Guineas: Why Did I Bother?

[dangerouschicken]

Well, I started with 6 guinea keets, and now I have only one 3 month old male remaining. Each time I tried to introduce them to the great outdoors of free-ranging, they got themselves killed.

My White one was hell-bent from the beginning. She kept trying to hoist herself from the brooder by 2 weeks of age. She disappeared her first day outside.

I had two lose function of their legs, a French and a Pearl, eventually making them entirely unable to care for themselves properly. I was forced to cull both.

One Pied boy had his head ripped off by a skunk his first night after free-ranging. My husband found his body intact, the head gone. I know it was a skunk just by that.

And finally my favorite, Purple Baby, up and disappeared yesterday, leaving her mate, Pie Pie, to live life as a widower, we assume. I finally caught Pie Pie this morning and put him in with my chickens. He was so sad and lonely. He thinks he's a chicken, anyway, and has even taught one of my cockerels a ton of guinea sounds. Now my cockerel thinks he's a guinea

My point in all of this is that my foray into guinea ownership has taught me a very valuable lesson: NO ONE REALLY OWNS A GUINEA.

 

[Sherry]

I'm with you! I just turned out my 15 3 month old keets. In two nights I lost 10 of them. Just breaks my heart.

 

[dangerouschicken]

Wow. That is horrible

I am totally convinced I was meant to do just chickens and turkeys. They seems to be all I can raise without their sudden death.

Sorry to hear that happened.

 

[redhen]

what is a guinea keet?..is it a guinea hen?...stupid question!

..i know!..sorry..Wendy

 

[dangerouschicken]

Keets are what you call guineas when they are babies, like chicks for chickens.

 

[Jenski]

So sorry to hear about your guineas! Sounds like they are self-possessed little wanderers.

In my old farm/suburban hybrid area, there is a pair of guineas wandering around a nearby scrubland area, and I have seen them out there every so often for at least two years ~ all that with a group of local feral dogs, coyotes, coons and hawks roaming as well. Can't believe the stubborn buggers are still around ~ I just saw those guineas last week.

 

[redhen]

ooh..okay..thanks..i saw the name before on here..and i was just wondering what they were..so are guinea hens..chickens?..lol....thanks, Wendy....p.s...whens the new top chef start?..

 

[FlockEweFarm]

I dont know what I was thinking even buying any keets! I have 5 of them and they are still living in the dog kennel in the back yard, because if I even tried to put them out into the yard, the stupid bird dog would shred them into confetti! I wish I could just find them a new home, but apparantly everyone around Flagstaff knows that they come with a built in death wish, so no one is interested.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

*sigh* Here I was thinking I needed some to act as watch dogs and eat all my ticks (the chickens don't seem to want them).....glad I read this. Maybe I will change my mind.

Sorry you lost them.

 

[dangerouschicken]

Hens are females, like for chickens. Don't know about Top Chef's new season. At least someone cool won this year.

Don't feel bad about the guineas. They did it to themselves. And those looking for cool birds? Stick with chickens