Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Its just conditioning... anyone tht has used clicker training knows it can be used on just about any animal that is food motiviated. Substitute food of preference and Noise of preference.... but the association is what they need to cause the reaction.

I use the words Chick Chick Chick..... And they all come running chickens and Guineas. Before i read any books on the subject. and used plain old scratch as you know Scratch is like Crak fo chickens.

White proseo millet can be bought at the feed store if you want to go that rout. But Scratch is easer to get your hands on.... Or sweet feed.... (horse feed kind of like granola with some molassis in it) or COB.... Corn oats barley.... Crimped and molassis added... YOu can buy COB wet or Dry.... The molasis has little to no sugar in it its added to keep the dust down and provide minerals. (by product of sugar processing)

I plan on feeding fermented feed so the grains for treats will be "exciting" to get their beaks on to.

deb

 

[R2elk]

Its just conditioning... anyone tht has used clicker training knows it can be used on just about any animal that is food motiviated. Substitute food of preference and Noise of preference.... but the association is what they need to cause the reaction.

I use the words Chick Chick Chick..... And they all come running chickens and Guineas. Before i read any books on the subject. and used plain old scratch as you know Scratch is like Crak fo chickens.

White proseo millet can be bought at the feed store if you want to go that rout. But Scratch is easier to get your hands on.... Or sweet feed.... (horse feed kind of like granola with some molassis in it) or COB.... Corn oats barley.... Crimped and molasses added... YOu can buy COB wet or Dry.... The molasses has little to no sugar in it, its added to keep the dust down and provide minerals. (by product of sugar processing)

I plan on feeding fermented feed so the grains for treats will be "exciting" to get their beaks on to.

deb

I don't call approximately 55% sugar as little to no sugar.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5573/2

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You are correct food grade molassis is very sweet.

but Molassis for animal feed has most of the sugar refined out. I have tasted it its bitter and only very slightly sweet. Unfortunately I cant find a lable....

deb

 

[MeepBeep]

I don't call approximately 55% sugar as little to no sugar.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5573/2

The low grade stuff used in animal feed is called blackstrap molasses, yes it's 55% sugar but when you use it as a coating in feed that sugar profile drops very low in the overall feed picture, and it has a vitamin and mineral nutritional profile far above that of refined sugar that has no profile... You can take just about any fruit for example, and remove the water content to create a syrup and it will have a high sugar content, doesn't mean the apple syrup with water removed is bad while the apple with water is good, they are identical nutritionally if you equalize the water content...

The 'sugar is bad' for you hype is in regards to refined sugars that have zero nutritional profile, natural sugars and left over byproducts like blackstrap can have many benefits while avoiding the negatives found in highly refined sugars...

Blackstrap molasses

The third boiling of the sugar syrup yields dark, viscous blackstrap molasses, known for its robust flavor. The majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallised and removed. The calorific content of blackstrap molasses is mostly due to the small remaining sugar content. Unlike highly refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of vitamin B6 and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese; one tablespoon provides up to 20% of the recommended daily value of each of those nutrients. Blackstrap is also a good source of potassium. Blackstrap molasses has long been sold as a dietary supplement.

Blackstrap molasses is significantly more bitter than "regular" molasses. It is sometimes used in baking. This residual product of sugar refining is used for producing ethanol and as an ingredient in cattle feed and as fertilizer.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
thank you.... for explaining this sooo much better than I could....

deb

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote: 1) Does it help bring guineas into the coop if there is a night light? I normally use an automatic popdoor that closes 15-30 mins after dark, generally. Is that likely to be a problem with guineas?

2) I'm only using cattle panel as the skeleton. It will be armored in 1/2" hardware cloth. I should have made that more clear.

 

[guineapeeps]

1)  Does it help bring guineas into the coop if there is a night light?  I normally use an automatic popdoor that closes 15-30 mins after dark, generally.  Is that likely to be a problem with guineas?

2)  I'm only using cattle panel as the skeleton.  It will be armored in 1/2" hardware cloth.  I should have made that more clear.

I have a small light for my Guinea coop that I usually turn on about an hour before dark. If it burns out or doesn't get turned on, they still head in about dusk, whether there is light or not. (I think they wait longer to head in towards evening if they see that the light is on.) Either way works, it's just your preference.

 

[guineapeeps]

Its just conditioning...  anyone tht has used clicker training knows it can be used on just about any animal that is food motiviated.   Substitute food of preference and Noise of preference....   but the association is what they need to cause the reaction.

I use the words Chick Chick Chick.....    And they all come running chickens and Guineas.   Before i read any books on the subject.   and used plain old scratch as you know Scratch is like Crak fo chickens.       White proseo millet can be bought at the feed store if you want to go that rout.   But Scratch is easer to get your hands on....   Or sweet feed....  (horse feed kind of like granola with some molassis in it)    or COB....  Corn oats barley....  Crimped and molassis added...  YOu can buy COB wet or Dry....    The molasis has little to no sugar in it its added to keep the dust down and provide minerals.   (by product of sugar processing)

I plan on feeding fermented feed so the grains for treats will be "exciting" to get their beaks on to.

deb

My Guineas come running to the "chick, chick, chick!" call too. I do not and have never had chickens or any other poultry/gamebirds. (Perhaps they think they are chickens from all this positive reinforcement). I've not experienced the non-criminal-like activity of other birds firsthand, so to me the Guineas are not too insane. Maybe that's why I don't think the Guineas are huge gangsters like duluthralphie......(however, I will admit to slightly deranged!) If I had chickens or turkeys, I may think otherwise!

 

[Kim Z]

Mine are trained to come to a call as well. Millet is their favorite bait followed closely by freeze dried meal worms. Even if I don't call them in at night they will put themselves into the high roosts inside the run if not in the coop itself. During the winter I usually have to scoot them into the coop at nightfall so they don't freeze in the run overnight.

Training was easy. Before any sort of treat was offered I made the call and they would all come running in short order.

 

[pattyhen]

Mine come to Keeterssss. So far I have not found a treat they like. The chickens, ducks all get in a big huddle to eat treats and the guineas will come up and try it and spit it out. They only eat their gamebird and boiled eggs. Do I have strange guineas?