How old are these guineas?

[jenniferwhite]

Anyone care to take a guess? I got the at a livestock auction, 22 of them. I don't see anything of note on their heads yet. What's your best guess guinea guru's? And thanks !

 

[my sunwolf]

Hm, I'm guessing 12 weeks, though it's hard to tell exactly how large they are from the photo!

 

[jenniferwhite]

Yes, you're right. They are maybe half as big as my black australorps. I've been trying to post a close up but can't get it to load. They are already making quite a racket!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Hello: Well I am sure you have at least a few Hens in there. If they are calling the "Buck Wheat" deal, then they are well over 8 weeks. If they are about 12 to 14 weeks old they will not have the "helmet". If they are starting to loose LOTS of feathers and "pinning" new ones they are reaching the age of about 14 to 16 weeks. So nice that you could get a "rasp" of Guinea Fowl and 22 is a very nice number. They will all have a bud or two and mostly they will stay in the group to roam during the day. Have fun with your new friends.

 

[jenniferwhite]

Thanks everyone! So at what age do they begin to develop the hard helmet? Most have at least a few brown feathers mixed with their spotted ones, and some have way more white on them than others. They are so much fun to watch. They move like a school of fish and roost in my pear tree at night( though they also have access to a covered part of my coop).

 

[Hotcookie]

I'm guessing they might be around the same age as mine...from your pic, it looks like they have the beginning of the little knob on their heads (the helmet). Right now, mine are 2 months old. So maybe yours are around 7 or 8 weeks??? Btw - my females started buck-wheating quite a few weeks ago.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

Hello: Well I am sure you have at least a few Hens in there. If they are calling the "Buck Wheat" deal, then they are well over 8 weeks. If they are about 12 to 14 weeks old they will not have the "helmet". If they are starting to loose LOTS of feathers and "pinning" new ones they are reaching the age of about 14 to 16 weeks. So nice that you could get a "rasp" of Guinea Fowl and 22 is a very nice number. They will all have a bud or two and mostly they will stay in the group to roam during the day. Have fun with your new friends.

A "Rasp"? Is that seriously what they are called? Well I guess it could be worse. They do make a sort of a raspy noise when they want something

 

[jenniferwhite]

Here are new pictures from today. Now I am wondering about their feather color. They have brown striped feathers mixed in with their "pearl" color polka dotted ones. Is this normal for pubescent guineas? They couldn't be chicken/guinea crosses or something could they?
Also, many have a lot of white on their breasts. Does this mean they're pied?

Here is a pic of the white on some of them.

 

[Mammachix]

Hi, I have five that are 9 weeks old, but smaller than yours, so 12 sounds about right.

 

[my sunwolf]

Here are new pictures from today. Now I am wondering about their feather color. They have brown striped feathers mixed in with their "pearl" color polka dotted ones. Is this normal for pubescent guineas? They couldn't be chicken/guinea crosses or something could they?
Also, many have a lot of white on their breasts. Does this mean they're pied?



Here is a pic of the white on some of them.

The brown striped feathers look like normal adolescent feathers to me, they should lose all of those and just get pearl feathers by the time they have all adult feathers (4-6 months). The ones with no white are pearl, and you are right, the ones with some white on them are pied. Sounds like you already know a lot about your guineas