Tell me anything and everything there is to know about guineas.

[chloezoebob101]

We are going to get some guineas soon, but we don't know how to care for them.
A few questions:

1. can they stay with chickens at night?
2. do they fly?
3. how far do they go?
4. are they easy to train to come in at night?
5. What do they eat?

Give me all the info you can give on these things!!

 

[CorinneP]

I am looking into getting some as I have read a lot about how they for tick and insect control .. Also I hear they are great Alarms. I live in the country so their noise factor is not an issue . I have read they eat the same as Chickens . They are not as friendly or trainable run faster fly harder .. Not very cuddly .. And also very Difficult to Incubate . ~ Corinne

 

[chloezoebob101]

I am looking into getting some as I have read a lot about how they for tick and insect control .. Also I hear they are great Alarms. I live in the country so their noise factor is not an issue . I have read they eat the same as Chickens . They are not as friendly or trainable run faster fly harder .. Not very cuddly .. And also very Difficult to Incubate . ~ Corinne

thanks! This helps
We live in the country also so noise will not be a problem
And we need them for bugs and ticks more than anything, the things are EVERYWHERE!!

 

[JLeigh]

There is a lot of information on the internet that would be a great start for you. I'm new to guineas, too, and I wanted as much info as I could get. I would recommend the online, free book Living With Guinea Fowl. It's a great start and a well done, straightforward book with a lot of information and pictures (which I always enjoy). As a day-one beginner, I learned a lot from it.

Regarding the training, there are threads on this site that go into training guineas. I'm having some success with mine, in fact - but they require a lot of patience. They aren't the smartest birds you'll ever meet, but what they lack in brains, they make up for in charm.

Again, I think you would get many/most of your questions answered by the online book I mentioned. But you'll always have some questions here and there.

You didn't mention why or how you are getting your guineas. Are you getting adult guineas? Chicks? Do you have a run to keep them in if you choose to? I would be interested to know how it came about for you, and what your setup is. Good luck!

 

[Kevin565]

We are going to get some guineas soon, but we don't know how to care for them.
A few questions:

1. can they stay with chickens at night? Yes but guineas can fight with chickens sometimes especially roos
2. do they fly? Yes they fly much better than chickens
3. how far do they go? They can fly over hundreds of yards away easily
4. are they easy to train to come in at night They can be trained too but they aren't always the easiest birds to train
5. What do they eat Mine ate flock raiser and free ranged

Give me all the info you can give on these things!!

 

[chloezoebob101]

There is a lot of information on the internet that would be a great start for you. I'm new to guineas, too, and I wanted as much info as I could get. I would recommend the online, free book Living With Guinea Fowl. It's a great start and a well done, straightforward book with a lot of information and pictures (which I always enjoy). As a day-one beginner, I learned a lot from it.

Regarding the training, there are threads on this site that go into training guineas. I'm having some success with mine, in fact - but they require a lot of patience. They aren't the smartest birds you'll ever meet, but what they lack in brains, they make up for in charm.

Again, I think you would get many/most of your questions answered by the online book I mentioned. But you'll always have some questions here and there.

You didn't mention why or how you are getting your guineas. Are you getting adult guineas? Chicks? Do you have a run to keep them in if you choose to? I would be interested to know how it came about for you, and what your setup is. Good luck!

Thanks for the book title, i will look it up
We are getting them as chicks, we don't have a run, we figured we would let them free range

@ Kevin- Thank you! If they can fly like that then I'm thinking that maybe giving them a run is a good idea :/

 

[JLeigh]

My personal opinion is that a run is a good idea. I free-range my guineas during the day and then bring them into the covered run at night. It keeps them safer from predators. You can't keep them safe from everything though - at least I can't. Over a week or two, they've gotten the idea that coming into the run in the evening is the routine. I've never had guinea chicks ("keets") so I don't know about their training.

Here's what I know about prey animals though: For them, death usually comes from above (hawks, owls, etc.), or comes at them very, very fast (foxes, coyotes, etc.) It seems logical to me that moving slowly around them and not "coming at them" from a standing position makes sense. I speak softly and say the same phrases over and over. I sit, stand and walk around them slowly. It's been working for me.

There are a ton of excellent websites on how to care for keets. Read up before you get the keets so you can be ready with the right set-up. They are fun to watch. Wish I could have some keets! I think my husband has to settle in to these first, though.

 

[chloezoebob101]

My personal opinion is that a run is a good idea. I free-range my guineas during the day and then bring them into the covered run at night. It keeps them safer from predators. You can't keep them safe from everything though - at least I can't. Over a week or two, they've gotten the idea that coming into the run in the evening is the routine. I've never had guinea chicks ("keets") so I don't know about their training.

Here's what I know about prey animals though: For them, death usually comes from above (hawks, owls, etc.), or comes at them very, very fast (foxes, coyotes, etc.) It seems logical to me that moving slowly around them and not "coming at them" from a standing position makes sense. I speak softly and say the same phrases over and over. I sit, stand and walk around them slowly. It's been working for me.

There are a ton of excellent websites on how to care for keets. Read up before you get the keets so you can be ready with the right set-up. They are fun to watch. Wish I could have some keets! I think my husband has to settle in to these first, though.

Awesome!! Thanks, this is very helpful. If we were to do a run do you think we should cover the top with wire so that hawks and such can't get in?

 

[JLeigh]

Yes, cover the run with something, otherwise they are at risk from air predators and weather. I've seen all kinds of setups on runs. A friend of mine has hers covered with old camper tops. For now, mine is covered with chicken wire and a very large tarp. We're going to replace that with those plastic, curvy roofing sheeting thingies that obviously I don't know the name of. Plywood is good if you can weather proof it. You can use tin roof sheets....whatever you can find. If you don't have a coop, they need some protection from the rain/sleet/snow as well as predators. If you really want to go all out, put a shingled roof on it.

(My husband said, "Have you lost your mind?" to the shingled roof idea. Oh well - a girl can dream, can't she?)

When you build a run, you can bury the poultry fencing into the ground by about 6 inches, or you can L-shape additional poultry wire around the outside perimeter - or both! That helps with digging ground predators.