Not leaving there coop

[leoismydog]

Well, my keets are now about 3 weeks old and i have kept them in the coop without outside access. Sunday i powered up there auto door and i have yet seem one come out into there temporary run i put up to keep them corralled and from getting lost. They have been just hanging out in the coop all day as if they were locked up. I thought that they might have been a little short and couldn't see over the door jam area and were just going to find it when they stood tall enough, but today i drive by with the lawn tractor to move the chicken tractors and there all there at the door staring at me as i drive by. It was rather funny looking at 30 guineas watching me drive by. So i then realized that they were in deed tall enough to see out just not brave enough to do so. So when did you keets start to venture on there own when they have acces to the outside? There are no adult guineas and all the chickens are in tractors. we had 7 adults free range for about 3 years until the foxes found there very poorly hidden nests, and the hawks got the 2 males the following year, last summer. they were more concerned with each chasing each other any more to look out for themselves. Ohh here a pic of the day after they arrived.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I don't let them out till they have their feathers. Oh I realize these were baby pictures. Give em time. Three weeks seems a little young though. Are they flying yet?

 

[Dawn419]

We didn't let ours out until they were much bigger/older. I'll get back to you later today for a more exact age, but it was closer to months than weeks.

Everything we'd read said that they wouldn't come back to the coop to roost (we free range), but ours do and now they follow me around like a puppy would.

Just be patient and let them get comfortable on their own time and you can't go wrong!


Dawn

Edited to add that we treated them just like chicken chicks and kept them inside the coop until they were fully feathered.

I need my reading glasses more than I'm willing to admit!

 

[PeepsCA]

Just keep opening their door to their little run every day, they will eventually get brave and come out. (If you force them that's traumatizing to them and they may not want to go back in). Once one gets brave enough to venture out, the others will follow like a magnet, lol. It's a really good sign that they know their coop is the safe place to be, hopefully that means they will WANT to come back to roost there at night. Once they do start going out the coop door it's a good idea to be sure and herd them back into the coop from their run each evening, and close them in tight, every night, as close to the same time as possible... Guineas like routine.

I usually do not let mine out to start free ranging until they are 12 wks old and I have spent a few weeks herding them/calling them back inside the coop from the covered run each night for their favorite treats, to establish a routine of going in at night and also to help teach them to come running when called (It's kinda funny when you have guests over and you can call your flock and they all come running/flying to you from every corner of your ranch, lol).

 

[Dawn419]

Well, after going through my pics, I sit corrected (from my earlier post)...our keets made their first visit to their run at about 8 weeks old.



Here they are a month later:



Finally free ranging at a few days shy of 5 months old:



If I knew that they could be trained, like PeepsCA talked about, I probably would have let them range sooner but we didn't have internet at the time and I din't find much useful info at the library so I basically just winged it with them.


Dawn

 

[AlienChick]

Wow.

I like the idea of the guineas following me around. I'll pray that mine are THOSE type of guineas!

When mine are old enough to free range, I just hope mine will come back to the coop at night on their own.


[le sigh]

I wish these guys were as simple as chickens . . .

.

 

[cracking up]

I think they are as easy as chickens - maybe easier in some ways. Mine come back to the coop at night. If they don't show up it's because they are on the wrong side of someones fence. They're usually there the next morning waiting to be fed. I've had them roost in a neighbors tree out of desperation, but they'd rather be in the coop. They probably aren't going out because they're real slow to accept changes. Give them time just like Peeps said.