Guinea talk.

[guineapeeps]

Quote:
Hi everyone. I'm new to this particular thread, but have been on some of the other guinea threads here. I have 6 adult guineas, (6) 1 month old keets, and just had 17 new keets hatch 2 days ago. I happened to notice your comment on nesting box ideas and thought I would share what has worked for me. I have a large rubbermaid wheelbarrow filled with straw that my guinea hens use as a community nest. It is not ideal, as the keets can't get out and have to be removed once all the eggs have hatched, but I've found that when I removed it to try and get to lay in a proper nesting box, they hide their nests ouside of the coop. I have tried many other things but most of my hens prefer this "nestingbarrow".

 

[pattyhen]

Hi guineapeeps and welcome to guinea talk. We are a friendly bunch and love to talk about our guineas. I've talked to you before on guineas 101 and you are the one that mentioned their guineas laid their eggs in the wheelbarrow. I had read it somewhere and I couldn't remember who said it.

My two guineas are 5 months old today. I have had chickens and ducks for years but the guineas are a new experience for me. I love the goofy little critters and I'm always amazed at their antics. They are a lot tamer then my ducks. My ducks think of me as an ax murderer and will not let me pet them. My guineas are socialable and very tame. I think it's because I only have the two and they were brooded in the house and held a lot when they were growing up. They still make visits in the house almost daily just to chat and hang out.

I hope everyone has a nice day.

 

[Dmontgomery]

I need to join in here too please. In the last month I have become a new Guinea owner. Although everything I've read indicates owner is probably not the correct term. I will have lots of questions and observations coming soon. Please help as you can.

 

[pattyhen]

Welcome Dmontgomery to the group. We will try and help you with any questions you may have. I know what you mean about not owning guineas. It's almost like they own you and that is their choice.

 

[Dmontgomery]

Yes. I've been posting to a thread I started myself this week. So far the feedback I've received indicates they do what they want, when they want. If you've seen that thread, you know I was a "reluctant" Guinea beginner a few days ago. But it's starting to work out. I still don't find them attractive compared to my chickens, but I love the light little whistling they do when they are calm. It is a beautiful sound.

 

[GlennLee]

Welcome dmontgomery! So glad you joined in; the more the merrier.

Even if you are a newbie, we can all learn from the postings. There will be things that you try and work for you that we would never have thought of and then there will be things that are tried and don't work and that's good to share as well. I've learned so much and am very grateful for this forum since I've only had my flock of 14 French Guineas for about 3 months. Post away!!! We're looking forward to reading your questions, answers observations, and crazy stories!

 

[GlennLee]

Hi guineapeeps and welcome to guinea talk. We are a friendly bunch and love to talk about our guineas. I've talked to you before on guineas 101 and you are the one that mentioned their guineas laid their eggs in the wheelbarrow. I had read it somewhere and I couldn't remember who said it.

My two guineas are 5 months old today. I have had chickens and ducks for years but the guineas are a new experience for me. I love the goofy little critters and I'm always amazed at their antics. They are a lot tamer then my ducks. My ducks think of me as an ax murderer and will not let me pet them. My guineas are socialable and very tame. I think it's because I only have the two and they were brooded in the house and held a lot when they were growing up. They still make visits in the house almost daily just to chat and hang out.

I hope everyone has a nice day.

I welcome you too, guineapeeps! If you're interested in posting your silly stories, questions and be entertained by what other people post, then you'll enjoy this thread. Thank you for the tip on the wheelbarrow. I'm thinking of trying something like that (it would probably have to be on the ground as my French Guineas aren't much into flying up, go figure!) and making it a sand pit for them to dust in the winter and get used to, then when spring comes, I'll convert it to a nesting area. We thought about A frame boxes under the roosts, but it's a lot of work and they may not even use them. Your idea is simpler and makes sense.

Happy birthday to Spider and Mary Jane, Patti! If yours are 5 months, mine are closer to 4 than 3 months now. Hard to believe!

Just a few updates here - we found BOSS's body and the edge of the lawn and now think he may have been hit by a car. I think that makes me feel better than him being picked off by a hawk, but I hope the cars here are aware that there are two (soon to be three) on this road who free range - Guineas, chickens, ducks and turkeys. Although it's country and most go slow, there are some who get impatient.

I have my first real egg - wasn't quite sure about the other one I had found, but I SAW with my own eyes this one being laid. Two days later there was another one in the coop. That's a good sign..... get ready for the wheelbarrow! I posed it in some sedum to take a pic and it was a bit beat up since they were all pecking at it in amazement. My husband ate one of the eggs, but mixed it in with his two chicken eggs, so he couldn't really tell the difference. He noted that the shell was harder to crack and I did hear that from others.




I picked up my 6 new Guineas on Thursday. I think I have 3 females to add to my flock, maybe 4. I'm going to try to separate them out today and get the males to their new home down the road. They look to be about a month younger than mine and are MUCH smaller, but my flock are French (Jumbo) Guineas and these are Pearl. You
can see the differences in the picture below. Also, I moved the table I got from the Salvation Army (looks a bit too nice for birds, but I got a good deal) from the coop to the run for the newbies. They can fly much better than my French Guineas. Amazing to see the differences! My adults couldn't even get up to that height without first hopping up on their baby perch. Go figure...



Have a good weekend everyone and keep posting those great pics, stories and info!

 

[pattyhen]

I'm glad you found Boss that way you know for sure. It probably was a car and he probably didn't even know what hit him. RIP Boss.

The new guineas are so little. They remind me of Spiderman and Mary Jane when they were younger. That's great you got at least half of them girls and I'm hoping the 4th is a girl too. Thats a nice table they will be right in style with that.

Mary Janes eggs are a tan color with spots on it. She doesn't lay everyday and I find them in a different place everytime. She did lay one in the coop but the rest have been outside. Is this egg tiny? Mary's are smaller then a small egg you buy at the grocery. I guess they will get bigger as she continues to lay. They are very hard to crack. I've been boiling hers along with the duck and chicken eggs they eat every morning. I can't eat any of the chicken,duck or guinea eggs. I know they are a lot better quality but I just can't eat them.

We got the guineas March 26th so now I go by months it's easier to calculate then weeks. So yesterday they were 5 months old. I need to take some more pics so I can share some on here. I think their at their adult size now. Mary Jane weighs more then Spiderman but she looks smaller.

Thanks for sharing the pics I really enjoyed seeing them. Have a great day everyone.

 

[guineapeeps]

Just thought I'd share a couple pictures of my 5 day old keets. Today is the first day they got to go out and free range with their moms as its been rainy until today. The 2 hens (a pearl gray and buff dundotte) always lay eggs, hatch, and parent as a team. This time they hatched 17, which included an assortment of pearl grays, lavender, buff dundotte, and a few which look to be chocolate (which is a new one for me as I've never gotten that color hatched from my flock before).

 

[pattyhen]

Just thought I'd share a couple pictures of my 5 day old keets. Today is the first day they got to go out and free range with their moms as its been rainy until today. The 2 hens (a pearl gray and buff dundotte) always lay eggs, hatch, and parent as a team. This time they hatched 17, which included an assortment of pearl grays, lavender, buff dundotte, and a few which look to be chocolate (which is a new one for me as I've never gotten that color hatched from my flock before).

They are so cute. You have so many different colors. That is sweet that the two hens go broody togeather and raise the keets togeather. Do the hens stay with the keets for 6 weeks like the chickens do?

Thanks so much for sharing the pics.