Requesting Professional Guinea Help

[JB8907]

I have 10 guinea Keats about a month and a half old who want to move out of their outside brooder in with my chickens. Will they stay in their coop at night or will they end up in the trees? I'm having a predator issue and that's why I bought them. Should I wait on moving them out? I also have some 2 week old poults that need to go into the outside brooder. Can I put them in there with the keets if I leave them in it or will they be aggressive towards them?

 

[R2elk]

I have 10 guinea Keats about a month and a half old who want to move out of their outside brooder in with my chickens. Will they stay in their coop at night or will they end up in the trees? I'm having a predator issue and that's why I bought them. Should I wait on moving them out? I also have some 2 week old poults that need to go into the outside brooder. Can I put them in there with the keets if I leave them in it or will they be aggressive towards them?

Personally I do not house guineas with chickens and do not recommend housing them with chickens.

If you want them to go in the coop at night, you have to train them to do so. Some people train them using treats and a call to get them to come.

I only feed and water my guineas in their coop. Before it gets dark, I herd my guineas into their coop and close them in for the night.

 

[JB8907]

Personally I do not house guineas with chickens and do not recommend housing them with chickens.

If you want them to go in the coop at night, you have to train them to do so. Some people train them using treats and a call to get them to come.

I only feed and water my guineas in their coop. Before it gets dark, I herd my guineas into their coop and close them in for the night.

Is there a reason you don't put them with the chickens?

 

[R2elk]

Is there a reason you don't put them with the chickens?

Guineas can seem to get along with chickens really well right up until the first breeding season. Their chases and attacks from behind along with the feather breaking or pulling are foreign to chickens and can cause great stress. Guineas also need much more "personal space" than do chickens. If there is lots of room such as a big barn rather than a small coop they can get along as long as the guineas are not imprinted by the chickens. Imprinting removes their ability to understand that chickens are not guineas.

My guineas are raised and housed separately. I can let my guineas and chickens free range at the same time in the same area without either bothering the others.

 

[JB8907]

At what age will they imprint? Maybe mine are old enough to understand they aren't chickens.

 

[R2elk]

At what age will they imprint? Maybe mine are old enough to understand they aren't chickens.

They might be old enough to be past the imprinting stage. If you don't have lots of room, it can still turn out badly. A favorite guinea habit is for a dominant guinea to stand guard at the door/entrance and prevent any other birds from entering.

 

[JB8907]

Am I going to have a problem getting the keets to go in there at night with the chickens at this point?

 

[JB8907]

They might be old enough to be past the imprinting stage. If you don't have lots of room, it can still turn out badly. A favorite guinea habit is for a dominant guinea to stand guard at the door/entrance and prevent any other birds from entering.

I’m not too worried about the guineas keeping them up bar out of the coop right now because of the size difference and by the time they are big enough to try and stop them they should be in separate Coop’s because the hand are getting moved to a larger cool just as soon as I can build it.

 

[R2elk]

Am I going to have a problem getting the keets to go in there at night with the chickens at this point?

That will depend on you and how you go about training them to go in the coop. The first step is to get them acclimated to the coop. You can't just stick them in the coop and turn them loose and expect them to return.

Move them to the coop. Keep them shut in for a few days or a week. Let them out for short supervised times after which you return them to the coop. Gradually increase the length of their outings. Use your preferred method of returning them to the coop (treats or herding). Be consistent and never let them win.