Help

[tndalexander]

Ok my neighbor had an incident at his house so his rabbits, dog, & guineas came to my front porch. I looked in the cage at the Guineas as I have never had any. There were 6 & they were all huddled together. They were sporting fancy feathers all 6 were different colors.

Well I went to check on them again yesterday they were not good. One (my favorite) looked weak & felt cold. I took them into the living room & placed them in front of the heat duct. They all huddled there I tried to give them water nothing. Chicks you can dip their beaks in water & they must not have a waterproof seal on their beak as they will drink a bit.

This bird has a very strong beak that appears to be water proof. I asked the neighbor what they ate. (he has keys to my house so he can get to them any time) the one died right away. I asked him how old they were he said he did not know. GRRRR. So I stared to think even if they have feathers they maybe too cold? Maybe too young? I have a hen with 14 chicks they are feathered so I took the remaining to her she did not seem to mind them I kept checking for fear they would be pecked.

So 2 more were dead that night & 2 more the next morning but the remaining one was running around in the brooder eating bits from the hen... now he has disappeared no trace not a feather nothing.

So as I want to get these birds myself I want to know what to do with them. I have had chickens for years & hatched my own. I will look for young adult guineas as I am not good for losses like this.

What should I know about these birds? Before getting them?

What kind of housing do they require?

Can they coop with chickens? I've seen it done but are there any special problems to look for?

Do they raise their young on their own if allowed? Setters?

Do chicks need heat lamps? Is the temps the same as a chicken?

How long do they live?

I want these as I found ticks on the property & I have hawk issues as well. I know these guys are good at eating ticks & sounding alarms. What kind of food or supplements do they need besides bugs?

Any information will be appreciated, also any one in MI have some juveniles or adults for sale?

 

[flgardengirl]

baby guineas need a heat lamp just like baby chicks. They will quickly die without it. I have guineas that I raised from keets that were also raised with baby chicks grow up together and are in the same pen and roost together at night in their coop. If you don't have a huge property, you will need to keep guineas penned up or they will take off. Most guineas will never be as tame as chickens, they are naturally very suspicious of everthing. They also make a lot of noise when strange people or animals come on your property so make good watch dogs.

 

[tndalexander]

baby guineas need a heat lamp just like baby chicks. They will quickly die without it. I have guineas that I raised from keets that were also raised with baby chicks grow up together and are in the same pen and roost together at night in their coop. If you don't have a huge property, you will need to keep guineas penned up or they will take off. Most guineas will never be as tame as chickens, they are naturally very suspicious of everthing. They also make a lot of noise when strange people or animals come on your property so make good watch dogs.

thank you. i was wondering could you clip there wings? also these guineas had feathers they were not fluff but I feel horrible for them just the same. I hope my neighbor gets everything together at his house but I always ask a ton of questions before I get an animal.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Sounds like they were in Shock or something similar.

If they had feathers all over they should have been ok outside if they have a place to get out of the cold if need be. My Youngsters went out as soon as they had feathers but I kept them in their brooder cage with a cover over one end. Guineas do not like change they have never really been domesticated..... Tamed yes but domesticated no. So covering the cage completely might have helped. They also like mirrors so I hang one in there. So when I turn them loose with the rest of the flock I leave the brooder cage there so when they get stressed they run back in and consult their mirror..... LOL.

I Dont clip wings... now. I have clipped all sorts of bird wings so I know how to do it. But I adopted an adult male that had his wings clipped and the other guineas beat him up so much I had to isolate him. An isolated Guinea is a miserable Guinea. His wings never did recover. Guineas can fly up to roost with their momma by the time they are two weeks old.

Good luck with the rest.

deb

 

[JLeigh]

I agree with Deb -