Help - roaming guineas at the neighbors' house!

[Noelle]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice, please. We have a flock of 5 guineas (15-weeks-old) who have basically moved into our neighbor's yard. We live in a rural area and the neighbors are 1/4-mile away, past a closer neighbor and across a road. The backstory (not sure if it matters?) is that we raised them here in a brooder (with a total of 14), then about 6 weeks ago they moved to a friend's coop to finish growing. (She was to keep half.) So 5 days ago or so, all but 2 of them escaped their coop and wandered in their yard for 24 hours until we managed to catch 3 of them. I took these 5 home.

The first couple of days here were fine -- we put them in the coop (with the chickens), then let them out the next day. They came out on their own eventually, then spent the last couple of days happily wandering our property, usually very close to or in the barnyard. They came running for the snacks I'd throw for them. They never went back in the coop, though, and instead slept all 3 nights in the open barn (on the ground!) with the goats.

They were here yesterday morning, but now they've moved in at the neighbors'. I tried catching them today (by hand, with a big net, with treats, etc) but to no avail. The neighbor said he thinks they roosted in a thicket of trees and bushes across the street, but he only heard them and didn't actually see where they were at night.

Any more ideas??

THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Noelle

 

[KZ]

Boy, guineas are fast and hard to get on the ground, and I bet catching them is next to impossible when they are in a tree. I don't know what to tell you about getting them home but I am thinking you probably should have confined them to the coop for a couple weeks at least before you let them out. Even though they were born at your place, they were moved to another and likely don't really recognize your place as home. If you ever do manage get them back, I suggest you keep em locked up for a while before you let them out to free range again.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, huh?

 

[glenolam]

I agree with KZ. If you are able to catch them again, keep them in the coop longer. The fact that they've been moved around several times after hatching means they have no idea where "home" is or where to come back to. So they'll keep moving around finding a place that suits their needs.

You might try placing a few treats around your yard in trees to try attracting them back. Or maybe place the treats in a line back to your house...like leaving a trail of bread crumbs. I have no idea if that'd work, but if not, the wild birds will love you!

 

[Noelle]

Thank you both for your responses. I think you're right, and in retrospect, I wish I had kept them in longer. We were having logistical difficulties since they (theoretically) share a coop with our chickens and we wanted the chickens to be able to free-range as usual. Alas, these guineas had other ideas!