I finally got guineas! Any pointers?

[andrew6d9]

i bought 3 chocolate guineas today and got 1 for free. I am going to feed them gamebird feed with high protien and treat them just like chicks. Anything else i should know?

 

[PeepsCA]

Yah... You should have bought more, lol. Guineas do better in flocks of 6 or more. (More being the operative word).

Did you buy keets or adults? If you bought adults you will need to keep them penned for 6 wks so they learn where home is. You may have issues integrating them with your chickens, so it's a really good idea to pen them side by side for at least 6 wks so everyone can get used to each other before integrating. If you bought keets then they need to be on a game bird starter feed that is medicated with Amprolium until they are 6-8 weeks old so they build up immunity to Coccidiosis and they should be kept separate from your chickens up to this point, then penned side by side for the 6 wks as I mentioned about the adults.

Best of luck

 

[andrew6d9]

thanks and i got keets. i bought the 24% starter feed because tsc didn't have game bird feed when i asked so i figured that was better than the 20% feed. i don't have a place for them to be side by side with the chickens yet so i will try little by little when they get much bigger.

 

[PeepsCA]

I'd still try to find a high protein game bird feed medicated with Amprolium for the keets... and in the meantime, keep the keets separated from your other poultry and just to be on the safe side be sure to wash your hands after handling either one (keets or your chickens, even if it's just re-filling feeders or waterers) so you do not cross contaminate coop and brooder.

Good luck with your new babies

 

[onionheadtg]

get rid of them is my advice i love them but they are mean and loud although good pest controll there is more bad to them than goo but make sure you spend lots of time with them because they will get really mean i went on vacation while they were chicks and mine are really mean. but best of luck to you.

 

[PeepsCA]

Simply educate yourself on Guineas, learn about their behaviors, personality quirks plus their care, housing and nutritional needs.... and be well prepared for what lies ahead. They are fabulous for natural pest control, they and their antics are most definitely good for a laugh or 2, they make great barnyard watchdogs and they lay delicious eggs... (I could go on and on about the PROS outweighing the cons, but I've said plenty).

Guineas aren't for everyone, but I say this all the time in response to people downing Guineas... People that don't understand Guineas and their needs (or those that don't bother to take the time to understand Guineas and their needs) shouldn't have them. So my suggestion, if you really want to enjoy your birds is to study up on them and learn everything you can about them (there's tons of info out there and on this forum to learn from... positive info, not just negative)

 

[andrew6d9]

thanks. i have been trying to handle them a lot too.

 

[melroseladi]

I suggest investing in Lady Clairol or Grecian Formula as the case may be.

 

[CapricornFarm]

If you raise some chicks the same size with them, they will learn to follow the chickens back to the coop. Left to their own ideas, they roost in trees and get eaten by varmints.
Oh, and build their coop as far from the house as you can because when they grow up, they make a lot of noise.

 

[andrew6d9]

what is that?
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