Mixing flocks

[FunnyFarmH3]

Hi guys! Just want some expert input on my first flock of guineas..

We moved to a place on 30 acres a few months back. There are 2 adult guineas living on the property since before we got here, and a neighbor down the road has a flock that ranges over here every couple weeks for a day or 2. I moved a flock of 20 chickens and some ducks here with me, and they have free ranged for 3 months with no problems from the guineas. Until now... I picked up 6 guinea keets that are now about 8 weeks old. I have them mixed in an indoor/outdoor enclosure with 12 pullets of the same age.. their enclosure is connected to my adult chicken coop and run, but separated with wire until they are ready to mingle. The last couple weeks, the 2 adult guineas are spending all day at my chicken coop. They do mingle with the adult chickens and ducks now when they free range, and they seem okay together, though they do dominate the pecking order, and they alternate between chasing the ducks into the woods and bedding down with them. Mostly though, the 2 adult guineas just lay next to the enclosure where the young guineas are... i intend to release these guineas to exclusively free range.... its hard enough to round up ducks every night, im not arguing with guineas to go to bed. And i was going to release a couple of my guineas at a time, but now i am nervous about all the attention they are getting from these 2 adults. Should i let them all out at once? Since they are spending all day beak to beak already? Any and all advice welcome thanks!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Guineas really aren't that hard to coop train if you are firm and establish a routine. It might be better to allow the adults into the coop/pen with the juveniles so they don't take to teaching the younger birds bad habits. You can obviously expect losses to predators when free-ranging. I personally teach all my guineas to go to bed. They are allowed out in the afternoons to run amok and return home each night to roost in the safety of a pen and behind closed doors.

That being said, usually guineas take pretty strongly to younger birds. I just moved my adults into a new pen with some youngsters penned in a tractor inside the larger area. They spend a lot of time chatting with the kids and even slept on the ground for a couple of days until they "discovered" the house ten feet away. They now sleep in there. I expect when I turn the youngsters out the adults will teach them the ropes pretty quickly.