My guineas are chicken

[fledgling]

How do I get them to leave the coop and explore the lovely yard? I've opened the door every day for a week now but they act as if it is a portal to he**. I am afraid I would offend them if I tried shooing them out and they would never return. Are all guineas this silly or did I just get the special batch?

 

[SimplyForties]

I shooed mine out after a few days of waiting. I'd shoo them out an hour or so before I wanted them to go back in and then shoo them back in at the appointed time. My thinking was that doing it that close together would reinforce the lesson of going out and coming back in. I had to do that for a few days before they got the hang of going out and then a few more days of shooing back in until they got the hang of that. I still have to shoo in occasionally but they all come flying out the minute I open the door in the morning now!

 

[Soccer Mom]

I stood outside the door and tossed grain down for them. Mine came boiling out of the coop like it was on fire. I agree with forties. If you feed them every evening at dusk, they will return to the coop at night.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

My 5 guineas are thugs! They are not some of God's wisest creatures! I put mine out for the first time yesterday, and after they spent 45 min. sounding off at an old tree top at the edge of the woods, they fed their way back to the rear of the pen and paced there until dark, then they just squatted there for the night! I heard a ruckas this morning and got up to see all 5 of them harassing my little 19 year old beagle "Gracie" and when she lunged at them, they all flew back into the pen and immediately started thuggin the chickens again... "Sigh" If you guys figure somethin out let me know too...

The axe and choppin block may be in the near future!

 

[fledgling]

Thanks for the tip! I tried placing grass on the ramp just outside the coop but that didn't seem to work. They do like grass. Or maybe just the color green. Guineas are so weird.

Is there an especially scrumptious treat that Guineas like? If I could get them addicted to something tasty, I might be able to shoo them out and in, as suggested.

 

[poultrypatch]

My Guinea keets love scratch. Also at night I give them a warm mash made of their grain, water, buttermilk, what have you. I go into the coop and put it into 2 big metal dishes. I don't have any trouble getting the kids out or in. They're with chicks that are about a wk older then they are.
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Guineas love bugs of any sort. I'd get some mealworms from sillybirds and just raise some for yourself.

 

[fledgling]

Well, since I'm in Florida, we have no shortage of bugs. Lift any stump or board and watch the critters scurry. I hate cockroaches so, of course, this was the best place in the world for me to live.

And they call them "water bugs" like that's supposed to make me feel better. When I first moved here, (I'm originally from out west) I had to condition myself to the roaches by walking around the farm and lifting up feed buckets, stumps, and boards until I lost the urge to shriek and run. The therapy is working fairly well, though I still do a cute little dance when I see one unexpectedly.

I digress.

Bugs, scratch and mash...check! Thank you!

 

[MuranoFarms]

I don't think I can handle feeding bugs! ewwww...I'll just let them find their own.

I give a handful of scratch every evening at dusk. They love it. Its cute, they get all happy when they see me coming. They know their treat is on its way!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Ah yes, I remember living in Florida!! Are you talking about the little gold colored roaches that like to come flying at you, or the ones that are bigger than your big toe?

Do the guineas even eat those? I believe they called those 'palmetto bugs'. How about the spiders? EWWWW!! I freaked out the first (couple hundred

) time I saw one of those!! There is just something wrong about a spider crawling on your ceiling that is as big as your hand!!