Pinioning New Guinea peeps

[Dixie Wishbone]

Wonder if any one has had experience in raising guineas that were pinioned soon after hatching? I realize this is a permanent thing. But living in the middle of a large wooded area I have had very poor success in keeping guineas from year to year. Regardless of the number I start out with eventually the Great horned owls will clean me out, particularly in the winter months?! My thought in pinioning is that it causes them to become semi- domesticated and you can control their roosting habits and they will by default roost in a pen or building they were raised in? Any thoughts?? Thanks!! The Dixie Wishbone

 

[R2elk]

Wonder if any one has had experience in raising guineas that were pinioned soon after hatching? I realize this is a permanent thing. But living in the middle of a large wooded area I have had very poor success in keeping guineas from year to year. Regardless of the number I start out with eventually the Great horned owls will clean me out, particularly in the winter months?! My thought in pinioning is that it causes them to become semi- domesticated and you can control their roosting habits and they will by default roost in a pen or building they were raised in? Any thoughts?? Thanks!! The Dixie Wishbone

Ralph Winter of the Guinea Farm pinions all of the guineas that he keeps. His reasoning is to prevent them from flying out of the pens without having to have covered pens.

The last time that I had guineas, all of them were eventually harvested by Great-horned owls. To prevent that from happening this time, I chase the guineas inside the coop every evening. I have no doubts that if I were to let them roost outside in the pen that it would only be a matter of time before they started disappearing. My guineas are not pinioned nor do they have their wings clipped but they were raised in the coop and they have been trained to go in the coop when I show up for lockdown in the evening.

Good luck with whatever you try.

 

[PeepsCA]

Pinioning may keep the Guineas out of the trees and safer from owls, but it also seriously impedes their ability to escape ground predators (I am not a fan of pinioning) .Either way tho, pinioned or not you're best bet for sustaining a flock of GUineas is to train/condition them to cooping up each evening.

 

[Dixie Wishbone]

Thanks for your reply here and suggestions to train them to roost in a protected /enclosed area? I have found it a bit of a challenge to "train guinea fowl who have somehow maintained a semi -wild nature and their bent to roosting in trees. Maybe I need to take a course in quinea supervision? Appreciate your thoughts! Dixie Wishbone. . . . upstate S.Carolina

 

[jcatblum]

I have a duck who was pinioned before purchasing her. Very sad to watch the way she always tries to fly every day. Personally wouldn't ever do it to one of my birds. I don't think it would increase your survival rate.

 

[Dixie Wishbone]

Christina, it seems to me that pinioned ducks are much more vulnerable and would be at much more of a disadvantage in that they do not roost. I imagine given the chance to be in a body of water they would be a bit safer? It IS very frustrating and disheartening to wake up in the middle of the night and see the shadows of a great horned and the terror of an entire flock of guineas as they fly to the ground and stumble around in total darkness. Have seen this many times. . . dispatching the enemy obviously needs to be a private thing. Thanks for your thoughts!
- The Dixie Wishbone -