Guinea Question...how to catch them?

[admiralbird]

I need to move my guinea keets (10 weeks old) to their permanent shed. Are they slow and sleepy like chickens at night on the roost? I can't imagine how to catch them in their current chick coop.

pecking on a tiny tablet here...laptop died. Thanks.

 

[50-45-1]

After dark with a flashlight. Hopfully you have a second person to hold the light, and help with the box or container you are moving them with.
It should be simple as they are quite quiet when roosting at night.
When they are bigger tho they get REALY hard to hang on to as they thrash and squirm, and they are strong!

 

[admiralbird]

After dark with a flashlight. Hopfully you have a second person to hold the light, and help with the box or container you are moving them with.
It should be simple as they are quite quiet when roosting at night.
When they are bigger tho they get REALY hard to hang on to as they thrash and squirm, and they are strong!

Thanks. We are going to try this tonight. We have a red light flash light and i hope to move quietly and gently!

 

[50-45-1]

Let us know how it goes
I love guineas!

 

[admiralbird]

It didn't work out. I moved quietly and slowly, but once the first guinea was captured and removed, all the others got off their roosts and went to the far corner (where I could not reach) fully awakened and frightened. They were not dopey and lethargic like chickens.

 

[Maeschak]

It didn't work out. I moved quietly and slowly, but once the first guinea was captured and removed, all the others got off their roosts and went to the far corner (where I could not reach) fully awakened and frightened. They were not dopey and lethargic like chickens.

Im not sure if it is helpful or not... but I almost exclusively use a large fishing net to catch my chickens. It is an old school one for saltwater- hollow aluminum handle with green netting and large... like blue fish or salmon sized large. You can probably get one at K-mart or Walmart. (Is Kmart still around???). You can even 'float' or 'loft' the ring of the net over the bird when it is on the run. I can float the net over top of a running bird from 15 feet away AND most of the handle of my net is gone. (You use the handle to direct the tossing net over the bird).
I realize folks say not to net a bird, but I have never hurt my birds with this method. I just swoop up the bird or toss the ring over it and it immobilizes the birds long enough for me to get a hold of it. And yes, I have bungled snatching chickens off the roost at night so I STILL needed my net! Now I always grab the net when a bird needs to get into my hands- irregardless of whether or not they are sleeping on their roost.
Good luck to you~

 

[admiralbird]

Thank you both for your replies. The youngsters are moved. Here is how it went:

First, I let the chicks grow in a small, moveable coop. (I tried to post a pic below, hope I did it correctly) I had to line outside the base with boards and heavy bricks to keep predators out (we actually saw a big raccoon digging at it) so moving it every two days was quite the chore in this super-hot and wet summer we are having in the mid-atlantic.

Because it is small, using a chicken net was not possible. BTW I have used a chicken net for guineas and mean roosters at a previous farm, in a large enclosure. It was a life saver!

I put a large dog carrier inside the little run of their coop. Then I had to wait half a day for them to feel safe enough to leave the safety of their roost box and go down to the run, as they were terrified of the dog carrier. Once they were all out, I closed off their access to the roost box.

The HARD part: I crawled into the little run area. I am not a small person, and am quite creaky and stiff. It was difficult!...So then I placed the dog carrier in a corner and gently herded the chicks to that corner. They were terrified of the dog carrier but eventually, with a lot of coaxing, reaching in my part, etc. they went in. Or in some cases I managed to grab them one-handed and put them in. I was so afraid I'd damage their delicate legs.

I closed up the carrier and carefully carried it to the truck bed, to transport to their adult home.

So, the little guineas are now IN a pen that is INSIDE another large guinea shed, in which several adult guineas still call home. In two days I will release two of the little ones and see if they come back. After that, another 2 or 3 per day.

BTW the floor of the inside of the adult guinea shed is slippery muck, due to our rainy weather. Such a mess. Fortunately I had bales of shavings from the stable to dump in there to make a safe walkable surface. For the young guineas, however, it is a dangerous environment because of the bacteria and I am glad they will soon be released. The shed is a modified horse run-in shed. Nice and roomy. I have to check it for predators daily (raccoon and possum, raptors in the roosts) and especially before I lock them up at night.

The guy who made my little chicken coop no longer makes them. They were hand made, one by one, so relatively expensive, but boy has this been useful. I have used it to get mean roosters out of the chicken coop, isolate egg eaters, raise the little guineas and other chicks, etc. I posted the picture so you could imaging how squished I was inside, catching speedy, strong guinea chicks!

Raising the guineas has been a lot of trouble. They are so sensitive to bacterial infection when they are chicks. I'd move their coop to fresh ground every other day, be sure to scrub their water containers, and be so careful of mold in this wet, wet season. However, now they will be a joy to watch, hopefully for years. Those floppy red "ears," silly faces that make you smile, the reduction in ticks, the noisy warnings you should take seriously (snakes, predators, etc.) are all lasting benefits to enjoy.