Missing guinea hens!

[Lloydstead]

Hello all! This is our first post here.
We have 13 guinea fowl- almost 4 months old.

They are trained and come back to the coop every night, no problems.
About 1.5 weeks ago we only had 12 return. Worried but thought ok- it is possible she may be nesting down. The others very reluctantly went in to coop crying and calling for her.
They did this two days and then seemed to move on.

Then… three days ago- none came home.
We waited until the morning thinking they found some tasty bugs and couldn’t be bothered coming home. We were very concerned.

Next day my husband went looking (we have 8 acres- cleared in middle and on two sides, marshy and woods on other two sides.

He found a couple who reluctantly came up to him and we lured them home with food. They were on the backside of our property butting up to our neighbors tall grasses.

5 came back with him. All males.

Since then the males haven’t wandered far and every so often will call up a storm for the females.

I’ve heard a female maybe three times in the marshy woods/ field area.

So here we are day 4, no hens only males.

Has anyone had this happen? Did they ever come back? I am so concerned
Thank you!

 

[sourland]

Sorry for the circumstances. At times Guinea fowl get wanderlust and travel too far from home. If possible, I would pen the males up so that they could potentially call the hens home and also to keep them from leaving. Good luck.

 

[southwind00]

Sorry for your loss and welcome to BYC, if not under the best circumstances. I've had Guineas for five years /no expert, but I kind of think at 4 months they are still young to be ranging very far. Something (s) probably spooked them real bad and they all few in different directions and are not old or familiar enough to get back together. Lone Guineas don't do well. How are you sure at 4 months they are all males? good luck.

 

[Sydney65]

I'm still convinced there was a demon in the field last summer who took a chunk out of my flock in a matter of minutes. I found 2 month old Mia first, put him in coop & he started the distress call. Then I found Mama, walked around carrying her while she called out, locating some of her 2 wk old keets, one by one she'd hustle them back to the coop & we'd go back out. Once she decided she'd collected enough, she didn't want to leave them, so I walked around playing guinea calls on ny tablet, and was able to lure about 4 more keets out. As for evidence, there was none. Not a single feather. Total loss was (2) 3 yr old males, (1) 2 month old and (6) 2 wk olds.
I've found that playing the calls, esp of my own flock, to be very helpful in corraling them and talking them out of trees.

 

[Sydney65]

Oh -had you seen evidence of egg laying yet? Bc 4 month olds seem awfully young to be laying. I know it's said they start their next season, but Numi is 7 months and showing no sign of egg laying yet, and she still stays close to house when she is out, which isn't every day nor all day. My older hen is laying.
I'd lay odds they just went off to- "play house" is what I call out. Hen builds a nest and sits on it, male guards, and then they come home when they get tired -unless they fet hurt,lost,or spooked.

 

[Lloydstead]

Sorry for the circumstances. At times Guinea fowl get wanderlust and travel too far from home. If possible, I would pen the males up so that they could potentially call the hens home and also to keep them from leaving. Good luck.

Thank you!

 

[Lloydstead]

Sorry for your loss and welcome to BYC, if not under the best circumstances. I've had Guineas for five years /no expert, but I kind of think at 4 months they are still young to be ranging very far. Something (s) probably spooked them real bad and they all few in different directions and are not old or familiar enough to get back together. Lone Guineas don't do well. How are you sure at 4 months they are all males? good luck.

I do fear that we won’t see any of the others again.
And I am basing male/female just on studying their calls- So I am assuming that the 5 who’ve returned are male bc of how they sound. Is that accurate? I am not sure how else to tell.

 

[Lloydstead]

Oh -had you seen evidence of egg laying yet? Bc 4 month olds seem awfully young to be laying. I know it's said they start their next season, but Numi is 7 months and showing no sign of egg laying yet, and she still stays close to house when she is out, which isn't every day nor all day. My older hen is laying.
I'd lay odds they just went off to- "play house" is what I call out. Hen builds a nest and sits on it, male guards, and then they come home when they get tired -unless they fet hurt,lost,or spooked.

Thank you for the info and reply. No signs of egg laying and I am still
Holding out a bit of hope that they are out playing house. lots of heavy rain here tonight so hoping that kicks them up and they wander home…. Slim hope but trying to be positive.

 

[Sydney65]

Thank you for the info and reply. No signs of egg laying and I am still
Holding out a bit of hope that they are out playing house. lots of heavy rain here tonight so hoping that kicks them up and they wander home…. Slim hope but trying to be positive.

 

[southwind00]

I do fear that we won’t see any of the others again.
And I am basing male/female just on studying their calls- So I am assuming that the 5 who’ve returned are male bc of how they sound. Is that accurate? I am not sure how else to tell.

At 4 months most hens are probably "buckwheating" but you may have some late bloomers which is fairly common. If you have not found any eggs,they are not playing house. Your best options is to go walking on the edge of your fields where there are trees and look from them high out of danger from the ground predators and second option is get some more birds( keets),it's still early in the year and integration would still be easy.