Hello All,
I am NOT a guinea expert (if there even is such a thing), but I have had them for 10 years. Here are some things I've learned about them. They are NOT the sharpest tool in the box, but they can be fascinating.
A guinea will run along the side of the pen right up to the door, then turn and run back the other way, desperately wanting to get out, but never making it to the door.
A guinea that is raised by its mother is MUCH smarter than a guinea that has been raised by humans, unless the guinea's mother was raised by humans. The more generations that have been raised by humans, the dumber the bird. The same is true of turkeys. Wild turkeys are very intelligent. Domestic ones have been dumbed down by humans. This makes sense if you think about it. A parent guinea knows about predators and shares that information with their offspring. If you observe any free-ranging mother bird (or father bird that attends his young), there is a certain sound they make to warn the babies to seek cover. It teaches the little ones what to watch out for. If a bird hasn't been taught to be predator-wary, they have no clue of the dangers that await them.
As far as returning to the coop..... it has been my rule of thumb to keep any new bird in its pen for a minimum of two weeks, preferably a month or two. Then let it out when you can be around to observe it. Let it free-range awhile and then return it to its pen. The secret here is to approach the bird gently. Drop your head and shoulders and approach slowly. Get the bird moving in the direction you want it to go. The first time or two is the hardest. Do anything with a bird three times in a row and it becomes habit. Birds are creatures of habit. They repeat the same things over and over. (Humans are, for the most part, the same way). It becomes their comfort zone.
You MUST pay attention and put your birds up BEFORE dark, at least by dusk. Otherwise they will seek their own roosting spot. It sounds to me like your guineas were raised by humans. The one chose the hole in the ground and the others followed suit. Guineas are led by the dominant bird and do as the dominant bird does, even if what the dominant bird does is pure stupidity.
I'm sorry to hear about your health problems, Akane. I've had my share of them too. Sounds like you have some beautiful birds. You might be surprised how they'll do. If possible, when you can , round them up right at dusk or just before. The time of day is changing right now as the days get shorter, so you can't always depend on the clock. Mine go up earlier if it is rainy or cloudy.
I have a really cool guinea story. My Mama Guinea and Daddy Guinea were a mated pair for three years. One Spring they had 15 babies. Someone hit Mama Guinea in the road (on purpose). All that day Daddy Guinea stood on a post and called her and called her. The babies gathered around the bottom of the post and "lost-called" her too. It was the saddest and most pitiful day on our farm.
But then our four batchelor male guineas moved in and helped Daddy Guinea raise those 15 babies. They never lost a one. Normally out of 15 baby guineas, we'd be lucky to have 6 reach adulthood. That is pretty awesome to me.
In my experience, the daddy guineas take as good care of the babies as the mothers do, sometimes better. Many times I've seen the daddy take the oldest babies that have hatched and let them start free-ranging while the mother finishes setting.
Many people fault a mother guinea, because when she leaves the nest, she takes off like a guinea. The babies either keep up or die. But that, my friends, is survival of the fittest. I've found baby guineas that were cold as ice and appearing dead, brought them in the house and put them under a heat lamp to warm them up. Let them rest awhile (sometimes two or three days) and then put them back with their parents. They do just fine.
I've also heard baby guineas that have fallen asleep while free-ranging with their parents, lost-calling. They wait where they are until the parents come back around to pick them up. If they don't get too chilled and nothing gets them (like a hawk or a cat or a fox), they join back up with the family and go right on free-ranging. It is a precarious life for a tiny bird.
I guess my point of all this is that, yes, guineas and intelligence are a bit of an oxymoron, but they are still precious and special birds. If you have time, handle your guineas as much as you can, especially when they are small. They will still be wild birds, but it will make dealing with them a little easier. Even if they are grown, it will take some effort to catch them, but hold them as often as you can and tell them you love them. You'll be surprised the difference it will make over time.
Hope I didn't go on too long here. I've had some VERY SPECIAL guineas grace this farm in the 10 years we've had birds. They are unique and everyone's experience with them is unique. I just want others to learn to enjoy that uniqueness as much as I have.
Hope you all have a WONDERFUL DAY!!
