Just bought a pair of Guineas

[mychookschick]

Hello all,

I just bought a pair of guineas to control the ticks around here. I want to know everything that I can learn about them. Hatching, feeding, etc. They are on the same layer feed as my chickens right now. That is what they lady that I bought them from said to do. I am tired, so more details and pics to come! Thank you all!

 

[GibbieGibson]

congrats i cant wait to get some... i wont like 4 to 6... but soon have to work on the coop and other garden stuff first before i get the birds but great news for you.... good luck

 

[Lollipop]

Great for ticks and entertaining, too. Be sure to keep them penned for at least 3 months, or they will simply dissapear. Trust me. Keets are a better coice to start, but again, ya gotta pen them for 3 months. They will wander far, but if "home" is imprinted in them, they should return at night. As they get used to your place, they will stay closer. It;s best to start with many more than you want as they are easy prey for predators. Treats, in the form of white millet, are a good incentive to return in the evening. They will want to roost in trees. Best to discourage this behavior as owls will pick them off. Mine sleep in the rafters of my pole barn. Perfect. Out of the weather and owls can't see them. I got mine for ticks, scorpions, and moths, which over ran my place befor my guineas. I bought 20 keets and ended up with 3 adults. I just had a chicken hatch 6, so I will be adding to my flock. The first year I lost all except these 3 and they seem to be smart enough to escape predation, at least for the time being. In the 3 years I've had these, I've seen a drastic decrease in all the pests mentioned as well as other stuff also. They also work miracles on wasps, flies, and mosquitoes. Then there is the fact that they are clowns and a never ending source of entertainment and laughs. Ya gotta love'm. As a side note, it takes 6 of them to make one brain. They are not chickens, they are wild birds. Get past the noise and enjoy them.........Pop

 

[mychookschick]

Thanks guys.

But, 3 MONTHS?! My dad isn't going to be happy about this... He was thinking like a week, like a chicken! I already have the male fairly calm about being around me, and I still have some work with the female. I will tell my dad what you said, and see what he says. Is there any particular reason that it is so much different than a chicken?? Thank you guys!

 

[carmentk]

Guineas are not as domesticated as chickens. They are gypsies, while chickens are homebodies. I usually keep my new adults penned 4-6 weeks. And then I only let a couple out at a time until they all get used to the surroundings and being lured back to the pen with treats (and a long bamboo pole!) Once they are on range you can train them to go into their pen whenever you want by luring them with their favorite food, usually white millet or plain old scratch. You can lure them in from the field by shaking a plastic cup with the seed in it, dropping a few pieces as you walk toward the pens. When you get close to the pens throw small bits where you want them to go. Only after they have all gone in and you have closed the door should you reward them by giving them the rest of the treat. Good luck, and have fun.

 

[mychookschick]

Thanks guys!! Here are a couple of pics I took this morning!

A face that only a mother could love, but I suppose that even that isn't true, as I hear that they are terrible mothers!


Can you guys guess which is the male and which is the female? At first, I was thinking that the one on the left was the male because that one has bigger wattles and more "hair" on the back of the neck, but the one that is on the right hisses, and bites me when I pick "her" up. Thoughts?


And what is their coloring? See they are spotted, but at least one of them has solid white flight feathers, as seen here:


Thanks everybody for all your help!

 

[fowl farm]

I heard that you can tell by their voice. The male has a one syllable call and the female has a two syllable call.

 

[PeepsCA]

Those are some pretty large floppy wattles on the bird on the left in the 2nd pic (IMO too large and floppy to be a Hen), and the other bird has a lower posture and smaller, flat wattles, typical of a Hen, so I'd say you have them sexed correctly. But like fowl farm mentioned about the calls... the females are the only ones that make the 2-syllable buck-wheat call.

The white flight feathers means that particular bird has a little bit of the Pied gene in their background somewhere.

 

[carmentk]

Agree with Peeps. Looking at them together in the 2nd photo the one on the left is the male and the other the hen. When you are able to let them out you will be able to ID them by posture and the way they run and graze.

I wrote on another thread about disagreeing with the mistaken notion that guineas are "bad" mothers. They evolved to survive the dry plains and predators of South Africa. They are not as domesticated as chickens but can be tamed with good treatment and tasty treats. When you get keets from this pair, whether the mom sits or you incubate, you can hand-tame the keets the same way you do any pet bird by lots of gentle handling and hand feeding.

I choose not to tame my guineas that much because I do not want a flock of grown guineas flying at me to sit on my shoulders begging for treats!

 

[mychookschick]

Thanks everyone! I was looking at the sticky on Guinea Care 101, and found the link to the noises. They is definitely the right way around! I removed one from the cage and took it out of sight and the other (in the cage) was making the buck wheat sound. Then I took the one the made the buck wheat sound and the other one made the chi-chi-chi noise. But it was much deeper than described.