Im getting GUINEAS!!!!!!!

[ColbyNTX]

Quote:
No, you will loose them off the nest! They do fly great but they will stay to protect the nest until it is too late. It takes about 8 guineas to equal 1 brain!!!! Their biggest problem is even though they fly great, they try to out run predators! They do wize up over time but you will loose half your flock before that happens. Raise 2X's as many as you want to keep and if 1/2 make it to a year then your doing good.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

LOL!! They sound sooooo intelligent

no wonder their so loud and scared of new things, its there only chance of survival. When you say 'lose them off the nest' you mean the raven will kill a full grown guinea? Sounds like I should keep them in the run... Thanks for the info I would've had them free ranging and lost all of them

 

[Kevin565]

Quote:
A raven will not kill a Full grown guinea. It sounds more like a hawk.

 

[Cowgirl75446]

I have raised guineas for many years.

1) Can I house my chickens and guinea together?? If you raise them together, they can do ok. You just never know sometimes with guineas.
2) Are guineas cold hardy? Because we live in AK: When they are little, you must keep them at the right temperature, once they get grown, they should do pretty well. I live in Texas, so it never stays really cold here for long.
3) Are guineas very friendly, in general of the breed. Guineas are usually pretty wild, I have heard of people taming them, but they are born pretty wild.
4)If I get guineas how many, like could I just get 1 or do they need a small group or a pair? You should get at least 10 little ones, if you plan to purchase keets. If you get older ones, you should get at least 2 - 3.
5) Do guinea 'roosters' crow like chickens or just all guineas make the same annoying noises, except that femalse go 'buck wheat buck wheat' Guineas do not crow, they are very noisy. The female make the 2-syllable sounds and the male makes the one syllable sound.
6) Are they good flyers, do I need my run to have a net on the top They are excellent flyers, they can fly over really high things, you definitely need a net on the top if you want to keep them in the pen.
7)Will guinea cocks fight with roosters or with any chicken? Guinea males can be pretty mean to chickens sometimes. My male guineas do chase/fight each other.
8) Do guineas roost at night, like do I need a chicken roost and a guinea roost Guineas do roost at night, the higher the better for them. Mine get in the highest roost/ or rafters in the barn.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Well I was gonna let them roost in our tree by our house and its TALL but I heard that they become really wild if you do that. so its gonna cost me like $60 0n the guineas alone, well they better be REALLY good

So when if let the guineas raise their chicks if she has 10 keets like 1 will survive. Sound like GREAT mothers

thanks for the info guys its been real helpful for when I have them

 

[PeepsCA]

Most of the questions have been answered, but I'll throw my 2 cents in on a couple things:
Owls will pluck Guineas right out of the trees at night/early mornings, I've also had other nocturnal predators stalk them and wait for them to come down out of the tree first thing in the mornings, then immediately pounce on them and pack them off, barely leaving even a feather trail (some predators will even climb the trees and get the birds up there too). Guineas are completely blind in the dark, and if knocked or spooked off their roosting spot they usually just sit in one spot and won't move... until a predator grabs it. So IMO and speaking from plenty pf personal experience it's best to coop them at night, if you'd like to sustain a flock. It works best for me and many others to raise the keets in a brooder until they are 6 wks old, then another 6 wks in their coop/covered pen, then let them out to free range during the day when they are old enough and be sure to spend the time to condition them to the routine of returning to the coop and getting safely locked up each evening. It takes quite a bit of work for while.

Guineas are high maintenance at first, but if you put a little time and energy into them for the first 6 or so months of their lives, you can end up with a very manageable flock. You have to be consistent and dedicated to following thru with establishing a routine with them tho... or the Guineas will do as they please, roost and lay where they want... and eventually get picked off one by one. During laying season here mine all stay locked up 'til the Hens lay their eggs for the day, then I let them out to free range in the afternoons, otherwise they will choose to lay in the bushes and tall grass, and once they go broody on a pile of eggs a predator usually gets them and the eggs. Doing this and making sure everybody coops up each night has kept my losses to a minimum.

Usually, unless you have an exceptionally safe, fenced property or good sized secure pen for a Guinea Hen to raise her keets in not many keets make it if left to be raised by their Mommas, if the Hen even decides to sit long enough to hatch them out. If a Hen gets spooked off her nest, or even bothered too much by people or other livestock there's a good chance she will just abandon the nest, leaving the eggs to go cold and die or get eaten by a predator. And if she does manage to hatch out some keets, she will typically leave the nest with the first few strong keets that hatch and then leave the rest behind to die or get eaten by a predator. And the few she does go parading around with face dangers of wet grass (keets are very fragile, they will die easily when wet and chilled), plus getting separated from the rest and being left behind, getting killed by other Guineas or chickens or predators, getting left on the ground if the Hen decides to roost up high somewhere the keets can't get too yet and they get cold and die etc etc. Most of us collect the keets ASAP and raise them in a safe brooder... or just collect all the eggs and incubate them, brooder raise all the keets and don't even bother letting the Guinea Hens hatch and raise their own.... because they usually disappear one by one, or sometimes all in one night

There's lots of great threads on this forum about Guineas and all their pros, cons and personality quirks, plus info on their care, feed and housing etc... I highly suggest reading as much as you can and be sure to go into getting Guineas with your eyes wide open, because Guineas are not always for everyone.
Best of luck

 

[Wnunezcruz]

Yes to thefirst three questions. The males go buck buck. They aren't as loud as the females. If you are penning them up you will need a net on tip of the pen because they can fly really good. My guineas aren't mean to me or my chickens.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Quote:
A raven will not kill a Full grown guinea. It sounds more like a hawk.

Didn't think so, we had a hawk move in last year by a light pole and he came to our house 1 or 2 times

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

My mom has raised guineas so she knows some about them

 

[Frosty]

Guineas can be cold hardy IF they have shelter. If they are still roosting in trees when it gets cold and windy, they might not make it. I lost a few that way before I managed to trap them and put them in with my chickens. As long as I keep them in there in the winter (insulated but not heated, windows on the south side) they have done ok through North Dakota winters.

I have heard that guinea hens will keep on the move and leave the keets to follow... I had a hen disappear and thought predators got her. When she showed up she had about a dozen little ones trailing behind her and I decided I should catch them and put them in a brooder. Guineas might not be the best mothers, but this gal was very protective of those keets! The whole time I was working on catching them, I had an angry guinea hen flying at my head and I was ducking. I'm just glad nobody was there with a video camera.

As far as roosting high, I have a two story house and they spent a lot of time on the roof...