Teenage Guineas Gorging on Chicken Feed

[LillyCat]

I have 9 teenage guineas that free range during the day. They are given a scoop of 22% feed at bedtime to entice them back into their pen. This weekend, I started letting my chickens free range under supervision, the rest of the time they are in a large predator proof pen. The guineas found their way into the chicken coop yesterday and today and have been gorging on chicken feed.

It looked like a frat party in the chicken coop! Food flying every direction and 9 guineas pecking like mad into the 25 lb size chicken feeder. The guineas have a job- they are supposed to eat the bugs in my yard. Will they return to eating bugs, or is the chicken feed too much of a temptation for them?

Was I maybe underfeeding them the last few weeks and that's why they are so hungry? Their feathers look great, they're active, and appeared to be doing well catching insects around the yard. They free fed as keets and first two weeks they were allowed out to free range, but now they just get a scoop of feed a night.

 

[R2elk]

I have 9 teenage guineas that free range during the day. They are given a scoop of 22% feed at bedtime to entice them back into their pen. This weekend, I started letting my chickens free range under supervision, the rest of the time they are in a large predator proof pen. The guineas found their way into the chicken coop yesterday and today and have been gorging on chicken feed.

It looked like a frat party in the chicken coop! Food flying every direction and 9 guineas pecking like mad into the 25 lb size chicken feeder. The guineas have a job- they are supposed to eat the bugs in my yard. Will they return to eating bugs, or is the chicken feed too much of a temptation for them?

Was I maybe underfeeding them the last few weeks and that's why they are so hungry? Their feathers look great, they're active, and appeared to be doing well catching insects around the yard. They free fed as keets and first two weeks they were allowed out to free range, but now they just get a scoop of feed a night.

You have probably been under feeding them. I keep feed available to my guineas all the time. I have their feed available to them in their coop which is where their water is too. When the bugs are available, they eat far less feed than they do in the winter.

 

[thehenhouseinpa]

My guineas are with the chickens now as we have had a lot of predators this year and I don’t want to lose them.
I free feed them. They all get like 10 scoops in the morning and if gone after work I add some more and then let them free roam supervised. I never really limit anyone except the pigs and their pellets.

 

[LillyCat]

Thank you so much for the help! I let them free feed from the chicken feeder and now give them high protein treats (meal worms, scrambled eggs, etc) at bed time to get them back into their pen.