The number one thing in training guineas to go into their pens/coops at night is to make sure they are safe and comfortable. A secure, shady coop with perches high as possible and with a roomy, attached pen covered with some kind of wire is optimal. Be sure they are in that pen/coop for at least two weeks without being let out for the first time. Be sure their safe coop/pen has places where the lowest in the pecking order can hide reasonably safely. An area where they can dust bathe is also helpful. In other words, make it as inviting to them as you can.
Start as young as possible and keep water in it at all times and feed twice a day if possible. Every evening at about the same time when you feed or give treats, call to them in some way--I say "here chick, chick, chick" some use bells, others cans that rattle or other not too startling noise makers--just something to let them know it is time to eat. Start this well before you ever let them out. If they get this firmly in their minds, you can get them to come in any time you want during the day.
When you do let them out for the first time, some people let only a few out at a time , and for a short time, as the others will want to rejoin their flock mates. You can use "herding sticks" that are sort of "extensions of your arms" to guide them back in until they get used to the routine. This has to be done slowly and carefully to keep from frightening them and making them fly. Other people let them out all at once so they are not stressed by being separated. This is up to the individual and what works for them. If they are secure and comfortable in their quarters, they learn this routine quickly and you can depend on getting them in. Before long the herding sticks are not needed, as they will go in on their own. I leave my pens open all day and the go in and out often.
Once they are free-ranging during the day, you need to be watchful for a hen or hens that lay eggs in a nest (on the ground and usually hard to find). Once they begin brooding that nest, they'll usually be difficult to find and need extra work to get back in their home at night. The alternative is to build as secure an enclosure around them as possible to keep them safe from predators. This can be done, leaving a door open during the daytime for them to go in and out for food and water, or if you make it large enough, food and water can be put inside it for them. If you are diligent, you can keep the hen and eggs safe until they hatch and you can move them into a more secure setting.
It is also possible to retrain a flock of guineas that have been roosting in trees all their lives to go into a pen at night. You must get them all into secure quarters and keep them there for at least two weeks. If done correctly, they seem to realize this is a safe, comfortable place and will return in the evening mostly on their own.
The key to all this is comfort and consistency.
Start as young as possible and keep water in it at all times and feed twice a day if possible. Every evening at about the same time when you feed or give treats, call to them in some way--I say "here chick, chick, chick" some use bells, others cans that rattle or other not too startling noise makers--just something to let them know it is time to eat. Start this well before you ever let them out. If they get this firmly in their minds, you can get them to come in any time you want during the day.
When you do let them out for the first time, some people let only a few out at a time , and for a short time, as the others will want to rejoin their flock mates. You can use "herding sticks" that are sort of "extensions of your arms" to guide them back in until they get used to the routine. This has to be done slowly and carefully to keep from frightening them and making them fly. Other people let them out all at once so they are not stressed by being separated. This is up to the individual and what works for them. If they are secure and comfortable in their quarters, they learn this routine quickly and you can depend on getting them in. Before long the herding sticks are not needed, as they will go in on their own. I leave my pens open all day and the go in and out often.
Once they are free-ranging during the day, you need to be watchful for a hen or hens that lay eggs in a nest (on the ground and usually hard to find). Once they begin brooding that nest, they'll usually be difficult to find and need extra work to get back in their home at night. The alternative is to build as secure an enclosure around them as possible to keep them safe from predators. This can be done, leaving a door open during the daytime for them to go in and out for food and water, or if you make it large enough, food and water can be put inside it for them. If you are diligent, you can keep the hen and eggs safe until they hatch and you can move them into a more secure setting.
It is also possible to retrain a flock of guineas that have been roosting in trees all their lives to go into a pen at night. You must get them all into secure quarters and keep them there for at least two weeks. If done correctly, they seem to realize this is a safe, comfortable place and will return in the evening mostly on their own.
The key to all this is comfort and consistency.
