Guinea died from unknown cause!

[woogielou]

Help! I have, well HAD 8 guineas that are about 10 weeks old. They were raised with my 11 chickens so I thought they might need some more room. I got a 10X10 dog kennel, covered the top with wire, put in a house and several branches to roost on and moved them on Monday. They spent a lot of time walking along the side nearest the chicken coop and just acted like they missed their friends. (They are beside one another.) Tonight when I went out to feed them, I found one dead. No signs of trauma, the pen had not been breeched by any predators. Any thoughts on what could've happened? Also, should I put them back with the chickens or come up with a way to put the pens together? I hate seeing them act so miserable!

 

[PioneerPrincess]

What are you feeding them? Are they getting a high-protein (as in 26-28%) feed? If several/ any are acting lethargic, I'd say it's a protein issue, otherwise, I'm not so sure. Hope that your guineas settle in soon!

 

[BarbaraNH]

It's hard to say what could have caused the death of your guinea. I wonder if the stress of the move had anything to do with it. I'm so sorry you lost him or her. Guineas really hate change, so they are probably missing their old pen and roosting area more than they are missing the chickens. It might help if you could cover the side of the kennel so they aren't able to see their old pen. Doing that might make it easier for them to concentrate on their new surroundings and then more quickly adjust to their new pen.

 

[jadenthechicken]

I have this same problem every year! My Guineas die Every year! My problem I have with them is keeping the warm. Mine all die from coldness. For some reason it seems to me that Guinea chicks cannot keep each other warm. When I found this problem I checked on the more often and found one in the process of dying. I then took the chick in and set it on a heating pad. After it looked like it was getting better I have it a lightbulb and kept it in over night. It was fine the next day and then later it died anyway from the same cause so I would say that you need to put them back together with your chickens for a few more weeks. Guineas and chickens are fine together anyway so why would you need to separate them? I hope I helped!