The Old Folks Home

[superchemicalgirl]

It was a productive day at work. While working I got an email from BF with the subject line "adventure."

The content was a single photo:



Seems the smartest guinea of the bunch has the escaping thing down.

A week out and 2 of the 4 have figured out how to roost on their own (on the big girl roost in the coop) and all 4 need zero help going into the coop at night to sleep. I'm thinking of releasing 2 or 3 more tomorrow (there's 5 left in guinea jail).

 

[perchie.girl]

It was a productive day at work. While working I got an email from BF with the subject line "adventure."

The content was a single photo:



Seems the smartest guinea of the bunch has the escaping thing down.

A week out and 2 of the 4 have figured out how to roost on their own (on the big girl roost in the coop) and all 4 need zero help going into the coop at night to sleep. I'm thinking of releasing 2 or 3 more tomorrow (there's 5 left in guinea jail).

Awww peewee is gowing up... snort.

Good Job SGC... Note to self build guinea Jail for my next go round.

by now you should be hearing buckweats out of the group. especially when one is "locked out". Watchem the buck weaters will do it constantly It will give you an idea of how many females you have.

deb

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Awww peewee is gowing up... snort.

Good Job SGC... Note to self build guinea Jail for my next go round.

by now you should be hearing buckweats out of the group. especially when one is "locked out". Watchem the buck weaters will do it constantly It will give you an idea of how many females you have.

deb

Good to know. Mostly I get the BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of the boys (and apparently the girls can make that noise, too). I've heard a few buck-wheat but can't figure out who is who right now. Mostly when I hatch I get about 60-75% one sex. Am I going to run into problems if they're almost all boys? Do the boys fight? Will they cause issues with the chickens they're housed with?

They don't seem bothered by the cold right now, either, and I hate to say as loud as they are they annoy me less than the goats.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
NO boys get along famously. When spring comes around there will be chasing and pulling of feathers but its a demonstration for the girls.. Girls pick thier suitor and the scuffling dies down to plain old pecking order stuff. Its actually an interesting process and kind of fun to watch.

In the wild they pair off and the bachelors are allowed to stay with the flock peacifully. Raising keets in the wild takes a whole flock. And you will see bachelors and mates actually warming the keets up while momma goes off to forrage. So people say they arent good mothers... compared to what...? chickens?

Yep they arent but chicken hens are hard wired to raise their chicks on their own.

displays for the girls are interesting. the vidieo below shows the chases toward the end. But all in all these people put out excellent videows on Guinea behavior housing that is successful and general ideas of what to expect at what age. With out spinning it to their "doctrine"

deb

 

[superchemicalgirl]

So very helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. It really makes me feel better about having guineas. There may be more in my future.

 

[Cynthia12]

 

[WVduckchick]

Hahaha good one Cyn!

 

[perchie.girl]

So very helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. It really makes me feel better about having guineas. There may be more in my future.

I love Guinea Fowl and my goal is to have at least thirty i will be set up for twice that. But it will depend on how much I can get for hatching eggs and juveniles.

They are good eating too. not as much meat as on a chicken but the standards run about four pounds and the jumbos run about five to seven pounds. And its like game meat not like chciken. Like pheasant... I am told i have had neither.

Just to give you a look at what they run online check out http://www.grimaudfarms.com/fowl.htm

and here is their catalog page

http://www.grimaudfarms.com/store/

http://www.grimaudfarms.com/store/Whole-Guinea-Fowl

2.75 pounds and they are asking 26.00 for it



I am hoping to find a way to do this for restaurants. but not holing my breath.

deb

 

[Wisher1000]

Quote:
Ditto!

 

[Wisher1000]

SCG - In my limited experience, they need close to a fifty/fifty ratio. Also, I tended to get closer to that in guinea hatches than in chicken hatches. The problem I had was that the hens will hide a nest and all lay in it. Then, when there are a bunch of eggs (thirty or forty!) the alpha hen will sit. She would stay on the nest and I sometimes could find it by looking for her male who would linger nearby all day, but go to roost at night. She would be killed on the nest at night by preditors and I would have an extra male. The next hen in line would be the next one lost and eventually all the males were fighting over the few remaining hens. Once the hens were all gone, the boys turned their attention to the hens and beating the he11 out of the roosters. They will grab the roosters (and sometimes the hens) and body slam them. It's no contest at all. I had enough and gave away all the ones I had left. I swore, never again. They got hit by cars, would scream at everything and everybody - except me - and often would have to be knocked out of the trees at bedtime. That was three years ago.......



I am thinking about getting some more........

PS They can be trained. I hated them getting on the roof of the house and leaving white streaks from the peak to the gutters, so I started an experiment in classical conditioning. When they would fly up to the gutter, I would run grab the garden hose and turn it on them yelling "Getofftha ROOOO-oooof!" It worked! Eventually, even if they were on the second story peak, well out of reach of the hose spray, I could yell that and they would fly down. It even worked if they were up in the trees at dusk and I wanted them to go into the coop.