Guinea talk.

[yoopergirl1211]

When you guys talk about them roaming how far are you talking and what kind of areas? We have a very big yard with plenty of land behind and along side. The road we're on is relatively busy with open fields that are ours. I have one neighbor I don't really know but he's a quarter mile away. Most of my ducks cross road but normally under it floating down the Creek.

 

[R2elk]

Mine travel all over my neighborhood and they come home every night and roost in the same spot. I didn't really trained them that way i was just lucky enough they chose that spot. i have them penned up right now because of laying season and hoping to hatch some eggs. Ive never fed mine oyster shell or grit. Is that bad? they should be laying soon. I usually feed them 16% layena chicken feed along with cracked corn.

Free range guineas will find sufficient grit on their own but if they are penned in an area that does not naturally contain grit such as a wooden floor, they must be provided with grit. While Layer feed should contain enough Calcium for hens, each individual hen has slightly different needs. It is always a good idea to provide oyster shell offered as a free choice to laying hens.

 

[guineapeeps]

Mine travel all over my neighborhood and they come home every night and roost in the same spot. I didn't really trained them that way i was just lucky enough they chose that spot. i have them penned up right now because of laying season and hoping to hatch some eggs. Ive never fed mine oyster shell or grit. Is that bad? they should be laying soon. I usually feed them 16% layena chicken feed along with cracked corn.

If they are penned up with no added source of protein, like bugs, you may want to increase the protein content of their food. I give my guineas game bird crumble with a minimum of 22% protein (or more if I can get it) especially in the winter when there are no bugs for them to eat.

 

[guineapeeps]

When you guys talk about them roaming how far are you talking and what kind of areas? We have a very big yard with plenty of land behind and along side. The road we're on is relatively busy with open fields that are ours. I have one neighbor I don't really know but he's a quarter mile away. Most of my ducks cross road but normally under it floating down the Creek.

I have 5 acres and my guineas usually roam beyond our property, especially in the summer months when bugs are plentiful. They usually go into neighboring corn and soybean fields and will often cross the road to do this. Although there are plenty of bugs on my property, I guess the grass is greener on the other side of the fence! My closest neighbor is about a 1/2 mile away as well, but they won't usually go into their yard because there are dogs there. In the last 4 years, I've only lost one guinea on the road (a farm truck hit him). Mine seem to be fairly quick in crossing the road as one big group. The two biggest problems I have with my guineas roaming so far is that they get picked off by fox and coyote hiding in the fields and that the younger hens will occasionally lay a nest somewhere off of my property. When they go broody, I have a heck of a time finding them and if I can't, then a raccoon will usually get them before the eggs hatch so I lose the hen and the eggs.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

I have 5 acres and my guineas usually roam beyond our property, especially in the summer months when bugs are plentiful. They usually go into neighboring corn and soybean fields and will often cross the road to do this. Although there are plenty of bugs on my property, I guess the grass is greener on the other side of the fence! My closest neighbor is about a 1/2 mile away as well, but they won't usually go into their yard because there are dogs there. In the last 4 years, I've only lost one guinea on the road (a farm truck hit him). Mine seem to be fairly quick in crossing the road as one big group. The two biggest problems I have with my guineas roaming so far is that they get picked off by fox and coyote hiding in the fields and that the younger hens will occasionally lay a nest somewhere off of my property. When they go broody, I have a heck of a time finding them and if I can't, then a raccoon will usually get them before the eggs hatch so I lose the hen and the eggs.

Do they fly over road or walk?

 

[guineapeeps]

Do they fly over road or walk?

They usually walk or run across the road, although they will occasionally fly home if something spooks them. We live on a dirt road with very little traffic so my guineas have no fear of the road. Hopefully, your guineas will be leary of crossing your road since it is fairly busy.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

They usually walk or run across the road, although they will occasionally fly home if something spooks them. We live on a dirt road with very little traffic so my guineas have no fear of the road. Hopefully, your guineas will be leary of crossing your road since it is fairly busy.

Hopefully! I may have ordered 15 instead of 7... oops.. we plan on keeping 3 and 4 more are going to a friend. Planning on raising the extras till they are old enough to tell boys from girls and selling them... Hopefully knowing me I'll want to keep all of them lol.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote:
FYI: I put out a dish with at least 2 cups of oyster shell in it. It was half gone in 1 day, between a group of 20 guineas, less than half of whom are females. So yeah, they needed it and they are happy to have it.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Mine travel all over my neighborhood and they come home every night and roost in the same spot. I didn't really trained them that way i was just lucky enough they chose that spot. i have them penned up right now because of laying season and hoping to hatch some eggs. Ive never fed mine oyster shell or grit. Is that bad? they should be laying soon. I usually feed them 16% layena chicken feed along with cracked corn.

They need both, as we were just discussing. Especially when they are laying, they need calcium (oyster shell). They will have to have added grit if they are not free ranging.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote:
Guineas mate for life. They bond as a flock-- much much more than do chickens-- and they have a flock intelligence that each bird depends on. I don't know what your situation is, or why you only want 3 birds, and I wouldn't want to suggest to anyone they keep more birds than they can manage, but after keeping them for a year I know I would not choose to break up their flock. They mourn their dead. I'm just glad we got them as partners on our farm for insect control and that I don't have to sweat trying to sell them or planning to eat them-- I've seen what happens when they lose members of the flock. If you are going to part with some, I would advise doing it when they are young keets and before they've made life bonds. That would also make it easier for the guineas who relocate (adult/older juveniles can be hard to persuade to stay where they are relocated). It took many months before we could tell the difference between the two sexes and even then the physical characteristics aren't solid, and it's hard to isolate each guinea to listen to their voice to tell. The last bird who got killed on the road was a female (eggs inside), but we would have pegged her as male just by her looks.

About road safety-- we have lost 4 birds to the road in the 6 months they've been free-ranging. Three were in one accident, and after that they stayed more out of the road, but recently there was another loss. They are trying to be savvy about the road but they stand there and discuss/argue about where the flock will go next and too often that puts them standing in the road. And if someone dies in the road they will stand there trying to get that bird to get up and come with them, for quite a long while, all the while being in more danger. It's not a great thing, the road.

You can't put boundaries on them-- they will go where they want to go. However, for a long time I would go out and shoo them out of the road, I did it at least once every day, figuring I was at least impressing on them that there might be a boundary. Don't know if it helped at all. We have neighbors across the road and up the road a bit, in both directions, and they all really enjoy the guineas, fortunately, because the guineas make their rounds everyday.

They walk most places because that's where they hunt for food, on the ground, that's where the action is. So yeah, most of the time they are walking or trotting across the road.