Guinea keet listless, won't eat or drink

[SmiYa0126]

What's the space you have?

 

[Nellie Rose]

What's the space you have?

Brooder or outdoors?

Brooder is 6×4, so 24 square foot.

Enclosed run outdoors is 200 square foot, main coop is around 60 I forget the exact number, I am upgrading to a 10×10 soon, so 100 square feet, by January.
Second coop is 10 square feet with a 50 square ft run, and 100 square foot free range area.

There is a fenced in area around Enclosed run, 500 additional square ft, and free ranging space in the yard and the back woods, about an acre.

I am nervous about the guineas just leaving, since they are generally more wild than chickens, but I'm going to keep them locked in the coop and run for a few months before free ranging, they are being raised with chicks and will continue to live with them as they age, and I am doing a lot of handling and hand feeding to try and get them as tame as possible. I am also going to instal outdoor roosts to try and discourage them from sleeping in trees, and draping predator nets over top of fenced in area, to protect from owls/hawks/falcons/eagles should they still choose to roost outdoors.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Guineas and chickens don't mix well. Chickens don't understand guineas which leads to scared chickens and lots of broken feathers. If you handle your guineas and have a call for them they will be trained to come to your voice. They can fly pretty well, you might not be able to keep them penned. Do you have close neighbors? Guineas are really loud....

 

[Nellie Rose]

Guineas and chickens don't mix well. Chickens don't understand guineas which leads to scared chickens and lots of broken feathers. If you handle your guineas and have a call for them they will be trained to come to your voice. They can fly pretty well, you might not be able to keep them penned. Do you have close neighbors? Guineas are really loud....

I do have neighbors, but I spoke to them before ordering and they said they didn't mind. They've both got roosters that crow 24/7 and are used to the livestock noises. One has screaming goats... they wake me up every morning.

Hmm, I read that raising them with chicks can help them calm down, if it isn't working out I can always separate and house them apart. I've got about 2 acres to play with.
I have been working on a call, but since all they are eating is grower crumbles, no treats yet, it's just the groundwork. They are very tolerant of handling. I let them out and sit on the floor and they climb all over me.

I did lots of reading before ordering, I've wanted them a long time, both because of their reputation of clearing a yard of ticks and because they are basically the guard dogs of the backyard fowl world

As for their flying that is fine. I don't expect to keep them penned, but they'll be in a fully enclosed run for maybe six months. I've read about keeping them penned when young and when first moving outside so they learn where home is and don't disappear.

I've never had them before so everything I "know" comes from reading online, looking at forums, and you tube, so I know some of the info I have could be incorrect. I figure it'll be a learning journey.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I do have neighbors, but I spoke to them before ordering and they said they didn't mind. They've both got roosters that crow 24/7 and are used to the livestock noises. One has screaming goats... they wake me up every morning.

Hmm, I read that raising them with chicks can help them calm down, if it isn't working out I can always separate and house them apart. I've got about 2 acres to play with.
I have been working on a call, but since all they are eating is grower crumbles, no treats yet, it's just the groundwork. They are very tolerant of handling. I let them out and sit on the floor and they climb all over me.

I did lots of reading before ordering, I've wanted them a long time, both because of their reputation of clearing a yard of ticks and because they are basically the guard dogs of the backyard fowl world

As for their flying that is fine. I don't expect to keep them penned, but they'll be in a fully enclosed run for maybe six months. I've read about keeping them penned when young and when first moving outside so they learn where home is and don't disappear.

I've never had them before so everything I "know" comes from reading online, looking at forums, and you tube, so I know some of the info I have could be incorrect. I figure it'll be a learning journey.

Guineas sound little machine guns, whether it's a leaf blowing by, a new yard decoration or a new car in your driveway.

You don't need treats to have a call for them, greet them the same way when you're approaching the pen every time. I think mine were penned up for a month, coop and run. After that they free ranged. But they came back every night to eat. I didn't feed them in the morning before free ranging. Raising them with chickens can make them a little easier to handle but it doesn't change that they don't understand each other's mating style.

They will probably leave your yard and explore the area around you, they're roamers for sure.

 

[Nellie Rose]

Guineas sound little machine guns, whether it's a leaf blowing by, a new yard decoration or a new car in your driveway.

You don't need treats to have a call for them, greet them the same way when you're approaching the pen every time. I think mine were penned up for a month, coop and run. After that they free ranged. But they came back every night to eat. I didn't feed them in the morning before free ranging. Raising them with chickens can make them a little easier to handle but it doesn't change that they don't understand each other's mating style.

They will probably leave your yard and explore the area around you, they're roamers for sure.

Cool. I am expecting them to wander in the woods and probably the neighbors yard.
I showed them a video and they still said it was fine. I think I could also get them a coop for the woods if they are too much for the yard.