Guinea questions

[Jeff Cooper]

I have decided to get some Guineas, largely for tick control but from past experience with my MIL's Guineas I seem to remember they were great watchdogs .... would let you know when strangers were around.

Question #1 ..... Since they will be free ranging how do I keep them close to home? I live on 40 acres way out in the boonies. Very few neighbors and they are over 1/2 mile away.

Question #2 ..... Do I need to build them a coop? (My chickens all have their own coops and yards.)

Question #3 .... Do I need to provide food and water for them? I know my MIL did not but those folks were even more hillbilly than I am.

Thank you if you can help.

 

[R2elk]

I have decided to get some Guineas, largely for tick control but from past experience with my MIL's Guineas I seem to remember they were great watchdogs .... would let you know when strangers were around.

Question #1 ..... Since they will be free ranging how do I keep them close to home? I live on 40 acres way out in the boonies. Very few neighbors and they are over 1/2 mile away.

Question #2 ..... Do I need to build them a coop? (My chickens all have their own coops and yards.)

Question #3 .... Do I need to provide food and water for them? I know my MIL did not but those folks were even more hillbilly than I am.

Thank you if you can help.

Use treats to train them to come with a call. The call can be as simple as shaking a can of treats, using a triangle or as one member did, use a ring tone. Just hollering for them can also be effective.

I train mine to be herded. When they go somewhere I don't want them to be, I herd them back to where I want them, One member would run screaming and waving a big towel at hers to deter them from certain areas.

I would build a secure coop and shut them in every evening. Failure to do so can cause great losses to predators.

If you want to keep them around, you must provide food and water.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

Use treats to train them to come with a call. The call can be as simple as shaking a can of treats, using a triangle or as one member did, use a ring tone. Just hollering for them can also be effective.

I train mine to be herded. When they go somewhere I don't want them to be, I herd them back to where I want them, One member would run screaming and waving a big towel at hers to deter them from certain areas.

I would build a secure coop and shut them in every evening. Failure to do so can cause great losses to predators.

If you want to keep them around, you must provide food and water.

Thank you so much for quick and informative reply.

One more question ......
Will they use a nest box if they are free ranging or will they just lay in the woods somewhere?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thank you so much for quick and informative reply.

One more question ......
Will they use a nest box if they are free ranging or will they just lay in the woods somewhere?

Hi Jeff, I have found them to be great watchdogs, though mine don’t care much about people, only animals. It sounds like your property could be great for guineas! I only have 10 acres and often wish that I had more room for them to roam. I also keep mine in a coop at night, plus I have a run for when predators strike and to help with their roaming. I use the coop/run to convince them to use their coop nest boxes, otherwise they will nest outdoors then go broody on those nests and be taken by a predator. If you search on this forum, you’ll see a number of threads about Guinea coops and nests. A few:

Guinea coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/23033298

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25016895

Guinea nests

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/21303835

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nest-conundrum.1468374/

 

[Sydney65]

They will be what you decide to make them. If you don't provide a coop, they'll be gone pretty quick. If you don't lock them in at night, same. The more time you spend w/them, the more they will tolerate you. Mine stay close to home out of season. When the hens get to notion to start nest building, I restrain their free range time, bc they'll lead the whole flock astray. So I'll let the males out but keep the hens either in a kennel or in the run. Others keep the hen in until she's laid her daily egg, but in seasons past one didnt lay hers until 4 pm, so -
Always have food available. In the summer time, if free ranging,they may consume less of what you put out, but they still eat and drink and hens need their calcium.
I rely more on sound than herding; I can kind of guide them in a direction by raising my arm, but the second I pick up a stick or poll as R2 does, pandemonium breaks out.
As for watch dogs, Not only do I know when someone is on my property, I know when someone is on my elderly neighbor's property, when the grandkid is up to something, when a coyote is in the field,or a storm is brewing. Lol.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you so much for quick and informative reply.

One more question ......
Will they use a nest box if they are free ranging or will they just lay in the woods somewhere?

There are methods that others use to get their guineas to lay in the coop. Just providing a nest site is usually not enough. Mine tend to use the nest site in the coop for the first eggs of the year but move to hidden outside nests later.

They really aren't woods birds but more grass,weeds, brush birds.