Guinea help!

[aaronzclark]

So I made the mistake I guess to let all 4 guineas at once I had them for about 8 weeks they was grown anyways last night 3 of umstayed around while one was gone then later that night the 3 was roosting in the coop and the 4th came back to roost but this morning they all left and they have not come back will they?

 

[Cajunsamoan]

Ugh, I feel for you. I had the same thing happen. All I can say is that some days mine would come back for half the day and be gone the next. They did this to me for two whole weeks. Eventually all but one came back and stayed. Good luck to you!

 

[swampducks]

Have you tried shaking the feed can and calling? Mine all run back mostly as long as I don't feed them everything in the morning.

 

[Munchies]

We had ours in a wooden side pen with our quail when they were young in the late fall, but moved them to their permanent home a rock and concrete "bunker" in the side of the hill (stays above freezing without electric cause its underground). And I installed a light inside to lengthen their days. We kept them inside the bunker all winter, I made them a sun room out of old double hung windows. They could hop out the window of the "bunker" onto a roost in the sun room, even if there was snow on the ground or if it was raining.

When it got warm, we let them out the door of the bunker, but watched them carefully. When they would get spooked I would herd them back inside and close the door. We kept up this routine and now I still have to put them back in around lunch time and as it gets dark. They sometimes put themselves back in except for our royal purple and a light blue pied.

We lost one that flew into the woods and would not be coaxed back. Of the fifteen we have left, they accidentally jump the fence once in a while, then desperately try to get back in or decide to invade our neighbors garage which similar to their "bunker" is mostly underground.

The hens wait until I put them in to lay, so I have no problem finding their eggs.

We make our own feed in our old burr mill, it's slow but can grind whole corn down to almost a powder in one pass. I hand cranked it at first, but I hooked an old furnace blower motor to it so I can just sit and feed the grain into it. We also use coffee grinders to grind the feed super fine for the baby quail.

So I feed them well and they recognize the food bucket which is just a recycled ice-cream pail. And will all come running when I go to dump it.

They still love the pieces of bread which I get by the garbage bag full for them as treats so they associate us with food. Even though they eat grass, bugs, and pebbles all day.