Guinea talk.

[guineapeeps]

I think I know why they are sticking their beaks up to the food, I had to go with crumbles because the store we buy their feed from was out of the pellets and man are they not wanting to switch back to crumbles even for a few days. This crazy cold and 4in of snow has everyone hiding in the coop, silly birds the day after we got the snow tried to go out and as soon as the snow hit their feet a panic hit them and they laid down and wouldn't move, James and I had to carry them back into the coop. Even my big macho toms were scared of the snow. 
Ducks well they are ducks and dont mind it to much, they were taking a small cat-nap in the a-frame in the snow. Sorry no pictures of that.
I honestly cannot wait until its warmer outside so I can take my other animals outdoors but they are cold blooded and this would shock them. 

Egg production is fairly good with the chickens, but nothing from the Guinea girls yet. When do they first start laying? I know my turkeys wont lay until spring.

That's funny that your Guineas don't like the crumble. My Guineas are the complete opposite...they won't touch the pellets! I wish they would because there is so much waste with the crumble. My Guineas hate the snow too. Unless there is some grass showing through the snow, they won't set foot on it. As for laying, mine only lay in the spring, summer, and fall. Even though it's the same hens inch year, mine vary greatly on when they start laying and I can't figure any rhyme or reason to it. One year I had a colder spring and they layed in March or April and other years it's been warm and they haven't started laying until May or June. Also, a few of my guinea hens continue to lay eggs into early November, although I've never had any of my hens sit on these late eggs long enough to hatch them.

 

[GlennLee]

Also, has anyone ever had to transport Guineas or chickens across the country? I know the drive would take several days and I've not had to transport any of my Guineas more than about 30 miles. Anyone have any suggestions on that?

No, I haven't had to transport a long distance, but I think the tighter they can be packed, the better just so they don't slide around. I've used soft small dog / cat crates, but only for short distances. The guineas seem to slide around more in the larger crates even with several in together. I'm sure they'll be really stressed and will probably need electrolytes in their water. One of my friends automatically administers her stressed birds (usually new ones) a course of Corid as a prevention for developing coccidiosis. Makes me nervous just thinking about it - make sure you take some electrolytes too!

I did touch base with my step-daughter and she's going to put together an email with some ideas of areas for you to check out that have some farm land and would be a quick commute into Miami. Anything on the Atlantic coast going north on 95 will be a "treacherous commute" - her words, not mine. She can also put you in touch with a reputable real estate person to work with if you're interested. It will be good that you'll have family in Florida and Florida is a nice place for your northern friends to visit!

Just found this article on the internet. Maybe it will have some ideas for you.

http://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/feed-health/how-to-transport-chickens/

 

[MartinsPoultry]

That's funny that your Guineas don't like the crumble. My Guineas are the complete opposite...they won't touch the pellets! I wish they would because there is so much waste with the crumble. My Guineas hate the snow too. Unless there is some grass showing through the snow, they won't set foot on it. As for laying, mine only lay in the spring, summer, and fall. Even though it's the same hens inch year, mine vary greatly on when they start laying and I can't figure any rhyme or reason to it. One year I had a colder spring and they layed in March or April and other years it's been warm and they haven't started laying until May or June. Also, a few of my guinea hens continue to lay eggs into early November, although I've never had any of my hens sit on these late eggs long enough to hatch them.

I had James go to the store and grab a bag of pellets which we just mixed with the crumble. Which I do not know why they didn't want to eat them as I soak both crumbles and pellets with rice or oatmeal and other healthy grains, and greens and apples.

 

[guineapeeps]

No, I haven't had to transport a long distance, but I think the tighter they can be packed, the better just so they don't slide around.  I've used soft small dog / cat crates, but only for short distances.  The guineas seem to slide around more in the larger crates even with several in together.  I'm sure they'll be really stressed and will probably need electrolytes in their water.  One of my friends automatically administers her stressed birds (usually new ones) a course of Corid as a prevention for developing coccidiosis.  Makes me nervous just thinking about it - make sure you take some electrolytes too!

I did touch base with my step-daughter and she's going to put together an email with some ideas of areas for you to check out that have some farm land and would be a quick commute into Miami.  Anything on the Atlantic coast going north on 95 will be a "treacherous commute" - her words, not mine.  She can also put you in touch with a reputable real estate person to work with if you're interested.  It will be good that you'll have family in Florida and Florida is a nice place for your northern friends to visit!  

Just found this article on the internet.  Maybe it will have some ideas for you.

    http://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/feed-health/how-to-transport-chickens/

It makes me nervous too, so I just try not to think about it too much! I also know that I need to plan ahead to make the trip as smooth as possible so I force myself to think about it occasionally, for the Guineas sake! (We aren't planning on moving until late spring at the earliest, so I have a little time to procrastinate!) Thank you so much for the article you attached...it is really helpful. Thank you also for all of the information and your help with asking your step daughter and the real estate agent recommend...it's very sweet of you! I think we've pretty much ruled out the Atlantic coast/east side of Florida for the very reasons that you mentioned...the traffic and commute would be awful, not to mention the overcrowding and expensive house prices.
Again, thank you! Your advise and info is very much appreciated!

 

[Dmontgomery]

Sorry for the multiple posts. My computer wouldn't let me use the multi-quote to respond to everyone in one post, so I thought I'd address everyone individually.
Dmontgomery,
I really appreciate your input on the heat and humidity....it sounds like you know a lot about that issue! The ice in the water is a great idea and I will have to try that. We will definitely be looking for a place with a lot of trees and shade for the Guineas. My current coop is an old clay tile building that was built in the 1930s so it won't be coming with us. What type of coop do you have and do you have any suggestions on what type of coop would be best in that type of climate?
Also, has anyone ever had to transport Guineas or chickens across the country? I know the drive would take several days and I've not had to transport any of my Guineas more than about 30 miles. Anyone have any suggestions on that?

I have some pictures of my coop on my member page. Just click on my avatar and scroll down to my albums. We all have coops here with 1 or 2 sides completely open for extra ventilation. Mine is totally open to the east because we rarely get winds or rain coming from that direction. If you end up on the gulf side of Florida, you might want to do the same thing.
If you haven't checked out the "Florida!!!Always sunny side up" social forum chat thread yet, you should look at it. They seem to be pretty active down there and can probably give you some great advice.
That is so cool that your grandkids already live in Ocala! I'll bet they love it and look forward to you moving closer to them.

 

[pattyhen]

We've had some fridgid temps for the last 3 days. Temps down in the single digits at night and daytime temps not reaching above freezing. The guineas and the chickens have been locked in the coop for 3 days. They've done really well except for my main roo Bubba has been mean to my elderly cochan roo. I brought the cochan in the house and this is his second day of being inside. He slept in a laundry basket last night and started crowing at 8 this morning. I hope he sleeps that late tomorrow morning. He'll be going back outside to the coop tomorrow when I let everyone out. I miss Spiderman and Mary Jane coming into visit. I did sit with Spiderman on a ladder in the coop and held him. I give him a big hug everytime I go in the coop.

How many day until spring so I can start counting? We've only had 1 snowfall this year and I'm already tired of winter.

I wish I could move to Florida to guineapeeps you are so lucky.

 

[guineapeeps]

We've had some fridgid temps for the last 3 days.  Temps down in the single digits at night and daytime temps not reaching above freezing.  The guineas and the chickens have been locked in the coop for 3 days.  They've done really well except for my main roo Bubba has been mean to my elderly cochan roo.  I brought the cochan in the house and this is his second day of being inside.  He slept in a laundry basket last night and started crowing at 8 this morning.  I hope he sleeps that late tomorrow morning.  He'll be going back outside to the coop tomorrow when I let everyone out.  I miss Spiderman and Mary Jane coming into visit.  I did sit with Spiderman on a ladder in the coop and held him.  I give him a big hug everytime I go in the coop.

How many day until spring so I can start counting?  We've only had 1 snowfall this year and I'm already tired of winter.    I wish I could move to Florida to guineapeeps you are so lucky.  

I got a kick out of hearing about your Rooster sleeping in the laundry basket and crowing in the morning! I hear you on the frigid temps and wanting to be done with winter! It has been awful here in Iowa too...a lot of wind and temps around zero. I'm ready for Florida weather now (at least Florida WINTER weather) but we won't be going anywhere until at least late spring so I'm stuck with the freezing weather as well. I've left a door open for my Guineas to go out each day but they don't want to leave the coop at all...can't say that I blame them for that! On Tuesday were expecting a heat wave with temps in the low 40's! I hope you get a little break from the freezing temps as too!

 

[guineapeeps]

I have some pictures of my coop on my member page. Just click on my avatar and scroll down to my albums. We all have coops here with 1 or 2 sides completely open for extra ventilation. Mine is totally open to the east because we rarely get winds or rain coming from that direction. If you end up on the gulf side of Florida, you might want to do the same thing.
If you haven't checked out the "Florida!!!Always sunny side up" social forum chat thread yet, you should look at it. They seem to be pretty active down there and can probably give you some great advice.
That is so cool that your grandkids already live in Ocala! I'll bet they love it and look forward to you moving closer to them.

Thanks for the tips and info. I Love your coop....very awesome! I have one more question for you. I'm not sure where you live in Louisiana but wondered if you ever have to deal with hurricanes or tropical storms where you live. If so, what do you do with your chickens, Guineas, etc in those instances?

 

[Dmontgomery]

Thanks for the tips and info. I Love your coop....very awesome! I have one more question for you. I'm not sure where you live in Louisiana but wondered if you ever have to deal with hurricanes or tropical storms where you live. If so, what do you do with your chickens, Guineas, etc in those instances?

Thank you about the coop.
We live in southwest Louisiana, about 45 miles off the Gulf of Mexico and 30 miles from the Texas border. We retired about 4 years ago and moved north to get farther off the water. This is the farthest north I've ever lived! I've never been more than a 30 minute drive to the gulf, so I've seen a few hurricanes. We moved here to get away from "storm surge" which is the initial flooding in a hurricane. The highest part of our former home town was only about 12' above sea level, so when storms came in it got wet and stayed wet for several days. Fortunately we haven't had any major storms for nearly 10 years, at least not what we consider major ones. We've only had the birds since we retired so we haven't had to go through that yet. I stayed in contact with a few BYC members during this past summer's hurricane in Fl. Since it was not a major one, they all seemed to come through alright.
Hurricane force winds only last a few hours. They ALWAYS come at night just to scare the crap out of you. The gulf coast of FL is mostly sand, so the water from rain and surge sinks in pretty quick. Flooding doesn't last long. Fallen trees and limbs are a problem so make sure your coop has a good solid roof. Sink your corner posts and concrete them in the ground so they don't get blown away. If you have a small flock, bring them inside the garage for the storm so they don't get freaked out by the wind and rain. Get a generator!

 

[GlennLee]

Originally Posted by MartinsPoultry

I think I know why they are sticking their beaks up to the food, I had to go with crumbles because the store we buy their feed from was out of the pellets and man are they not wanting to switch back to crumbles even for a few days. Oh, that makes perfect sense. And mine also dislike pellets and love their crumble even though they toss it around. I read a post where the person said an ideal guinea fowl feeder would have a lip that curved back in to keep the food from being scattered. I may have to take up pottery next to make such a thing! This crazy cold and 4in of snow has everyone hiding in the coop, silly birds the day after we got the snow tried to go out and as soon as the snow hit their feet a panic hit them and they laid down and wouldn't move, James and I had to carry them back into the coop. Even my big macho toms were scared of the snow. They are funny about the snow. Mine will only go out if there are patches of grass showing through. I wonder if in their brain, they think they are walking on the sky? In their normal world, the sky is light, the ground is dark.
Ducks well they are ducks and dont mind it to much, they were taking a small cat-nap in the a-frame in the snow. Sorry no pictures of that. And then there are the ducks.... maybe they are part penguin!
I honestly cannot wait until its warmer outside so I can take my other animals outdoors but they are cold blooded and this would shock them. Although I certainly don't mind, in fact I love the winter, I will be glad when they are able to free range in the tall grass again. They are so happy then and stick pretty close to home. Has it been colder than usual for you there this year?

Egg production is fairly good with the chickens, but nothing from the Guinea girls yet. When do they first start laying? I know my turkeys wont lay until spring. This will be my first spring with the flock. I was surprised when they started laying the end of August since they were only 4 months old! They laid through the first week of October and then stopped. I'll let you know when they start up again in the spring. I'm not seeing any eggs, but I am noticing more signs of female to female aggression (jumping in the air and sparing - or doing the Mary Jane kung fu kicks, plus chasing and pecking). It could be related to their being enclosed, but knowing them, they would do this even if they were outside. I think the girls are competing for nesting spots in the straw bale caves. That would be wonderful if I could turn the barn into a nursery this spring. We still have the original coop with an attached run that I could use to keep the rest of the flock in for the night. As with everything else with the guineas, we'll have to play it by ear.

Good luck there and keep warm. I'm always impressed with all the projects and ideas you have going on there!