Should i clip their wings or keep them pined up all summer?

[9farmgirl9]

I have 21 guineas 12 males 9 females. A oppsum keeps eating my eggs out of all but one nest and that one nest is being sat on. If i clip their wings thhey will have the front yard, which is good size for all of them, plus some parts of the yard are over a foot tall, they would have acess to the hen house. the fence is probly 5ft high. Then if i keep them pinned they will have no grass no durt to dust bath, 2 pins are on the ground out of 3, and they will be cramed up. I had them free rangng but now i need there eggs. What would be better for them pinned up, or cliped?

 

[PeepsCA]

I understand your need for eggs, just keep in mind if you do clip their wings they will not be able to escape from predators, so be sure they are confined to a completely sturdy and predator safe pen (covered), or you run the risk of losing your entire flock in a short time if a predator gets in with them. Predators tend to return for a free meal as often as they can.

You could just keep the birds confined til mid afternoon when you can gather all of their eggs, then let them out for a few hours each day... that works for me.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I would not clip them but I would do something with the opossums! Live trap, pelet gun, 22, top on the pen or something. It should be easy to get because it will come back every evening.

 

[9farmgirl9]

Quote:
So far the only preditor we have in the front yard is a snake and when i have keets n chicks in the front yard somtimes a raccoon, the yard is fenced in(it where my chicken an guineas lived last summer but then they were keets) and they wood fly over the fence and my dog would get them as they were pacing the fence, but if i clip there wings they couldnt do that.

And if i let them go how would i caught them and put them back in?

 

[9farmgirl9]

Quote:
They dont come in the evening the come in the morning at dark

 

[PeepsCA]

Snakes eat eggs and keets, so you might want to snake proof the area your Hens will be laying if you confine them. I agree with Colby, you need to trap or kill the opossum. It knows where it can get a free meal every night and it will keep coming back until you stop it.

If your birds roost in the hen house at night, then close them in each night and don't let them out the next day until you collect their eggs. A lot of us with Guineas have worked with our birds since they were keets so that they are trained to come running for treats and food when they are called, and especially so they come in at night into a safe predator proof coop and/or covered pen. If you haven't been working on this with your birds and they don't roost in the hen house at night, obviously it's going to be difficult for you to get them in once you let them out. You could try taking their food away around noontime, then let them out after you've collected their eggs and then before dark try calling and coaxing them in with food. They may have a hard time roosting in the hen house if you have clipped their wings.

One more thing to keep in mind is that when you all of a sudden completely lock birds up that are used to free ranging all the time (or stress them out by clipping their wings), they may not breed as much/as often as they did before, so your egg fertility may go down... (which is a big consideration if you are collecting their eggs for incubation rather than consumption).

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you in order to be able to collect eggs. Best of luck, whichever route you choose.

 

[9farmgirl9]

Quote:
When they were about 1 week old id let the keets to free range and at night theyd go to the hen house.(after having a coon kill abunch i just let them go and they did great) My guineas are pretty tame though, but as they got older they started sleeping in the rafters which is safe never lost one sleeping there.( it were our cars and trucks are). I only want them to lay there eggs were they are safe from preditors. Like in the hen house. and they coming running when i have feed. but i have so much other chorses to do. What should i do that would be best for them and me. The roosts in thehen house are about 2ft off the ground.

And how would i let me chickens out but not guiuneas?

Here is what i was thinking, i clip there wings(the only time they fly is to roost) And my one winged guinea roost just fine she cant fly. then i close the gates to the front yard for the guineas, for my chickens i let them outside the fence and put nesting areas by the gate. then the guineas could ether lay in the hen house or yard, the guineas would have plenty of grass. But when they free range they only get fed in the morning. Would this work? Could you suggest what i should do.

 

[PeepsCA]

Sorry, I'm out of suggestions at this point other than building the Guineas a new coop and run of their own.... and I know not everyone can do that due to space, time and expense.

So it sounds like clipping their wings is what's going to work for you... I'm not a fan of wing clipping for all the reasons I listed in my previous posts, so you won't see me advising you of doing that, lol. They are your birds, so that's for you to decide for or against. I just wanted you to be aware of what can happen to birds with clipped wings.

Good luck with your birds and egg collecting. Hope everything works out for you (and your birds)

 

[9farmgirl9]

I'm not for it either, but im also not for pinning them up too. I might try clipping one guineas wing and see how he does

 

[9farmgirl9]

Everyone on this thread id like to inform you sadly i did clip there wings and all my chikens, but the guineas were so excited to be out, some went straight to dust bathing, others foraging, Breeding, and fighting with each other. Some of them i havent gotten yet i didnt have them pinned because they didnt have a mate. but they want in.