Question on when and how to clip Guinea Fowl flight feathers

I didn't realize how much room they needed. How son do you think they'll need it?
That would depend on how old they are now. Ages in the guidelines vary a little, but usually go something like this:

starting at hatch, 1/2 square foot per chick
at 2 weeks, increase to 1 square foot per chick
at 4 weeks, increase to 2 square feet per chick
at 8 weeks, increase to 4 square feet per chick or adult chicken

That does not mean you need to exactly double their space on that exact day, but it does give a fairly good idea of how much space is appropriate at what age.

The basic idea is that they grow VERY FAST and they also become very active, so they need adult amounts of space within about 2 months of when they hatch.

Yes, they can sometimes be crowded a little bit more than that, but more space usually means less problems. This applies to behavioral problems, health problems, and cleaning/smell problems.

"Too much" space does not ever seem to be a problem. (Possible exception: for about the first 3 days, they might wander away from the heat and get lost & chilled, so spaces bigger than about 6 feet across might need special management during those first days. But after that they tend to do fine even with enormous amounts of space.)

I think a lot of people see tiny little chicks and underestimate the amount of space they will need as they grow up. Also, a small space can be fine for a short time (like a box as you bring them home), but it not fine for longer stretches of time (several days or more.)

How much square footage would each Guinea need once they mature?
The guidelines I find say 3 to 4 square feet each, so about the same as a chicken. Since you have mostly chickens and only a few guineas, I would plan on 4 square feet each, which keeps the math simple.
I will have to think more about clipping there wings. I guess I might experiment with doing it and not, we'll see.
If these are your first guineas, and you only have 3 of them, I would probably leave them unclipped. That way you can learn what is normal for unclipped guineas. If you get more guineas later, you could experiment with clipping some, and then you would be able to see if it changes anything. Or you could clip one of the current 3, and keep re-clipping it as it grows, and see whether that one behaves differently as an adult. (Although with only 3 total, the personalities of the individual guineas might make more difference than the wing clipping, so you may not be able to tell for sure.)
 
The guidelines I find say 3 to 4 square feet each, so about the same as a chicken. Since you have mostly chickens and only a few guineas, I would plan on 4 square feet each, which keeps the math simple.
Adult guineas need an absolute minimum of no less than 4 sq. ft. of clear floor space in the coop. More room is much better. Guineas do not do well cramped into the same size spaces as chickens.

This is only for the coop space. They need lots of run area in addition to coop space.
 
There was a recent discussion on this forum about using electric poultry netting:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25540696

I don’t know how it will go keeping them in the netted pen with clipped wings. I use poultry netting for a rooster bachelor pen and I have one large roo who is pretty good at getting over the 4’ fence with one clipped wing. I really had to cut a lot of feathers to keep him contained.
 
Thank you all for the info. This is very valuable. Do you think a Guinea with clipped wings could get over an electric fence?
 
Thank you all for the info. This is very valuable. Do you think a Guinea with clipped wings could get over an electric fence?
Depends on the height of the fence. Short fences they can go over without any problem. Taller fences such as 6' they can kind of climb with their feet as they are beating their wings.
 
Depends on the height of the fence. Short fences they can go over without any problem. Taller fences such as 6' they can kind of climb with their feet as they are beating their wings.
If we had a 6' fence and clipped there wings what are the chances they would escape? Thx,
 
If we had a 6' fence and clipped there wings what are the chances they would escape? Thx,
The chances they would escape are relative to what is making them want to escape. If it is a predator. the predator will likely be dining on guinea. If it is because of bullying, they will probably figure out a way to get out.

Otherwise they will probably stay in whether or not their wings are clipped.
 
My family has decided to experiment with Guinea Fowl Tractors in the future due to their flying/jumping ability. Also, day before last we got 3 more Guinea keets. They are and will seperated for 2 months along with 10 other chicks to make sure they don't give B!rd F!u to are other birds. We plan to upgrade to 10 keets over time. Thank you all for your valuable info.
 
My family has decided to experiment with Guinea Fowl Tractors in the future due to their flying/jumping ability. Also, day before last we got 3 more Guinea keets. They are and will separated for 2 months along with 10 other chicks to make sure they don't give B!rd F!u to our other birds. We plan to upgrade to 10 keets over time. Thank you all for your valuable info.
I recommend that you do a search limited to this forum for guinea tractors. There are previous threads on the subject. As I recall the attempts did not go well.
 
I recommend that you do a search limited to this forum for guinea tractors. There are previous threads on the subject. As I recall the attempts did not go well.
We will do more researching. By what we found they can break their necks when flying up and hitting the roof. We plan to either make it short enough so that it's safe or high enough.
We have neighbors either side of us and a forest with presumably Cyowolfs so we need them contained somehow. The Guinea Fowl keets we have are becoming tame and will eat out of my hand which is awesome. Thank you for helping me through this.
 

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