getting guniea keets ready to go outside.

[cgjsmith]

My babiesa re at least 3 months old now probably older since i didn't know how old they were to start with.. but they are flying and such. Two got out the other day and only one returned. and it wasn't at night it was the next afternoon. I think they couldn't figure out how to get back in the coop. How do i train them on how and when to come in for the night? Preferably without losing them all in one fell swoop. Crystal

 

[chicks rule]

When you figure that one out let us all know. I had one guinea she got out of the pen and I tried like heck to catch her or at least herd her back toward the pen, no luck. I just wanted to cry, anyway I left the pen door open and left some feed out hoping around dark she would return, she didn't so I figured I would never see her again, checked the next morning still not back, well lucky for me and her she was there that afternoon, I was sooo happy. Now she has a friend in the pen with her and I have two in the house waiting to get big enough to go out with them. Ok I think I got off the subject, lol You might try letting one or two out at a time and they should come back to the others. Try I think white millet as an incentive late in the day when you are ready to put them up for the night. HTH

 

[madanesor]

http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/tamed/

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

My opinion of guineas is much lower than when I first got mine. They were extremely "wild" compared to my chicks or even my new ducklings I just got today. Even as babies I had a lot of difficulty trying to let them out and then gather them back up (I only had 4). I started trying to free roam them with the chickens at about 3-4 weeks of age and they did for about a week but would not stay with the chickens, instead they stayed in the edge of the woods (where danger lurks!). Sure enough only one survived and now it stays hooked to my rooster. They are inseparable now except when they return to the pen for feed if the guinea doesn't see the chickens walk out the door, he can't ever reember how to find his way back out. I wonder if he will always be so dense! He will literally bang himself into the wire trying to get to the chickens for a long time until we see him and help him go out the door or sometimes he eventually figures it out.
I am not convinced they can all be trained to come back to the pen. They are just too dense and too wild.

 

[cgjsmith]

ok heres what happened,
The one guinea that got out gets out so far every day and at night when i go to feed he's back in the building trying to get into the pen. the biggest problem is I can't leave the pen open because I have turkeys and chickens in there. so I guess I just get to chase him down and put him in there every night

C