Do guinea keets every become less terrified?

[humblehillsfarm]

You will need your fencing to go along the sides of your ramp as their natural inclination will be to run under/over/run off the sides of the ramp instead of climbing it.

This sounds like a great idea, but may involve me completely moving them to a new coop. The "run" is actually built inside of a run, and much of the run space includes the area that would need blocked off to build a funnel. Ugh. If I can get someone to help me, this can be done with an extra coop that I have. If not.... idk. Maybe I can just find a new home for them but I'd like to not give up.

I did used to herd my baby chicks all of the time to get them to an area where I could catch them. I just had no idea this was a no-no for guineas!

 

[southwind00]

They have a ramp, so they tend to go under instead of up when I am near them. While it is certainly not dark in the coop, it is much brighter inside than out. I have been putting them up around five or six so they can eat, where the chickens have gone in around 7:30 or 8. I'll try to spend more time with them but it's peak harvest season so I've been neglecting all of my animals compared to the time I normally spend with them.

Can guineas eventually figure out ramps?

My keets always would go under the ramp until I did this,

now they love perching on the rocks. White millet , celery, and white millet is my go to. Treat them when they go in the ramp and it will help them figure it out. Walmart usually has white millet in 10# bags in the bird seed section. I even saw some in the canary feed section.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I forgot to take pictures because I was too distracted by the fact that by some miracle I went home and they had been scared into the coop by the lawn mower. It’s a miracle because they figured it out themselves. Hopefully they will continue to do so. I sprinkled a few mealworms in with their feed to introduce them to them as a treat but they took no interest today.

 

[R2elk]

I forgot to take pictures because I was too distracted by the fact that by some miracle I went home and they had been scared into the coop by the lawn mower. It’s a miracle because they figured it out themselves. Hopefully they will continue to do so. I sprinkled a few mealworms in with their feed to introduce them to them as a treat but they took no interest today.

My guineas quickly learned that the lawnmower is their friend. They will follow me around when I am mowing scarfing up the freshly exposed goodies.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

So this is the setup. All but one chicken has gone to bed. A light is on in the coop but the guineas have not gone inside.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Well I took these in the pitch black with the flash on, BUT once it got dark outside they came in with the light on!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Well I took these in the pitch black with the lights on, BUT once it got dark outside they came in with the light on!

It looks like there’s an opening under the edge of the ramp? You could block that off when trying to herd into the coop… It sounds like you may have found your own solution though if they go into the coop when it’s lighter than outdoors…

 

[humblehillsfarm]

It looks like there’s an opening under the edge of the ramp? You could block that off when trying to herd into the coop… It sounds like you may have found your own solution though if they go into the coop when it’s lighter than outdoors…

Yeah it’s a little cubby. It’s the only good source of shade in the afternoon. Hopefully my good fortune continues with them going inside. They are hanging out with the chickens through the fence though. The chickens love to come check them out and don’t seem to bother them a whole lot.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Well it's been 15 days since they went inside the coop using the light, and unless I turn on the light, they do not go to roost. Sometimes when I go into the coop between 4PM and 7PM they will be in eating, and I'll go ahead and close the door to save myself the time trying to get them in at night. They have not yet learned to associate nighttime with dinner time, although I let their feed run out around 2-4 pm and don't refill til bedtime. So when the chickens go to roost, the guineas will start screeching outside. I think they notice the absence of the chickens. I'll lock the pop door for the chickens, turn on the light, wait twenty minutes or so for the guineas to go in, then lock their door and turn off the light.

Two nights ago one of the guineas flew onto the divider that divides my chicken coop from the guinea pen, because three of my pullets started roosting up there three days ago (probably because of the addition of the light), and the guinea just snuggled right over to the chicken, so I have no doubt that the guineas will do well the the chickens. In the morning the guinea managed to get back into its own coop, a 6.5' drop to the floor, without harm thankfully. I'm just concerned that the guineas will fly over the fence for the chicken run and then I'll never get them back once I let them roam with the chickens. Plus, I prefer to free range the chickens.

I have introduced meal worms, which have been untouched for the last two weeks.

I just want some hope that life will get easier having guineas. I can't image asking someone to manage the whacky routine I have going on for when I go on vacation! That's not even including my cat debacle, which involves feeding five cats twice a day with each locked in their own room due to food aggression.

Send help.

 

[LaFleche]

That sounds really stressful. I am sorry you are having such a hard time with your keets.

I had one of my BCM hens raise the guinea keets I hatched in my incubator and they were all very tame, curious and some of them even foolhardy, as they often went to pick on the deer carcasses our Rhodesian Ridgeback was gnawing and cuddled alongside him for a nap afterwards.

But their momma BCM was very friendly and followed me around the yard and orchard all the time, so they learned all the daily noises and movements from early on (lawn mower, cars, dogs, humans, tractor etc.)

What I found very helpful when dealing with skittish animals/birds: Talk to them already from far away in a calm voice to announce your appearance prior to opening the coop door, and avoid any sudden movements like you would do when throwing out some feed etc.
Sit with them for many hours, talking to them (you can read a book while doing so), so they will get accustomed to your presence and tone. And never catch them, as in their eyes this will make you just one more predator to avoid at all costs.
If you have to get hold of them for inspection/treatment etc., pick them from the roost at night.