Guinea's on the road

[guineachicken]

I have had some guinea's killed on my road... does anyone know why they go on it? I have all the supplements they need.... huge amounts of land... but they get hit by cars... Is there anything I can do?????

 

[PeepsCA]

Guineas roam, it's just their nature. Why they go in the road is questionable, but usually something attracts them... like other poultry or livestock across the road, good nesting areas over there, people/kids walking or riding bikes by etc. Is their coop situated close to the road? If so they may be part of the problem.

Short of babysitting and correcting/harassing them every time they head for the road and making them realize it's not as much fun as they think, they will most likely keep going into the road. Fences usually don't stop Guineas, but they do cut down on the majority of the wanderers, and also provide a visual boundary for the birds that they can be taught to respect with constant correction, but you have to be consistent and be ready to chase a lot of birds back in for a while until they learn. Some people hang shiny spooky things in areas they do not want their birds to go, some use the motion activated sprinklers.

You could also try penning them up for a week then only letting them out when you are around to keep an eye on them and herd them away from the road for a while... in hopes of reconditioning them to stay away from the road. Bad habits are hard to break with Guineas.

Good luck, hope you don't lose any more.

 

[livenwpeeps]

I feel your pain! I live on 900 acres, built a very nice coop and run, they have the best food, fresh water and still ...... those little buggers play in the road. I have put up fencing that slowed them down but didn't stop it all together. So I put up those little windmills to try and scare them away from the road and that didn't work. I policed the road to scare them back to my side of the road but that became a game to them. I put up "Guinea Crossing" signs but they were stolen. My guineas stay locked up at nights and until I get home from work so they only have limited time to roam. Mine like to follow joggers and walkers. I think they hide on the side of the road waiting for some poor soul to come walking/jogging down the road and then they follow them for awhile screaming bloody murder at them. Several times I have been working outside and hear someone from the road yelling "Get Away! Go On! Leave Me Alone!" and I go save the walker or jogger. After the first couple or so got hit and killed it slowed down some. In fact, I had none killed on the road all winter long until yesterday. I lost three at one time. Now this is a country road with only my farm on it however a lot of people use it as a cut through and that's were the traffic comes from. I really think the guineas learn from the terrible experience though. They will stay away from the road for awhile and when they do go to it, they are more careful. The road is my worse preditor.

 

[perchie.girl]

tragic but funny....

Maybe the road walker gene is being weeded out of your flock. But the picture of the Joggers being rescued is a hoot....

I have a theory about squirrels. Every time one runs in the road and changes its mind twice before running under the wheel is increasing the intelligence of the general squirrel population..... eventually they will take over the world.

 

[cracked egg]

Liked the idea of the CD's and especially the sprinklers.... I have chased my flock idk how many times back from the road, perhaps this will deter them.

 

[NCnarrator]

Just this very night I talked to an older woman in my church (telling her about our first batch of chickens we're picking up next weekend), and she confided that she's always been terrified by guineas after being attacked by one as a small child. Apparently, she and her mother were walking along a dirt road that fronted a corn field and surprised a mama and her babies. Mama went ballistic and jumped up on the back of the woman (who was six or seven at the time). Of course, there was much panic and screaming while they all sorted each other out. The mental image I got was hilarious, but I didn't dare laugh at the poor woman who was clearly still traumatized some 65 odd years later.

We're getting chickens, not guineas, but the highway issue is why we're not free-ranging...as much as I'd like to. Our neighbors up the road had show chickens, and on our busy highway playing frogger with the chickens is NOT a good idea. Hubby jokingly suggested the invisible fence - and I reminded him we wanted eggs, not fried chicken!