Guinea fowl?

[PeepsCA]

Mt. Baker Quail :

So if it won't work to keep the guineas in the duck house, do you have any suggestions for a house that would work up here in cold Washington?

Can you add on to your duck house? Make it larger/wider and extend it down closer to the ground?

If not, you may want to do a search for hoop coop... a fairly inexpensive pen you can build with livestock panels, I have one, and it works great.​

 

[perchie.girl]

Mt. Baker Quail :

So if it won't work to keep the guineas in the duck house, do you have any suggestions for a house that would work up here in cold Washington?

doesnt have to be fancy just enough floor space to give them some room to move around. Youve got seven? thats 14 square feet if you go by the four square foot formula. a structure the size of a sheet of plywood 4 x 8 would work. I use dog kennel panels from Home Depot. using those a six by six box made of them would provide them more than enough coop space. You can cover those with plywood or just build a small shed.​

 

[PeepsCA]

perchie.girl :

Is this the one you had the contractor come out and build? I tried to buy a structure like you have for the main part.... For my horse..... sigh.

Yah, that's the one. All the contractor did was put the floor down and frame the sides, I did the rest. It wasn't cheap, but at least it's permanent, lol.

The metal shed is a carport, you see em advertised all over. I got a deal (discount) on it last yr thru a friend that's a dealer, and it still wasn't cheap with the discount, lol. The goats just pooped in there all year and made a mess, so just for that they had to give up half of it to the Guineas this yr, lol.​

 

[Mt. Baker Quail]

Quote:
Can you add on to your duck house? Make it larger/wider and extend it down closer to the ground?

If not, you may want to do a search for hoop coop... a fairly inexpensive pen you can build with livestock panels, I have one, and it works great.

I don't think I can add on to the duck house, but a hoop coop might work.

 

[Mt. Baker Quail]

perchie.girl :

Mt. Baker Quail :

So if it won't work to keep the guineas in the duck house, do you have any suggestions for a house that would work up here in cold Washington?

doesnt have to be fancy just enough floor space to give them some room to move around. Youve got seven? thats 14 square feet if you go by the four square foot formula. a structure the size of a sheet of plywood 4 x 8 would work. I use dog kennel panels from Home Depot. using those a six by six box made of them would provide them more than enough coop space. You can cover those with plywood or just build a small shed.​

Thanks but the dog kennel panels cost more than I want to pay.

 

[PeepsCA]

Here's the hoop coop thread link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=270088

Of course you don't need one this huge or even this heavy duty, but you get the general idea of the fairly simple construction design. Livestock panels at Tractor Supply are about $25-30 each.

 

[Mt. Baker Quail]

My one concern with the hoop coop is will it be warm enough in the winter.

 

[PeepsCA]

Even tho they originate from Africa, adult Guineas can regulate & maintain their body temp pretty well, as long as they are not soaking wet they can fluff up which insulates themselves. They cover their feet, tuck their heads and can sustain pretty cold temps. Those hoop coops can be covered with tin roofing in stead of a tarp, and you can always run a heat lamp out there for them if you feel it necessary. Feeding them some extra corn and protein during the cold helps keep weight on them and that also helps keep them warm.

 

[Mt. Baker Quail]

How can I tame my guineas, and are there diseases that guineas can give to quail or turkeys?

 

[melroseladi]

Would the hoop coop have to be covered in hardware cloth? I am not familiar with the "hole" size of the cattle panels. I am thinking I could hoop it down from one wall of my chainlink run, then I could keep some of the guineas that will be hatching and I can increase my flock. Right now they have taken to roosting in the hen house with the chickens but there won't be enough room in there to add more guineas, especially since I am adding more chickens.