Guinea talk.

[guineapeeps]

Got some pics of the guineas.

I heard one guinea make three different noises.

Wow, they have gotten big....it's amazing how fast they grow! They are all so cute, especially the lavender. Thanks for sharing!

 

[dan26552]

Wow, they have gotten big....it's amazing how fast they grow! They are all so cute, especially the lavender. Thanks for sharing!

They do grow fast but not as fast as the Red Rangers, those are nearly as big as the guineas and two weeks younger.

 

[GuineaHale]

the weather is getting warmer and my guineas are starting to have some laying behavior, i found a female laying down in really tall grass and just staying there so hopefully they will begin to lay. i just bought some laying crumble along with pellets, corn, chicken scratch grains, and oyster shell

 

[pattyhen]

Today is Spiderman and Mary Janes one year gottch date. A year ago today they blessed us with their presence. They have been a joy to have.

 

[GlennLee]

the weather is getting warmer and my guineas are starting to have some laying behavior, i found a female laying down in really tall grass and just staying there so hopefully they will begin to lay. i just bought some laying crumble along with pellets, corn, chicken scratch grains, and oyster shell

How exciting! Mine are still trying to figure out how to go around the snowbanks. It sounds as though you are all set with supplies as well... good for you!

I don't remember how many males you have in your flock and I'm not sure how you feed, but I know there is some concern with the males getting the extra calcium. It's very hard on their kidneys since they don't need the extra calcium for laying.

Since half of my flock is male, I'm going to stick with their regular feed, but I always have oyster shell and extra grit available for them on the side. They don't go through much of it, they just consume as needed.

Perhaps there are others who use the Layena with extra calcium in a mixed flock and they don't have a problem. That would be good to know.

Good luck with everything and keep us posted! Happy Monday, everyone!

 

[GlennLee]

On Saturday I got a call from my neighbor at the top of our hill. Our flock of 12 guineas, visit her as part of her Breakfast Club for Birds every morning.

So, they were up there as usual, but when they left her yard, they somehow got stuck in an area and found themselves locked in by the dreaded enemy we call SNOW! They couldn't figure out how to get out and just kept making their constant racket. That's when she called me to come with the pool noodles.

I took off on a mad dash, but before I got there, they had escaped. She later told me it was like all of a sudden a light bulb went off and they remembered they could fly - and that's what they did.

Way to go, French Jumbos! Silly birds....

 

[GlennLee]

@Pattyhen

It's hard to believe that they were once so tiny! They certainly have brought you a lot of Joy. Here's to many more years and celebrations of Gotcha Day!

 

[pattyhen]

Thanks rhonda and the story about your stranded guineas is to funny. I can just imagine them saying oh no here comes mom with the pool noodle.

 

[guinealeghorn]

They can fool you, for sure! The easiest to id are the females because of the two syllable "buckwheat" sound - to me it's more of a "come back" and they tend to repeat it over and over again. If they are quiet, it's hard to tell. I thought one of mine with big wattles was a male for the first 6 months - she was very quiet and then I saw and heard her doing the buckwheat sound.

In the beginning, I had 16 guineas and couldn't even tell them apart. Now I'm down to 12, they all have names and I know who's who. Other people can't tell the difference. It just takes time and patience.

Another thing I've noticed, but I haven't read this anywhere to confirm my observations, is that the males are the only ones that make a two syllable whistle that sounds like "sur-real". I can make this sound and can get them to talk back to me. At this point, I have only had my males make this sound. The females will do a high pitched one syllable "chip" (as will the males) and then they all go it together to do their machine gun warning sound.

Hope this doesn't confuse the issue for you.

Mine do the whistling, too! I swear I thought I heard my hens doing it too, though! Could have just been me.

 

[pattyhen]

I think Spiderman has his own special language. He honks he whistles, he tweets. He talks all the time. He never shuts up I bet he even talks in his sleep. No wonder the chickens come busting out of the coop in the mornings. Mary Jane is totally different. She will make the buck wheat sound when startled. She will join Spiderman if he starts the machine gun voice but normally Mary Jane is quiet.