Symptoms of Guinea Illness?

[JLeigh]

My female guinea has just today started acting a little down in the dumps. I've only been able to observe her for a few minutes, but she's definitely not as "outgoing" as she was yesterday. She keeps her neck in and isn't foraging as much. Could it be that it's just a cold snap and she's cold, or is her moving more slowly and not stretching out her neck the first symptoms of illness? She's still following her mate, but doesn't seem as interested in what's going on around her. It's hard to describe....

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[PeepsCA]

She may be cold, but if she is laying she may be egg bound... so you may want to catch her and check her over. Feel for an egg that may be stuck, and check for any signs of an egg that has broken inside her (typically her vent will be wet and messy). If she is not eating and drinking as she normally would that's definitely a sign something may be going on with her. Hopefully she is just cold, my birds fluff up and hunch up on cold days too... so that is normal, but I always do a double-take for any additional signs of illness/issues. Good luck, hope she's fine.

 

[JLeigh]

Thanks, PeepsCA, I never thought about her being egg-bound; I've learned something. Fortunately, she seems just fine this morning - back to normal. She's eating, drinking and wandering around normally, but I'll keep an eye on her for the next day or two. I don't think I'll try to catch her unless she starts showing symptoms again. Do you have a suggestion for the best way to catch a guinea? Would a blanket/towel be a good way? The only time I've tried to catch a guinea, it was like watching Keystone Cops, and put a lot of stress on the 3 I caught. I'd like to avoid that. Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[PeepsCA]

Good way to put it, it is exactly like keystone cops, lol. Guineas are just that way, they freak out and go into panic mode.

A blanket never really works for me, the birds just scatter and panic, so if I need to check a bird out I try to catch it at night, in the dark, and grab them with both hands around the wings and body right off their perches (and hold on tight, then stuff them under my arm like a football, head facing to the back). It's good to have a helper to help hold the bird once you get the bird into a well lit room. Beware of the claws and beak tho, GUineas don't particularly like being caught, held or touched.

If I need to do daytime catches I have a plain wire rabbit cage that I use as a catch cage... (a medium sized wire pet crate works too, but it needs to be wire, they typically will not go into a box or solid plastic animal crate). I'll set the catch cage in the pen or coop on the floor in a corner so there's about a foot or so of a gap between the side of the cage that has the door, and the coop or pen wall which then acts like a cattle shoot,cage door open and secured with a clip of some kind... then I calmly herd the birds into the corner and as soon as one bird goes into the cage the others follow (usually I try to get several birds, not just the one I'm after... it's just easier that way because they follow each other in like cattle!). Then I can reach in and grab the bird or birds I was originally after. They still freak out, but not nearly as bad. Sometimes I can get away with tossing some scratch in the cage and they just run right in for me. But yah, the catch cage method works best for me, less stress on the birds and I get beat up less... plus it works any time of the day (as long as you have a coop or covered pen to work in).

I also have a catch net, but that causes a lot of panic too, especially if you don't have much practice on your catch technique. Gotta get them the first time, or it gets crazy on the 2nd try, and only worse after that.

Sometimes my young, first timer Hens act a little "off" when they first start laying, I think it confuses them and they aren't sure what's going on... so maybe that what was up with her.

Glad she's looking/acting better.

 

[JLeigh]

Peeps, the cage is pure genius. I never would have thought of that, but what a great almost-stressless way to catch a guinea. The nighttime idea is great, too. I went into the run one time at night when they were perching, and "perched" there with them for a minute. (I leaned over the perch). The one next to me just looked at me with a "hey, could you get a little closer? I'm kind of cold" look and I reached out and touched him. So, of course you're right, night works as good "cover." But I like the cage technique.

By the way, the female continues to seem completely normal - eating, drinking, wandering aimlessly - no problems today.

Thank you for your time and advice. Glad you're here for us novices. Regards, Leigh.