Guinea talk.

[SunHwaKwon]

Hey everyone! About 5 weeks ago we got our arrival of our 14 chickens about a week old and we have been doing pretty good with those and last week my hubby comes home with 5 guennas!! Only were a week old so much smaller than the chickens so we penned off an area about 4 x 4 to keep them safe. Now they r about 2 weeks old and. a lot more lively and the chickens r about 6 weeks old. My question is can I put them all together now or should I wait a while u til the 5 guennea get a bit older. We r 1st time owners so we are totally winging this and need some help. The chicken coop is about 15 foot square and we have a 10 x15 covered run attached to the coop that we let the chickens go out during the day. And when can we let them out in the yard? So many questions. I just want them all to be safe and get along. Thanks a lot!

I would let them start interacting as soon as possible. My guineas that I've raised with chicks or turkeys are so much better behaved, more part of the flock, and less inclined to chase chickens.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I read so often on here about people's guineas getting hit by cars and consider myself lucky. That lucky streak broke this evening. My poor purple male has a very bloody foot and a bloody hanging wing. The front yard is full of feathers right by the road, so I'm pretty certain it was a car rather than a predator. I tried to examine him a bit after they went in the coop for the night but he's very guarded and I assume in pain. There were no obvious fractures and I don't think it's dislocated because he made it up onto the roost 3' up. I just feel bad for the fella. I think he'll heal fine as long as there's internal damage, but he's surely in a lot of pain. I wish they would be smarter about hanging out by the road.

 

[GlennLee]

Oh, very sorry to hear about your purple male! I hope he is hanging in there today. I'm not sure if "lucky" is the right word to use, since he did have injuries, but I do wish him (and you) a speedy recovery, Was his foot crushed? Any signs of internal injuries today? Did you hear it happen or did anyone stop? Good thing he was able to make it up to the roost. They just don't get the car thing and easily ignore the danger to get to places they want to go, scoop up some grit, or munch the bugs along the shoulder. I really do think somewhere in their little brains they think they are invincible, that they possess super powers. Deep breath, sigh of relief and have a good day.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Oh, very sorry to hear about your purple male!  I hope he is hanging in there today.  I'm not sure if "lucky" is the right word to use, since he did have injuries, but I do wish him (and you) a speedy recovery,  Was his foot crushed?  Any signs of internal injuries today?  Did you hear it happen or did anyone stop?  Good thing he was able to make it up to the roost.  They just don't get the car thing and easily ignore the danger to get to places they want to go, scoop up some grit, or munch the bugs along the shoulder.  I really do think somewhere in their little brains they think they are invincible, that they possess super powers.  Deep breath, sigh of relief and have a good day.

Yes, I meant I have been lucky so far in regards to car incidents
and that ended yesterday.

He is walking. I let the other three out as usual but kept him locked up with the chickens a while longer. He was content with that at first but then started perking up and running around. The other three were not making their normal rounds and were hanging out within sight, which made him anxious to join them. I opened up the run to let everyone free range and he ran over to them. So, the foot is not too badly damaged. It was certainly tender and painful to him, though. The wing is in the worst shape. I can't examine it very well because it's hard to do on my own and my husband is away for work. Those appear to be the only areas of damage. I initially thought a predator tried to get him but the wrong makes me think car. I never heard or saw anything.

Last year from August to November we were losing at least a bird a month (to predators). I am getting anxious.

 

[pattyhen]

I hope he gets better soon. They look so pitiful when they limp around. I've read that if you put a radio in the yard and try and find a talk station it helps ward off the predators. I don't know how close they free range around the coop tho. So your really not for sure if it was a car or a predator?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I hope he gets better soon.  They look so pitiful when they limp around.  I've read that if you put a radio in the yard and try and  find a talk station it helps ward off the predators.  I don't know how close they free range around the coop tho.   So your really not for sure if it was a car or a predator?  

I do keep a radio on in the garage, which is between the house and coop. No predator sightings in person on the game cameras in over a month. I primarily have gray foxes here and hawks, and the occasional raccoon. We have eagles around and supposedly coyotes have been brought in to help the fox population.

They wander all over while free ranging, maybe a quarter mile radius. The incident was right in front of the house, though, as there are feathers all over. I'm fairly certain it was a car given the nature of the injuries.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

My lavender male has no sympathy. He is still harassing him like usual, only now the purple is cowering since he can't fly and he can only run too far. I know it's stressful for him in the run away from his mates but I feel like he needs a couple days of r&r. My husband would kill me if I brought him in the house so thinking of putting him in the 8x10 coop that has my keets and chicks in it (all under 3 weeks old) in a wire dog crate. The other pigs (as I call them) will be out of sight. Good idea or no? There's a fine line between minimizing his pain/ allowing recovery and his being freaked out or even injuring himself more because of separation stress. I'm trying to avoid the latter.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Purple Pig didn't come home last night. The others waited and waited and ended up sleeping in a tree. I'm sad that he's gone. I wish he'd at least passed at home.

 

[pattyhen]

I'm so sorry you lost him. The others knew he was missing that is sad.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Yes, my fears were confirmed just a while ago. I let the dog out and he ran across the street into the field, stopping about ten feet in. I walked to see what he was looking at and it was a pile of his feathers. Hopefully he was carried away already dead rather than attacked. I knew he was no match for predators and I regret letting him out, despite how distressed he was.

On the upside, I hatched out 23 new keets yesterday and today, most being new colors to add to my flock. 14 are blue, buff, chocolate, etc, and I wish I could keep them all! That would put me at 21 guineas, though, and their coop isn't big enough for that (6x8), especially once the snow hits. Though, next month makes one year since I have started free ranging guineas and I have lost ten in that time. So, it may seem like a lot now, but I know the number will fall.

I wish they weren't so dang loud, though. It doesn't bother me the majority of the time, but I know the sound carries. At night I think they are saying "Here I am, come eat me!" Why else would you give away your location to every predator within miles?