Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[BantyChooks]

How old are your Guineas? My first Guineas were scared to death to go out of the coop for months when they were young and first introduced to free ranging, but with increased exposure and time, they came around. Now, I usually let my hens hatch their own so the young keets free range from just a few days old and I don't have any problems with it. It sounds like yours may be adults, though. In that case, you may have to force them to go outside each day and gradually increase the time they are out each day till they are not so freaky about it. Hopefully others on here have more to add as far as advice goes!

They are 6 months, I believe. Thanks, I will keep kicking them out every morning.

 

[duluthralphie]

They are 6 months, I believe. Thanks, I will keep kicking them out every morning.

I think you need to feed them outside and not have any feed in the run.

The other thing you can do is leave a few cheap guns, knives and assorted illegal drugs outside the run, They will sneak out to get that stuff in minutes..

 

[BantyChooks]

I think you need to feed them outside and not have any feed in the run.

The other thing you can do is leave a few cheap guns, knives and assorted illegal drugs outside the run, They will sneak out to get that stuff in minutes..

I like idea 1 best... Thanks.

 

[Vermont Poultry]

I have a flock of 12 - 8 of them are French Jumbos and 4 are "regular" Pearls. The 8 I raised as keets, the 4 I got when they were a couple of months old. I love my Jumbos, I like my regulars. The Jumbos are just calmer, they are quieter and they don't fly - they just hop and glide. However, because I have so many, nobody gets one-on-one time and they are all a bit more on the wild side than tame. They have a 2-4 feet rule about getting close and when I need to catch them, I have to net them first. They usually struggle then calm down, but sometimes they hiss and peck too. If you want really tame ones, then the fewer the better and lots and lots of handling will get you there.

I will likely be getting just a few or none, but who knows. Thanks for the info!

 

[Vermont Poultry]

@ Vermont Poultry (Hmm I guess that thingy is not working)..\


Do not be jealous of people saying they have super friendly guineas. These people are the same ones that have Sasquatch for a next door neighbor and have been taken hostage and had "experiments" conducted on them by little green men in flying saucers....

Guineas are gangsters. They do not care who raised them, who their friends were or who they double cross.

They have a homicide rate slightly higher than the inner city of Chicago. The rooster most likely has no choice but to mate with the guinea hens or he will be murdered himself. In some states that is called rape.

Do not get me wrong, I love my guineas, but then I bet Charles Manson's Mother loved him too. I have learned to not expect too much from the guineas and I find I will not be disappointed in them.

If your Guineas come within three feet of you, you are one lucky person. However, check them for knifes and guns if they are behind you.


I had one of my guineas let me walk right under her on her roost the other night. She crapped on me. It stunk. My cap and jacket had to be washed and I needed a shower. It was not even Saturday night and I had to shower! Imagine how upset I was!

Last April I had 13 adult Guineas that I tested for NPIP. I am down to 3 of those adult. I have 30 young locked up in the Guinea Gulag. When I get 500 eggs they will be allowed to free range. Between court mandated prison time and gangland style murders, and highway robberies that go wrong, I assume next year at this time I will be down to 3 again.

Enjoy them while you can. I do.

Thanks for the laugh. My cockerel isn't necessarily being held hostage, he is quite dominant and will give them a good peck to the head if they try anything he doesn't like, attempting to murder his hens doesn't seem to bother him. Bad cockerel

 

[pattyhen]

@ Vermont Poultry (Hmm I guess that thingy is not working)..\


Do not be jealous of people saying they have super friendly guineas. These people are the same ones that have Sasquatch for a next door neighbor and have been taken hostage and had "experiments" conducted on them by little green men in flying saucers....

Guineas are gangsters. They do not care who raised them, who their friends were or who they double cross.

They have a homicide rate slightly higher than the inner city of Chicago. The rooster most likely has no choice but to mate with the guinea hens or he will be murdered himself. In some states that is called rape.

Do not get me wrong, I love my guineas, but then I bet Charles Manson's Mother loved him too. I have learned to not expect too much from the guineas and I find I will not be disappointed in them.

If your Guineas come within three feet of you, you are one lucky person. However, check them for knifes and guns if they are behind you.


I had one of my guineas let me walk right under her on her roost the other night. She crapped on me. It stunk. My cap and jacket had to be washed and I needed a shower. It was not even Saturday night and I had to shower! Imagine how upset I was!

Last April I had 13 adult Guineas that I tested for NPIP. I am down to 3 of those adult. I have 30 young locked up in the Guinea Gulag. When I get 500 eggs they will be allowed to free range. Between court mandated prison time and gangland style murders, and highway robberies that go wrong, I assume next year at this time I will be down to 3 again.

Enjoy them while you can. I do.

Duluthralphie there you go giving guineas a bad rap again. You can not put all guineas into one catagory. There is such a thing as a tame guinea you just have not experienced it. No I do not have a Sasquatch in my back yard and I have not been abducted by aliens. My guineas don't sing in the church choir but they sure do have sweet voices even tho they do sound like a machine gun at times. I guess you've never had a guinea sit on your lap and enjoy a good back scratch or neck rub. You've never had them beg to come in so they can socialize. You don't know what you are missing. Your just jealous that your guineas are all wild and you've never made an effort to socialize with them.

 

[BantyChooks]

Duluthralphie there you go giving guineas a bad rap again. You can not put all guineas into one catagory. There is such a thing as a tame guinea you just have not experienced it. No I do not have a Sasquatch in my back yard and I have not been abducted by aliens. My guineas don't sing in the church choir but they sure do have sweet voices even tho they do sound like a machine gun at times. I guess you've never had a guinea sit on your lap and enjoy a good back scratch or neck rub. You've never had them beg to come in so they can socialize. You don't know what you are missing. Your just jealous that your guineas are all wild and you've never made an effort to socialize with them.

Witchcraft. (Just messin' with ya) How'd you get them tame??

 

[pattyhen]

Witchcraft.

(Just messin' with ya)

How'd you get them tame??

We only have the two guineas and we brooded them in the house in a cage. Everyday I would get them out of the cage and I would hold one and my husband would hold the other one. They were like 2 days old when we bought them from Rural King. They would go out during the day I had a small pen sit up for them at 4 weeks old then they would go back in their cage at night. At about 7 weeks old they went to the chicken coop. I really think they bonded with us and we bonded with them. They love people and will follow you around the yard and they beg to come inside everyday.

 

[R2elk]

We only have the two guineas and we brooded them in the house in a cage. Everyday I would get them out of the cage and I would hold one and my husband would hold the other one. They were like 2 days old when we bought them from Rural King. They would go out during the day I had a small pen sit up for them at 4 weeks old then they would go back in their cage at night. At about 7 weeks old they went to the chicken coop. I really think they bonded with us and we bonded with them. They love people and will follow you around the yard and they beg to come inside everyday.

It is not uncommon for imprinted guineas to start attacking people once breeding season arrives. Most people with similar stories to yours have very different stories once they get through a breeding season.

 

[pattyhen]

That is ok with me i will enjoy them while i can