Guinea talk.

[pattyhen]

Looking at your pictures again and noticing that they boys let Delta eat with and/or before them. I wonder if she is really the lowest on the totem pole? My boys won't let the others eat with them. Three males eat and one is the lookout and keeps the others away. When the males are done, the females get to eat and finally at the end - the newbies get to eat. It doesn't matter that I have three feeding stations - they all want to eat at the same one!

Maybe they all are in love with Delta and chase her like a bunch of middle schoolers at a dance - no one dances, they just run around and chase each other.

Interesting dynamics....

Good to get the ammonia smell out of the coop for you and them. Always work to do.

Wow! 15 perch options is great and I love the idea of using the recycled desk and tire for nesting boxes. I have straw bale caves in my coop and they seem to like the privacy it provides. Fingers crossed that they will be used for nesting this spring. A tire would work well for a dusting area too.... giving me some ideas here. I now have an under the bed box, but would like something with higher sides to keep the straw out and provide some hopping spots for them.

That is funny that the males eat first and then the females. Spiderman always stands back and lets Mary Jane eat first then he will eat what is left. They have no flock dynamics to deal with because their the only two. Maybe he picked that up from the chickens and ducks. The males stand back and let the females eat first.

 

[pattyhen]

Hi! I probably won't post all the time, so don't worry if I disappear for a while. Now. I have 13 guineas. They free range during the summer. They like to pick on each other and my regular chickens. I constantly have to yell at them for it. They like feet. During the summer, they peck my bare toes when I'm wearing flip-flops. When I wear tennis-shoes, they untie the shoelaces... I will post pictures in a second post because I already lost this post the first time le trying to add pictures. I would rather not post it a third time.

My guineas are shoe freaks too. They especially loved my purple crocks. I would love to see some pics of your guineas if you are able to post them. My guineas totally ignore the chickens but really enjoy herding the ducks. They have put the ducks in their coop several evenings.

 

[GlennLee]

That is funny that the males eat first and then the females. Spiderman always stands back and lets Mary Jane eat first then he will eat what is left. They have no flock dynamics to deal with because their the only two. Maybe he picked that up from the chickens and ducks. The males stand back and let the females eat first.

That's interesting that it's the reverse for you - females eating first, then the males. Everyone used to eat together when I had the original flock before the coyotes and hawk got to them. There were some issues around breeding time, but I always had 2-3 feeders. Now they ignore the second feeder and just wait their turn at the one. Silly birds!

 

[pattyhen]

I have had this bouncing around in my head for a while now, what do you guys and gals think of a divider in the coop I have now? The barn is currently 10x12. I was also thinking of the divider being a double-decker for the Ducks to be on the lower half of the divider and the Guineas or Chickens on the top. Even though the Turkeys get along with them, they like to take all the food so i sit in there while they eat so everyone eats. Maybe make the divider 4.5 x 10, since the barn is 12 deep.
James and I are still trying to fit the wire around the trampoline and make a screen roof for it so the Ducks have a safe run.
Would it work or do you think there would be complications with the flock having it in there?

Delta has been coming over to me now when i have food. Their constant little chirps and clicks are cute I love hearing them sing, then Echo gets a wild feather and begins to scream like theres a cat around.

If the bottom level of your coop is to short that could be a problem cleaning it. We have that problem with the duck coop. Could you take a pic of the trampoline so we can get an idea of what your talking about for the duck run.

The guineas do have a beautiful little chirp but sometimes it can turn into that machine gun voice. I guess they were given the machine gun voice to warn against predators. Sometimes the predators can be a falling leaf or something different in the yard.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

The frame itself is 15ft, we estimated it to be around 196 sq ft which is more than enough room for my four muscovy's. Forgive the metal grated box thats the Guinea timeout pin when they don't behave or when we cannot watch them while doing a barn cleaning. The turkey's used to go in there as poults when we were introducing them to the outdoors.

As for the removable divider, I could possibly make it out of pvc piping and c clamps to the wall studs. It would be softer than wood and wouldn't rot like it either. And if I find the divider will not work then maybe I can expand one of the sides of the barn out for more space come spring or summer, and make that the broody and chick/keet/poult side.


This is their coop/barn, the 10x12. it was an old storage barn for my mother inlaw before she passed away now we turned it into the coop.



Raised nestbox, two of my chickens use it like crazy, and the tire on the ground near it, which Blue has claimed it as his I am mighty perch.

The lower nest on the South West wall, I have tried to move her and she will nest in that spot again so I placed the nesting box there.


Then we have Charlie with Prism (James corrected me she is not Shimmer) and Cookie

When James wakes up I will have him help me take good photos of Delta and Echo to show how much they look alike. They both at Keets were piebald now they are grey with very little pearl spots. Only way I can tell them apart is Echo has one leg with more pink on it than Delta. Blue and Charlie are the only ones I can tell apart so easily.

 

[guineapeeps]

I think everyone on here seems to think like I do on Guineas so I have a few questions for anyone on here who may have information or opinion on the subject. My husband is a pilot who is getting transferred to Miami. We don't want to live anywhere within the greater Miami area due to the population, traffic, crime, etc, but need to stay within 2 to 2 1/2 hours of the Miami airport. We are wanting to find a quiet place where we can keep Guineas and other animals and are looking at the area of Naples (Southern gulf coast of Florida), as well as Jupiter (on the Eastern/Atlantic side). Has anyone lived in either of these areas or anywhere in the Southern part of Florida, and if so, what did you think of it? Also, if anyone lives in the humid, hot southern part of the US, how do your Guineas do with the heat and humidity? (We would definitely looking for a place with a lot of trees for shade for them). We have only really had 1 really hot humid summer here in Iowa since I've had my Guineas and they did not tolerate it well. I would really like to keep them but don't want them to drag them to a place where they will be miserable with the climate. Any ideas or input from anyone would be appreciated!

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Not sure if the link will work, but this is Charlie, Echo and Blue having the worlds worst hissy because I'm giving love to Missy Delta who was having a panic attack for no reason so I held her rubbed her so did James who shot the video to calm her down.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1345708525501345&id=100001866307787

 

[GlennLee]

MartinsPoutry - oh the link worked just fine and are they ever agitated or what! They're not really sure what to make of the whole deal. Pretty funny... Thanks for sharing all the pics of your coop areas. You have a great space to work with and some good ideas for it as well. Make sure to post any updates you make.

 

[GlennLee]

I think everyone on here seems to think like I do on Guineas so I have a few questions for anyone on here who may have information or opinion on the subject. My husband is a pilot who is getting transferred to Miami. We don't want to live anywhere within the greater Miami area due to the population, traffic, crime, etc, but need to stay within 2 to 2 1/2 hours of the Miami airport. We are wanting to find a quiet place where we can keep Guineas and other animals and are looking at the area of Naples (Southern gulf coast of Florida), as well as Jupiter (on the Eastern/Atlantic side). Has anyone lived in either of these areas or anywhere in the Southern part of Florida, and if so, what did you think of it? Also, if anyone lives in the humid, hot southern part of the US, how do your Guineas do with the heat and humidity? (We would definitely looking for a place with a lot of trees for shade for them). We have only really had 1 really hot humid summer here in Iowa since I've had my Guineas and they did not tolerate it well. I would really like to keep them but don't want them to drag them to a place where they will be miserable with the climate. Any ideas or input from anyone would be appreciated!

Okay, I'm trying to get more specifics for you on the areas you mentioned and will post when I do. My stepdaughter's husband is from Florida and they lived there for over 10 years. She sold Real Estate for a while and her husband's dad is a home builder in Jupiter. Although she lived in more central Florida, her in-laws were in Coral Springs and her mom lived in Bocca Raton - two areas on the Atlantic side and within your driving distance.

We have friends who have retired in Punta Gorda and Coral Gables on the west coast, but I think they are too far from Miami. They love it, but they live in developments and that's most of what I've seen for housing when I've been to Florida. The words that come to me that people have used to describe Naples are - upscale and beautiful.

Most of the trees are evergreens and of course some palms, but for shade, I've mostly seen evergreens. I'll check on that though as they would know what trees would work well for landscaping - with the climate, many of their shrubs would grow tree size though though, like azaleas.

I'll let others weigh in on the the guineas and being able to cope with the heat and humidity. DMontgomery must have weather similar to Florida and Patty gets some hot and humid days as well.

One more predator to worry about there - alligators! That would be mostly if you live near a lake - and there are a lot of those in Florida. Pretty part of the country, but you'll know you're not in Iowa (or Kansas) anymore!

 

[MartinsPoultry]

MartinsPoutry - oh the link worked just fine and are they ever agitated or what! They're not really sure what to make of the whole deal. Pretty funny... Thanks for sharing all the pics of your coop areas. You have a great space to work with and some good ideas for it as well. Make sure to post any updates you make.

They were something else, I noticed after I let Delta go Echo the pacing grey in the back started chasing her. I was talking with dad and James last night about external nesting boxes and they both said that we can do it once we get some plywood, we have extra shingles and hinges we can make a strong roof for outdoor access to grab the eggs. It will also get rid of the Turkeys poop in the nesting sites inside the coop. I've also noticed the past few days no one has really eaten anything, could that be due to the storm that has just hit or coming this weekend? I feed twice daily, once in the morning a light feeding and once in the evening a heavier than breakfast feeding and if we have extra greens laying around they get those during the day to pick at.