New to Guineas :)

[DeAnzaJig]

I'm sorry to hear you lost a chick.

I think 14 guineas is a good number! 13 guineas in my yard does not seem like too much.

Mine go so crazy for their millet that I can't feed them by hand anymore...their pecks are very rough! So I just sprinkle it on the ground near my feet and let them go at it.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

You are right both about 14 being a good number, as well as their pecks being hard!

Today I had a bit of an adventure. I was planning to let a few guineas out today to explore a little. I had the pen open for a good while while I worked on some things in the run and the coop. It's too windy and a bit rainy out to paint unfortunately but I still had some other things on my to-do list I wanted to tackle. I also had both my dogs out, but I had my training collar on the one that killed the chick, with the remote around my neck. First all the chicks came out. The dog was laying in the grass about 6 feet from the opening to the run, and he was mindful to not even look at them...until one wandered off by itself. He got up, and if I didn't know any better I would think he was just curious, but you could see the tension in his muscles and his shoulders were low so as he approached and got within maybe 3 feet, I hit the button and he backed off. I went back to doing what I was doing, and after about 30 minutes a guinea finally wandered out, followed by another. I wanted three out so I kept waiting. A moment later all 14 were out. Well, dang.

I was standing there watching them all, thinking how small a flock of 14 looks when outside of walls or fencing, when it happened. Nope, it didn't have anything to do with the dog, who was tight by my side. The random screaming panic of a flock of guineas happened, and as always it was for no apparent reason. Generally they do this right before heading to bed each night, but here it was 12:30 in the afternoon. Birds started running all over the place and some of them took flight, one into a tree and six up onto the roof of the coop. Three ran into the coop and I closed the gate. The screaming continued and after about five minutes of running up and down the outside of the run, five more (including the one that had flown into the tree) approached the gate and I opened it up and let it in. Now I just had to deal with the 6 on the roof, which is about 11 feet up in the air. They were still screaming, and sliding around since its a metal roof, and I looked over to the field that borders my property and could see that some hawks were coming over to investigate the ruckus. My mind started spinning and I looked around to see if I had anything that I could use to stop a hawk at least 7 feet over my head if it decided to try to snatch one of the birds. I was at a loss, but luckily the hawk that was closest decided he didn't want anything do with the funny looking screaming velociraptors and headed back in the other direction.

Now what? I though. I went and got the bag of mealworms and showed them a handful, calling "pig pig pig!" like I always do when I greet or treat them. I walked into the run and left the gate open (the other guineas were making a fuss in the coop, and the chickens were huddled in a corner under the coop like they were in a war zone) and started tossing mealworms down and calling to the guineas. One by one I saw them fly down and come toward my voice. A few moments later I had them all in the pen and shut the gate quick. Phew! Hopefully they had enough adventure for the day and are content in the coop and run. I'm debating whether I want to let a few (only three REALLY) out again tomorrow. If nothing else, its good for working on the dog's behavior.

On a side note, some people think e-collars are cruel, and I'm sure at some point in my former life I would have agreed. Actually, I still do, when they are used by people who use them improperly. They go out, get a collar, slap in on the dog, and crank up the remote to yelp level. The dog does something they don't like and they start mashing the button. Wrong. Training comes first, collar comes second. ALWAYS teach right and wrong first, before you even think of using a remote correction device. I've spent the past two weeks with the dog out at the pen. He gets reward and praise for sitting or laying calmly, essentially ignoring the birds. He gets reprimanded for trying to approach the birds or becoming overly interested or predatory/obsessed. Now, the collar is on him so that I don't have to be right beside him but can give a brief yet immediate feedback and correction to his behavior. It's easy for him to behave when I am right by his side, but he needs to know that the expectation continues even if I am yards away or out of sight. I trust him fully with my goose, but these birds are flighty, animated, and small, which makes them a lot more tempting.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

Nice job with the mealworms!! I am so impressed how you positively lured them back to you with food and Pig (Lol).

I always get a kick out of the GF when they take flight.

It's funny you mention the dog training. My kids and I were discussing dogs. I know I will have to get a couple in the next year or so, and immediately thought which breed would work best with the guineas?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Nice job with the mealworms!! I am so impressed how you positively lured them back to you with food and Pig (Lol).

I always get a kick out of the GF when they take flight.

It's funny you mention the dog training. My kids and I were discussing dogs. I know I will have to get a couple in the next year or so, and immediately thought which breed would work best with the guineas?

I think it has more to do with the individual dog than an actual breed, although some dogs are bred to have more prey drive, and others are bred to have guardian or herding inclinations. One of my dogs, a purebred lab, doesn't give a hoot about the birds. I could lock him in the run with them and not have to worry. He will run down a fox or a deer, and run himself ragged playing fetch though, so he does like to run and chase but it seems more play or protective driven. The other dog, is a Chesapeake/Lab mix. He was our goose hunting dog, but he has a bad hip now and we haven't really been into hunting as much anyway so its been several years since he's hunted. He has always had a lot of prey drive though. I think that comes from the Chessie in him. They are also inclined to be very hard headed as well, which he is, but he's also very eager to please and generally listens well because of it. He hates being reprimanded.

The Great Pyranese comes to mind as a breed that is a "guardian" dog. I know there are others, and I think they are all uncommon breeds. Like I said, though, its about the individual dog, too. One thing that should help is getting the dog as a puppy, or even better one that has been raised around birds with a good record.

Oh, but you know what I noticed today? I had four guineas out and all five chicks, and the dog seemed obsessed with the chickens but the guineas could walk right up to him and he wouldn't bat an eye. I don't know if its because they are larger, make loud obnoxious noises, or what, but they don't seem to interest him half as much as the chickens do.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

That makes sense. I am not considering an unusual dog breed, and don't have the need for a livestock guardian. I think he would get bored following the guineas around!

Do your dogs try to roll in or eat the bird droppings? Is that something you can train them not to do?

Oh, but you know what I noticed today? I had four guineas out and all five chicks, and the dog seemed obsessed with the chickens but the guineas could walk right up to him and he wouldn't bat an eye. I don't know if its because they are larger, make loud obnoxious noises, or what, but they don't seem to interest him half as much as the chickens do.

Maybe the Guineas smell different!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

YesterdayI finally got a coat of paint on the coop roof, put the ridge cap on, and fixed the L flashing. Its supposed to start raining Wednesday and last through the weekend, and last time it rained I had some leaks so I wanted to get that all fixed up. The paint I used was crummy but it still looks better than the plain metal. I didn't finish up until it was getting dark so I'll try to take a picture in the today when I get home.

The guineas have been acting up the past two nights.I added a row of roosts on the north wall on Sunday and the past two nights they have not been going into the coop at night like usual. I don't think its scaring them (its right over the pop door, but then again so is the West side roost) because they are going in there to eat during the day. Last night the chickens didn't go in either. I built a sort of jungle gym for them in the run so they could have something to jump up on or roost on during the day and that is what they are trying to roost on at night. I am going to try lowering all of the roost poles; if that doesn't work then I'm tearing it down. Chasing around 19 birds at dusk isn't my idea of a good time.

However, I did have a lavender guinea finally reveal herself as female last night! I'm pretty happy about that .

 

[SunHwaKwon]

One of my dog loves the goose droppings. Not the formed ones, but the tar like black ones that she puts out on occasion. He waits until they dry and I'll find him laying beside it licking it like its an ice cream cone. He really likes nasty stuff, though. During deer season he'll bring home legs and rotting hide and try to give them to us before scarfing them down. Whenever they (the dogs) have gone into the run with me, the only thing they eat is stuff I've thrown down for the birds - vegetables and such. As far as training a dog not to eat the droppings, I'm not sure. Although when they are free ranging I wouldn't expect a considerable amount of poop to build up in any one area. The goose droppings break down into plant matter pretty quickly and with the guineas and chickens being even smaller I would think they would be gone faster.

 

[joshram]

Can anyone tell me if guineas are loud.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Can anyone tell me if guineas are loud.

Compared to chickens, yes. Compared to a screaming child, no.

 

[chilipeppers]

What do Guineas mostly make noise about? Strangers, animals they don't know or other things or all things??