Do guinea keets every become less terrified?

[Sydney65]

1. Goons can't see in the dark, so they won't go in a dark room& try to bed down before dark. That's why they're easy prey, the perch in a tree, an owl comes, they might hear it, can't see it, can't see to fly, so freeze.
2. Lots of warnimgs in this forum about goons and chickens together ending up being bad for chicken well being.
3. At 8 wks old the ramp shldnt be an issued for much longer as they shld be able to fly up it. My advice is get a solar-powered light bulb for inside so you dont have to worry about forgetting or being late. I use one from amazon with yellow base. Comes in a 2 pack.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

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.

I’ve wanted so badly to sit and hang out with them. I believe it would make a huge difference, but I haven’t had free time I do baby talk to them and move very slowly around them. I do at least have time to linger longer than I normally would in the coop. They don’t scream anymore when they hear me coming! But they do still try to hide although it seems with less urgency

They are so big compared to chicken chicks, that I forgot they are only eight weeks old. With chicks they are often still getting the hang of things, so I'll try to calm my anxiety and remind myself they are still immature little birds.

1. Goons can't see in the dark, so they won't go in a dark room& try to bed down before dark. That's why they're easy prey, the perch in a tree, an owl comes, they might hear it, can't see it, can't see to fly, so freeze.
2. Lots of warnimgs in this forum about goons and chickens together ending up being bad for chicken well being.
3. At 8 wks old the ramp shldnt be an issued for much longer as they shld be able to fly up it. My advice is get a solar-powered light bulb for inside so you dont have to worry about forgetting or being late. I use one from amazon with yellow base. Comes in a 2 pack.

1. Yes that's why I've been using a light for now.
2. So far the chickens haven't seemed bothered by the guineas, and the guineas seem to appreciate the presence of the chickens, at least it seems that way when the chickens go to bed the guineas are left outside and they start squawking. However, I didn't get guineas over the last three years for this concern. These were gifted to me so I'm just working with what I have right now.
3. The ramp hasn't' been an issue for a couple of weeks thankfully. With the light though, my fear is the chickens won't go to the coop at night. I've been considering a light that has a timer, but since my pop doors are manual, I have to go to the coop anyways. I don't have the money for the door openers, and if the guineas and chickens are going to bed at different times, I need two door openers. I do have pop doors designed to work with an automatic door opener though.


I thank you all for your advice and support on this crazy guinea journey.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

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.

I’m sorry that your guineas are still stressing you out! Guineas are creatures of habit, get them doing what you want then do it over and over and over again. Get the keets into the routine you want by whatever means necessary, then start stripping parts away for convenience. I have a feeder in my guinea coop but it’s behind some boards so they can’t see it from the pop door. Otherwise, the dominant birds chase subordinate birds away. I also don’t feed treats in the coop for the same reason.

The light has taken me some trial and error. I use a solar light so it comes on automatically. It needs to be visible from the pop door but not shine too much outside, or it will encourage them to hang out under it outside. Too bright and they will hang out eating from the feeder instead of roosting, then the subordinates won’t go in. I use this one:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Portfolio-1-38-in-Accent-Lamp-Light/1000398437
placed outside to get the solar charge but shining through wire towards the door. Keep making them go in the door you want at the time you want. I have the solar light and automatic coop door so was recently able to leave for two weeks, and the pet sitter had minimal work.

 

[R2elk]

2. So far the chickens haven't seemed bothered by the guineas, and the guineas seem to appreciate the presence of the chickens, at least it seems that way when the chickens go to bed the guineas are left outside and they start squawking. However, I didn't get guineas over the last three years for this concern. These were gifted to me so I'm just working with what I have right now.
3. The ramp hasn't' been an issue for a couple of weeks thankfully. With the light though, my fear is the chickens won't go to the coop at night. I've been considering a light that has a timer, but since my pop doors are manual, I have to go to the coop anyways. I don't have the money for the door openers, and if the guineas and chickens are going to bed at different times, I need two door openers. I do have pop doors designed to work with an automatic door opener though.

It is usually when the first breeding season comes around that the guineas revert to what they really are. Their instinctive behaviors are much different from chicken behaviors. Chickens do not understand the races and chases or the attacks from behind along with feather pulling and feather breaking that are normal guinea behaviors..

 

[humblehillsfarm]

The light has taken me some trial and error. I use a solar light so it comes on automatically. It needs to be visible from the pop door but not shine too much outside, or it will encourage them to hang out under it outside. Too bright and they will hang out eating from the feeder instead of roosting, then the subordinates won’t go in. I use this one:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Portfolio-1-38-in-Accent-Lamp-Light/1000398437
placed outside to get the solar charge but shining through wire towards the door. Keep making them go in the door you want at the time you want. I have the solar light and automatic coop door so was recently able to leave for two weeks, and the pet sitter had minimal work.

I have already been figuring some things out with trial and error. Them eating under the light was a big one. So far I only have three and one is much larger than the other, so I am hoping it's a male and two females (but truly, I have no clue).

I'm already starting to think setting up everything to be automatic will be a requirement. It's just unfortunate that the door openers are expensive, and I think I need two. When I build the coop my income was much higher. I literally stayed with a job long enough to afford the coop then quit because I was so miserable. Income is about half of what it was, but all in all my life is better. It just takes longer to save for things

It is usually when the first breeding season comes around that the guineas revert to what they really are. Their instinctive behaviors are much different from chicken behaviors. Chickens do not understand the races and chases or the attacks from behind along with feather pulling and feather breaking that are normal guinea behaviors..

I was hoping that because the chickens are all adults and largely separate from the guineas, and the guineas were reared by themselves, that breeding season won't be an issue. Do you think that it still could be an issue? At this point though I don't know the genders and I still have the ability to continue to keep them separate. I just dont' want to all of the time because their run is very small and I'm not happy about keeping them in there for the rest of their lives.

 

[R2elk]

I was hoping that because the chickens are all adults and largely separate from the guineas, and the guineas were reared by themselves, that breeding season won't be an issue. Do you think that it still could be an issue? At this point though I don't know the genders and I still have the ability to continue to keep them separate. I just dont' want to all of the time because their run is very small and I'm not happy about keeping them in there for the rest of their lives.

As long as they have not been imprinted by the chickens, you should be okay. The problems happen when they don't understands that chickens are not guineas.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

As long as they have not been imprinted by the chickens, you should be okay. The problems happen when they don't understands that chickens are not guineas.

That had been my understanding. Either way I was just focusing on one problem at a time lol. Thank you

 

[Sydney65]

I’ve wanted so badly to sit and hang out with them. I believe it would make a huge difference, but I haven’t had free time I do baby talk to them and move very slowly around them. I do at least have time to linger longer than I normally would in the coop. They don’t scream anymore when they hear me coming! But they do still try to hide although it seems with less urgency

They are so big compared to chicken chicks, that I forgot they are only eight weeks old. With chicks they are often still getting the hang of things, so I'll try to calm my anxiety and remind myself they are still immature little birds.


1. Yes that's why I've been using a light for now.
2. So far the chickens haven't seemed bothered by the guineas, and the guineas seem to appreciate the presence of the chickens, at least it seems that way when the chickens go to bed the guineas are left outside and they start squawking. However, I didn't get guineas over the last three years for this concern. These were gifted to me so I'm just working with what I have right now.
3. The ramp hasn't' been an issue for a couple of weeks thankfully. With the light though, my fear is the chickens won't go to the coop at night. I've been considering a light that has a timer, but since my pop doors are manual, I have to go to the coop anyways. I don't have the money for the door openers, and if the guineas and chickens are going to bed at different times, I need two door openers. I do have pop doors designed to work with an automatic door opener though.


I thank you all for your advice and support on this crazy guinea journey.

When you feel like you're sitting around doing nothing when you could be doing something, it's hard. When you realize you're the one benefiting, it's even harder.
Despite all the advice about how much water we're to drink per day, I'm not very good about it.
So- I only have one of my 3 year old guineas left (you can try to do everything right, and still in the blink of an eye ).
The one I have left has keets. With Mama around, I'm not the "all that" that I was accustomed to.
If I let Mama & keets loose, she takes them back in the field. So she goes in the covered kennel, they get to be loose- they stay where she is. I have a stool next to the kennel to sit on.
The routine is I go out in the late morning w/a 32 oz container of water, some celery & millet.
Mama eats out of my hand. The keets will eat out of my hand if Mama is doing it. Otherwise, I scatter some around me, teaching them to not be afraid to be near me. It's a slow process, & I'm not there yet with this crew.- I stay with them the amt of time it takes me to drink all that water.
Mama Rose is very protective and watchful of her crew. When I pick them up they scream bloody murder. She comes running, looks up, realizes it's me and walks away.
At another point in the day, I get Mama out, and we go sit on the patio. She sits on my lap (on a towel esp for her) and gets a neck massage, a belly rub. Her keets will be screaming, and she has her eyes closed, ignoring them. See, she knows everyone needs a break.
So- that's kind of where I start and how I end up. All of my 3 yr old adults were accustomed to me w/the exception of mating season & the recent fascination with the corn field (Its cooler?), they always stayed near me. - I hatched 2 females last yr that I didn't make it to that connection with,but they didn't really meld with the others, either- and they didn't last long.
Mama's crew is going on 4wks. I have a survivor that is 6 wks. He is still skittish, but once I pick him up and start talking and petting him, he calms down and "talks" back. I hold him with his feet on my hand, my thumb over them, his back either against my chest or tucked in my arm like a football.
Hope this helps

 

[humblehillsfarm]

When you feel like you're sitting around doing nothing when you could be doing something, it's hard. When you realize you're the one benefiting, it's even harder.
Despite all the advice about how much water we're to drink per day, I'm not very good about it.
So- I only have one of my 3 year old guineas left (you can try to do everything right, and still in the blink of an eye ).
The one I have left has keets. With Mama around, I'm not the "all that" that I was accustomed to.
If I let Mama & keets loose, she takes them back in the field. So she goes in the covered kennel, they get to be loose- they stay where she is. I have a stool next to the kennel to sit on.
The routine is I go out in the late morning w/a 32 oz container of water, some celery & millet.
Mama eats out of my hand. The keets will eat out of my hand if Mama is doing it. Otherwise, I scatter some around me, teaching them to not be afraid to be near me. It's a slow process, & I'm not there yet with this crew.- I stay with them the amt of time it takes me to drink all that water.
Mama Rose is very protective and watchful of her crew. When I pick them up they scream bloody murder. She comes running, looks up, realizes it's me and walks away.
At another point in the day, I get Mama out, and we go sit on the patio. She sits on my lap (on a towel esp for her) and gets a neck massage, a belly rub. Her keets will be screaming, and she has her eyes closed, ignoring them. See, she knows everyone needs a break.
So- that's kind of where I start and how I end up. All of my 3 yr old adults were accustomed to me w/the exception of mating season & the recent fascination with the corn field (Its cooler?), they always stayed near me. - I hatched 2 females last yr that I didn't make it to that connection with,but they didn't really meld with the others, either- and they didn't last long.
Mama's crew is going on 4wks. I have a survivor that is 6 wks. He is still skittish, but once I pick him up and start talking and petting him, he calms down and "talks" back. I hold him with his feet on my hand, my thumb over them, his back either against my chest or tucked in my arm like a football.
Hope this helps

Wow thank you for sharing your experience! That gives me so much hope! It sounds like such a small thing, but here’s what happened tonight: I went out to lock up the chickens. The coop has a storage area, a small coup for the guineas, which shares a chicken-wire wall with the chickens. The each have their own pop door to go outside. I closed the chickens pop door and plugged in my light. I hung out with the chickens (who are extremely disgruntled with the light) for about the minutes and the guineas came in. They gave me the side eye, but somewhat quietly ate some food and jumped on the roost bar. With the light still on I slowly opened the door and stepped in. The guineas continued to give me the side eye but stayed quiet so I closed the door and then stood there for another minute or so and slowly walked out. I think that was the calmest experience so far. Having that happen and reading your story gives me hope. They are still young and have a lot of maturing to do.

I’ve also been sprinkling small amounts of different types of treats into their feed. At first they ignored it but now it’s looking like they are starting to eat a little. I’ve done small amounts of meal worms, flax seed, and all flock feed on top of their game bird feed. I also try to make a point to pour their feed while they are present, but so far they’ve not been calm enough to seem to be aware of what I am doing. It’s looking like I might get to that point. It would be the dream if they’d learn to eat from my hands!

 

[Sydney65]

Wow thank you for sharing your experience! That gives me so much hope! It sounds like such a small thing, but here’s what happened tonight: I went out to lock up the chickens. The coop has a storage area, a small coup for the guineas, which shares a chicken-wire wall with the chickens. The each have their own pop door to go outside. I closed the chickens pop door and plugged in my light. I hung out with the chickens (who are extremely disgruntled with the light) for about the minutes and the guineas came in. They gave me the side eye, but somewhat quietly ate some food and jumped on the roost bar. With the light still on I slowly opened the door and stepped in. The guineas continued to give me the side eye but stayed quiet so I closed the door and then stood there for another minute or so and slowly walked out. I think that was the calmest experience so far. Having that happen and reading your story gives me hope. They are still young and have a lot of maturing to do.

I’ve also been sprinkling small amounts of different types of treats into their feed. At first they ignored it but now it’s looking like they are starting to eat a little. I’ve done small amounts of meal worms, flax seed, and all flock feed on top of their game bird feed. I also try to make a point to pour their feed while they are present, but so far they’ve not been calm enough to seem to be aware of what I am doing. It’s looking like I might get to that point. It would be the dream if they’d learn to eat from my hands!

When they're on the roost is when they're calmest. A good time to work with them, start by talking, short strokes of their backs. You might get air-striked or bit. Personally, I dont find the bites to hurt, but you can start w/gloves until you feel comfortable. Save your treats for training-hand feeding, coming when called. R2elk advices to avoid flax seed d/t fat content. Mine don't like a lot of what ppl suggest, esp dried worms. They like outer leaves of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, chives,sage, borage and nastirium leaves, peppermint leaves, lambs qtrs, - a lot of herbs. Lol