Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[MeepBeep]

If a 25lb raccoon is jumping up and down on the wire roof is it going to remain 2.5 feet from the perch? IMO you are borderline safe from reach even at say a 3 foot distance... If the Guinea is spooked by the coon (likely) and stands up on the perch to their typical alerting stance with an average height of nearly 2 feet he/she will be within about 6 inches of the fence if it's not sagging a bit from the 25lb coon, plenty easy for most coons to grab a hold of the head...

 

[perchie.girl]

Newbie question time! I want to add a roost out in my run for my Guinea. The top of the run is 8 ft high welded wire fence. If I drop the roost down 2.5 ft will it be safe for them as they grow? In case they want to stay out all night in the run. I know they like being up high but I want to keep them from any raccoons that may try to reach through.

make sure yhou hve at least a tarp over the top.... I lost about ten Tweenagers to raccons.... pulled their heads off....

deb

 

[cabinchicky]

K go 3 ft and add a layer of hardware cloth over top fence for added security. Thank you!

 

[Tikkijane]

Newbie question time! I want to add a roost out in my run for my Guinea. The top of the run is 8 ft high welded wire fence. If I drop the roost down 2.5 ft will it be safe for them as they grow? In case they want to stay out all night in the run. I know they like being up high but I want to keep them from any raccoons that may try to reach through.

Racoons can climb, too. Mine always like the rafters.

 

[pattyhen]

Yes I am a newbie when it comes to raising guineas. My keets are 4 weeks old and one of them is a lot bigger then the other one. Would the male keet be bigger then the female? Their starting to get their combs now you can't see them but you can feel a little knot on their heads.

 

[perchie.girl]

Yes I am a newbie when it comes to raising guineas. My keets are 4 weeks old and one of them is a lot bigger then the other one. Would the male keet be bigger then the female? Their starting to get their combs now you can't see them but you can feel a little knot on their heads.

not really unless you hatched them yourself you probably have one thats a few days older. Gotto love them bacon heads.... They will stay that way till they are almost fledged out.

The bump is called a Casque.... and i suspect its made of the same stuff the Beak is.

The only way to tell the gender is to listen to them talk.... you may be all ready hearing differences in their peeps.... but as they mature the females will have a two syllable call that sounds Like Buck Wheat.... Males just have the general stuff peeps and buzzes and alarm sounds which the femals have as well. But only the female will have this additional two syllable Buck Wheat.

When I was raising up 40 my last go round at about two to three weeks I was hearing the general peeping discussion of the flock... But I also heard little peep voices with a two syllable ... Peep Peep. Never could identify the little buggars but I knew I had females int there.

They are not chickens dont behave like chickens dont have that long history of Domestication that chickens do. So dont worry if you have one or two or three males.... Actually my first flock was all males. about five I had adopted from a woman who was being evicted by a big developer. Males are the quieter ones .... LOL. But guineas pair off the only squabbling they do is in spring time when the chase is on the males will display for the females till they choose their mate.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

K go 3 ft and add a layer of hardware cloth over top fence for added security. Thank you!

yep any where your poultry will come to rest or roost within a foot and a half from the fence should be fortified with hardware cloth. As long as your wire is welded wire or beefier for the main construction the raccoons cant get in.... But if you are using chicken wire scrap it. Or cover it with welded wire ASAP

Chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in.... Heck I lost all my keets through Chainlink.

An alternative to hardware cloth is ply wood. May be cheaper too. Just drill a few holes along the edges and you can wire it straight to the welded wire of the run... Over head that is.

deb

 

[Rock Sister]

I am a newbie and posted this sex suggestion for guinea that has always worked for me since I was little.

Female guinea nostral slants will be narrow as if almost closed and males will be open more. Never mis-sexed this way. Feed store called to have me sex until I gave them secret. Now they are able to sell pairs!

Also, I do leave mine up for 10 weeks and all of my guinea prefer Chan my roo for protection rather than staying with chickens. I currently have 2 lavendars and unlike the other guineas we have had, they come back every night. I only hear noise from them when someone or something on property or if they have light projected on them at night. French Guineas on the other hand, imo, I never could get them to acclimate to a night time safe place and even after penning them for 10 weeks, they hop fence, sit by rd and wait for logger trucks then just walk out in front! Splat. We went through 3 pairs before I switched to Lavendars. Also, we always hold our guineas up in cage until she lays an egg. Otherwise, they will travel from a farm to lay so nobody can tell where eggs are. Approximately 28 days later, it is possible to see an army from 30-100 guineas approaching the feeder as they make their way back home! Lol

 

[Rock Sister]

Also, if left to a tree for shelter at night and you get up one morning and find your guinea dead with head either lined up with neck broke clean off or head nearby, you have witnessed an owl killing. For Owls it is about territory not food and the ones them seem to really take out on our farm are the roof roosters. We have seen an owl pick our guinea up, snap its neck in half and drop it to the ground. Horrible!

 

[R2elk]

Also, if left to a tree for shelter at night and you get up one morning and find your guinea dead with head either lined up with neck broke clean off or head nearby, you have witnessed an owl killing. For Owls it is about territory not food and the ones them seem to really take out on our farm are the roof roosters. We have seen an owl pick our guinea up, snap its neck in half and drop it to the ground. Horrible!

Around here the owls have learned that guineas are delicious and they do kill them for food here.