my guinea's are driving me bonkers!

[sunket77]

I only have 2, we started with 3, 2 male 1 female, thanks to a stray dog their first time out to free range the female is gone. Now all thats left is Thing 1 and Thing 2 ... all they want to do is sit on top of the chicken run and coop! Since they have gotten full size they have caused the top of the chicken run to sag and get pulled down and now we can't seem to keep them out of the silkie run! The silkie run is not covered so they get on the big run and jump in, and then proceed in TORTURING my poor silkies! they never really hurt them just do their "jousting" thing at them and scare them silly and then hover over their food and won't let them eat. I may need to try and find a new home for them or something, I thought maybe if I can somehow get them a female or two they would leave the chickens alone. I have read that guineas wonder pretty far but they never go more than 10 feet from the chicken coop, I got them for pest control and they wont forage far enough around the house to make a difference. Don't get me wrong I find the fascinating and fun to watch and love picking up their beautiful feathers they drop but I am at a loss on what to do about the damage they are causing!

 

[Cindiloohoo]

You need at least 10 to make them leave the chickens alone. They need their own flock.

 

[sunket77]

oh wow 10.... hmmm not sure if I should just re-home these then... they are pretty noisy as it is

but thanks! I haven't learned much about them so far, usually I do a ton of research on any animal I may have but just haven't had time with these unusual little creatures. would they have trouble adapting to maybe someones already existing flock?

 

[Chicken Vigilante]

Ask the next time you get Guineas if you can have the femalse only. 3 or 4 should be enough and integrate them with the others and teach them to return to the coop at night. This should take care of your problem. If you have to, once they know the drill, shoo them away from the coop IN THE MORNING so they get the idea to move on. I have found a "flock" of 5 or 6 usually is enough since mostly they break up into this many no matter how many you have.

 

[laturcotte1]

Sunket77 I thought I wrote your message. We have 2 males that won't leave the chickens. If they find themselves separated you'd think the world was coming to an end. They have never flown higher that my shoulders, don't do trees or fences. They won't leave the coop unless the chickens do and will run you over to make it in first so as to not be the last out. One minute they're calm the next they are running as if shot from a gun then calm again. They trample over the chickens and run into bushes. They went into the shed one day followed the rooster up on a shelf when he flew out the door they did two, both together slamming into the trailer parked outside the door. The boys have now taken to pulling the feathers of the youngest hen and noticably the rooster doesn't stop them. I;ve tried to give them away, no go. i thought I would separate them to another smaller coop next to the chickens and the yelled all day and kept running into the fence. What to do, what to do, hehehe.

 

[awesomefowl]

I'll take them from you!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

my guinea's are driving me bonkers!

That is the nature of guineas.

 

[awesomefowl]

I LOVE GUINEAs! I"LL TaKE YOURS!