineas, peafowl, quail, partridge, pheasants, grouse, and turkeys. It is also nutritionally fortified with Fertrell Nutri-Balancer perfect for healthy and vibrant game birds."

You can use that but the adults do not need that high of protein. Purina All flock comes in crumbles and I believe that it is 20% protein along with free choice oyster shell. I feed my adults a 20% protein layer pellets feed. The level of added calcium in layer feed is harmful to male keets and but is not at a high enough level to harm adult males. Adult guineas can do fine on a quality feed that is of at least 16% protein.