Introducing baby keets to grown guineas

[arent87]

Hi all, I'm sure this question has been asked before, but the only info I can find is more related to introducing keets to chickens, so I apologize if I missed something. My chickens are in a different large enclosed area and do not free range, so there will not be any physical interaction between them and the guineas. I'm only looking for Guinea-specific advice.

So here's the scenario:
I have 10 Guineas that I got as keets from Cackle Hatchery in May. They have been in their outdoor coop (4'x'4' enclosed coop with a 4' x 8' run underneath) for 2 weeks now, and I will be opening things up this weekend to let them start free ranging for the first time. That being said, I started out with 13 keets, but three were nabbed by black snakes So I ordered reinforcements! (15 keets to be delivered ~11 August)

Question: When the time comes to move the new keets out of the garage, what is the best way to do it? I have seen anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 weeks of age. I have seen some recommend giving them shelter so they can hide from adults (given the size of the coop, there's not much room for shelters). I have seen some people say they keep the two flocks completely separate for up to a year I have seen people say that they just put the youngsters in and the gown ups just kind of ignore them, or at least leave them alone because they recognize that they are babies... But given I have roughly two months to get it figured out, I need solid, no-kidding, 'This is what I do' advice. Can you guys please help?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

As long as you are not keeping them too confined or too warm, they should have good feathering and flying ability by three weeks and that is when I would start to mingle them. Even two weeks would be fine, but either way you need to have a safe space for them to go.

If you plan to keep them all, I would highly recommend expanding your setup so you may as well do it now and have a "see but not touch" area for the new ones coming in. A 4x4 coop is not big enough for 11 guineas, let alone 26. Of course, you can let them roost in the trees, but be prepared to feed the wildlife, especially the owls and foxes. I started with 13 and was down to 2 in a year's time, all but two lost during nighttime periods where I gave up on chasing them out of trees at dusk. Out of my current flock I have lost two this month (July) and that is while they are out free ranging during the day. They are certainly predator savvy, but not predator proof, especially during the laying and broody season.

 

[arent87]

Thanks for the info. I figured the coop would be a bit snuggly, but since they will only be roosting in it at night, I wasn't sure if it would really be an issue. I'll figure out an expansion for it.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Logistically, you won't even have enough room for roost space once they are grown, and they tend to be real a-holes to each other at roost time and peck at each other if they are too close. Plus you will have to constantly clean the mounds of poo out that falls each night.

Roomier is better.