for guineas, coop idea

[guinearun]

Hello folks,

We are new to the guinea fowl game, and I need to build a proper coop for our ten guineas. I've looked at a lot of pics, and here is my idea for a coop:

It will basically look like a giant traditional birdhouse on stilts. Sloped roof, rectangular box shape, with a big "robin hole" at the peak where guineas can fly in and out. I haven't drawn up the complete plans but since plywood is 4x8, that will probably be the size of the two longer walls. I will use four 4x4 fence posts as the stilts. I want it to be high enough so I don't have to have a special kind of floor or ground covering and can just mow underneath it. There will be two roosting poles going end to end under the roof. I'm considering having a hinged floor that I can drop and spray with a water hose, or just leaving the floor out. Oh, and while the guineas are young, I will have 1/4 inch welded wire around the outside until they can fly and roost properly, and to train them to come home. I figure having the house elevated and making the guineas fly in and out will reduce the threat from raccoons and coyotes. We live in the country and I have plenty of space available. Also, I'm really hoping I don't have spend the rest of my life opening and closing a door every morning and night for the guineas to come and go, I want them to be semi-self supporting and low maintenance.

So help me please, here are a few questions:

1. Will grown guineas use the robin-hole to fly in and out? Or do they demand a walk-in option?
2. Would you hinge the floor or leave it open?
3. Will this plan fly? haha

Thanks for reading!

guinearun

 

[saysfaa]

It will probably detour the coyotes but raccoons can climb very well.

Not that you need to open and close a door every morning and night...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-diy-automatic-chicken-pop-door-opener-closer.717940/

or

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...antenna-from-a-junkyard.804036/#post-11625444

 

[guinearun]

Wow, those are some pretty ingenious door openers, especially the one with the big jars. Gets the job done!

 

[Chickiemom25]

I am hoping my guineas will join the ducks in the new hoop coop. Otherwise they better like trees because they are being evicted from the dog run in a few weeks.

 

[BlueShadow]

Hm, I can't quite picture what you have in mind, but here is how our coop is:
Its a very traditional shed that sits on the ground. The outside walls are covered in tin. Coons can't climb the walls! There are windows measuring approximately 2 ft wide x 3 ft tall, we have taken the window panes out and the guineas fly in and out through these windows. The windows are about 3 feet off the ground. This setup has worked AMAZINGLY well, it allows the guineas free access in & out at all times but I don't have to worry about locking them in at night.

A couple things that I notice with the windows for the guineas - they REALLY like having multiple options to get in & out of the coop. Also, they don't really fly through the windows, they fly up to the window sill and land there, then they fly the rest of the way through. I am sure this is because they always want to know where they are going, so they stop on the window sill first to check out what is on the other side, then they decide if they want to go through. If they get on the sill, for example, and see a higher ranking guinea already in the coop, they will not go into the coop, they leave. On rainy days they sit in the window sill and squawk a long time before deciding to actually venture out into the wet.

Hopefully these observations will be helpful to you as you design your coop.

 

[guinearun]

Oh, thanks Blueshadow! Your note about the tin stopping raccoons got me searching for similar ideas, and the predator guard, with one cone mounted on each of the four 4x4 stilts, should do the trick. Or, I might go with electric wire. Zap!

As a side note, I was thinking about how guineas don't like to fly into dark areas, and I think I'll solve that problem with solar powered garden lights. I'll drill some one inch holes in each side of the roof, and drop the garden lights in so the top of the light with the solar panel is on the outside and the bulb is poking through into the coop.

guinearun

 

[guinearun]

Hello All,

I had a question from another user about my coop so I thought I would post an update (yes I know it's an old thread!). The coop has worked out fine. I never did add the robin-hole or lights, but no matter, the guineas use it anyway. There is plenty of room for ten birds in the top. If I did it again, I would make the ground level area bigger. Yes, I have to go out every morning and every evening to let them out and lock them up. Oh well!

guinearun

 

[DoeAndGander]

Hello All,

I had a question from another user about my coop so I thought I would post an update (yes I know it's an old thread!). The coop has worked out fine. I never did add the robin-hole or lights, but no matter, the guineas use it anyway. There is plenty of room for ten birds in the top. If I did it again, I would make the ground level area bigger. Yes, I have to go out every morning and every evening to let them out and lock them up. Oh well!

guinearun

Neat idea! Glad it worked out for you. What is the layout of inside?

 

[guinearun]

Neat idea! Glad it worked out for you. What is the layout of inside?

There is a shelf about 4 ft by 3 ft about head high on the side opposite the door, located at the bottom of the upper side boards. IOW, if you walk in the door, you are looking at the shelf just in front of you and just above eye level. The birds like it alot, when its cold or rainy they'll drop down from the roosting boards and sit on the shelf for a while. Sometimes there will be five or so sitting together. When the birds are young, they like having the shelf as a midway point between the ground and the roosting boards. The roosting boards are 2x4s running the long way (so almost 8' long) and about 1.5' feet apart. There is plenty of room for ten birds.