Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[charid]

Um question...my babies, that I buy, had gone a winter and then laid their first eggs next spring. Is it highly unusual to get eggs in the fall from 4-5 month old birds? For some odd reason I think this one random hen will be laying come Sept. Probably cause I do not have room for 1 more bird and she is incredibly vocal and aggressive in regards to her henly dominance in the pecking order.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Um question...my babies, that I buy, had gone a winter and then laid their first eggs next spring. Is it highly unusual to get eggs in the fall from 4-5 month old birds? For some odd reason I think this one random hen will be laying come Sept. Probably cause I do not have room for 1 more bird and she is incredibly vocal and aggressive in regards to her henly dominance in the pecking order.

The guineas are seasonal layers, as far as I know, so it's not likely.

 

[duluthralphie]

Um question...my babies, that I buy, had gone a winter and then laid their first eggs next spring. Is it highly unusual to get eggs in the fall from 4-5 month old birds? For some odd reason I think this one random hen will be laying come Sept. Probably cause I do not have room for 1 more bird and she is incredibly vocal and aggressive in regards to her henly dominance in the pecking order.

I doubt she would lay in this fall. BUT the chances of her laying increase with your desire to not have her lay. Guineas are natural contraries, the more you want something the more they will do the opposite. I think this is why mine lie in wait to rob the brinks trucks. I just wanted them to live a crime free life so badly, they knew being highway robbers would be the best way to disappoint me.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Yep depending on the lenght of the season in your area.... Here they start laying in February but in many states they dont start laying till June or July.

deb

 

[duluthralphie]

I lost one today, tried to do the rare Sunday Morning Brinks truck robbery and didn't see the Semi truck coming from the other direction.....



No one can claim they are the smartest bird in the coop. I am down to 6 free ranging adults now.

 

[charid]

I lost one today, tried to do the rare Sunday Morning Brinks truck robbery and didn't see the Semi truck coming from the other direction.....



No one can claim they are the smartest bird in the coop.  I am down to 6 free ranging adults now.

Guineas live hard and die fast. Sorry you lost one, hope your little replacements do better.

Every time I lose a bird I try to not make much of it, just send them on with a message of gratitude or say something like one life dies, so another can live blah blah but collectively the sh*t is starting to get old. One day I will get sick and tired of losing them and give mine away. You could have them. Mine are cuter than most though so...you might just get your heart broke when the hang man comes to take them away.

 

[duluthralphie]

Guineas live hard and die fast. Sorry you lost one, hope your little replacements do better.

Every time I lose a bird I try to not make much of it, just send them on with a message of gratitude or say something like one life dies, so another can live blah blah but collectively the sh*t is starting to get old. One day I will get sick and tired of losing them and give mine away. You could have them. Mine are cuter than most though so...you might just get your heart broke when the hang man comes to take them away.

When mine die, I mention it as an event and not for sympathy or condolences or anything else. I live near a busy county road where people drive about 90, and the deputies never patrol, so the guineas have little chance. I try to get them to go to the back where I have acres of grasshoppers and bugs, but the grasshoppers in the ditches and on the road must taste better or something...

Stupid birds! I never become attached to a Guinea, it is like loving a pillow, you might like it but it can never love you back.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

...never become attached to a Guinea, it is like loving a pillow, you might like it but it can never love you back.

Isn't that the truth. I think my husband is disappointed that I am keeping some of the keets that I hatched, since they annoy the heck out of him (at least when they are young and loud). The truth is, if I don't build the flock back up I won't have any for tick patrol next spring. Last fall I had 13 and over the winter I lost 8, then another hen on her nest a couple months ago. The odds are against the four adults I have now, especially since the crops that surround us are getting tall which means the foxes can sneak up on them again.

Oddly, I also live on a country road that people think is for NASCAR qualifying, and I have only lost one to a vehicle, which it flew into the side of.

 

[Nickeyo]

What are Guinea survival rates like free range, I have 38 guineas, how many do you think will survive till next year???

 

[SunHwaKwon]

What are Guinea survival rates like free range, I have 38 guineas, how many do you think will survive till next year???

That's pretty hard to predict. My neighbor lost 1/6 over the past year while I lost 9/13 even though I coop mine and he doesn't.