guinea coop?

[artsyrobin]

i am just wondering about a coop for the guineas? we just finished the chicken coop, and need to set up a divider for the month old guineas, and was wondering how you all combine a coop for the guineas and chickens until the guineas can free range? or can month old guineas be introduced to 4 month old chicks? or keep them completely separate?

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

I'm building a guinea coop as well. My design is an expanded hoop coop. It measures 8'x12'. The bottom boards are 2"x6" and I used 3 cattle panels for the top. The panels are tied together with hog rings and the bottoms are secured with 1" staples. At the ground level, the bottom 2' feet of the panels is covered with 1/2' hardware cloth and the top covered with 1' chicken wire. The hardware cloth is nailed to the bottom boards with 1/2" staples. All of the covering wire is secured to the panels with j-clips. The panels are supported with 2"x4" at the ends and the roost end is covered with OSB cut to fit the rounded panel top. The top will be covered with a tarp for shade and protection from rain, snow(?), or whatever N. Texas weather does. If this works, I intend to construct a similar coop for turkeys. To see the original idea for my design, here's a link:http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html. I have built two chicken coops on this design, and have had pretty good results.
John

 

[swampducks]

I just kept a separate cage in the coop for the guineas till they got the idea the coop was home. Now they hang with the chickens and free range together.

 

[sundance]

the guianas sleep in the trees, the chickens locked in their coop, but all free range together. marrie

 

[kcardella]

We have a 4' x 8' foot chicken coop with an attached 16' x 8' run that is 8' tall. I have a separate 4' x 8' covered area within the chicken run with solid walls on 3 sides (the front is poultry wire open to the inside of the run.

I can keep young birds in there, but usually it's for my guineas to sleep. It has high roosts for the guineas, plus lower roosts for everyone else. The guineas do sleep in the coop with the chickens sometimes also. I have never had a problem keeping them together.

 

[artsyrobin]

thanks everyone, so a smaller area within the run while they are learning home, i am hoping the chickens can accept them, so there won't be major issues- do they need a coop at this age to sleep in? or can they be kept in the run at nite?

 

[twitchratchicks]

mine are 14-15 weeks old and they sleep in the trees at night. They used to fly into the coop with the chickens (they were raised together) but now they don't. They are on top of the cage waiting for me to let the chickens out in the morning though!

 

[kcardella]

Quote:
They need an area protected from predators and the elements, plus the chickens will probably pick on them until they are about the same size. Your chickens are still pretty young, so you may not have any issues.

We cannot leave our guineas out at night here - too many predators. We have lost several to foxes and raccoons when they decided to stay out at night. They are very reliable about going into the coop at night except when they are nesting.

 

[Pandora]

I've had the best luck with younger guineas if I start them free ranging with a small group of older seasoned birds who show them the ropes. Since doing that I've lost almost none to predators.

 

[artsyrobin]

these are my first guineas and they had a field trip yesterday- they found a hole in the fence, so back inside they went....