This is the year;

[robin416]

For errant Guineas to show up in everyone's flocks. A few minutes ago I looked out of the window sans glasses and thought one of my lavenders looked awfully dark. I found my glasses put them on and went, huh. Put my boots on and walked outside to get a closer look. Its a royal purple.

Some weeks ago I had been seeing a pair on the side of the road about three miles from here. Of course the thought was that was not going to last long. Since then I've seen no signs of either of them. This is a young bird and from what I heard this morning I thought it was female but the body says male. My flock doesn't seem to care all that much about its being here which is a surprise.

For now its in the only empty pen I have which was in reserve for a hen on a nest. I should be able to turn it out about the same time the keets hatch and I can install Momma and her keets in there.

 

[damselfish]

The great guinea migration....coming soon to a backyard near you!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Yup, happened to me and Guinea Bird has settled in here nicely. He isn't warning me of predators yet but he certainly coops up with the chickens and eats bugs and seeds plus grain morning and night. I think he was a penned bird because he was fat when he got here and has sure lost some weight.

I think that more people are getting them in defense of fire ants, ticks and other bugs. Most folks are probably not understanding that they are not like chickens and then the Guineas wander off. I am waiting for more to show up here once word gets out that the West Knoll Farm has an open bar.....er, feeding station.

 

[robin416]

I decided to let him out this morning. He's made some overtures to my flock but they are pretty much ignoring him. Right now he's hunkered down in front of the Silkie coop. I think he's had a rough go of it since I saw them on the side of the road. I notice one of my egg layers is hanging with him but my d'Uccle out with her chicks isn't getting any where near him.

 

[robin416]

I just came back in, he wanted back in to the pen I had him in last night. He does not know what a feeder or a waterer is. He ate some more feed then wanted out again. He likes my d'Uccle roo but the roo is not overly impressed. Another one of my male Guineas approached him, not in the typical threatening way, but he walked away. I can see he's nervous when one of my Guineas approach him, he does a big wing stretch as he moves away.

Watching this interaction is keeping me from getting things done but it is rather fascinating. From the response of my Guineas when the neighbor's birds ended up over here I thought for sure they would have ganged up on this guy by now. Putting him in the Guinea coop will have to wait until he's had a chance to acclimate more.

From my observations, he is young. He's very leggy, more so than any of mine at that age. That might be a result of improper diet and his body just has not caught up yet. He's ragged looking. And actually a little more accepting of my presence than I expected. Oh, and he knows what it means when seed is tossed out because he runs up just as fast as the others.

 

[chickenology]

Guinea behavior is fascinating, I wish I could spend all day watching the interaction.

It sounds like he is somewhat used to chickens and may have been around them previously. You don't think he could have survived and grown to his size on his own do you? Did he want to roost in the coop tonight?

 

[robin416]

Quote:
I have an odd coop, I built it to house my Dutch so its known as the Dutch coop. Its 8 wide by 16 long. The inside is divided up in to 4X4 pens. Access is through outside pens on either side of the building. He is one of those 4X4 pens with chickens in each of the other 7. He's not thrilled with it but is accepting. He paced back & forth just before lock up for the night. But he returns to it on his own and makes his way to the roost.

I don't know what to think about him and the chickens. I would think that if he was raised with chickens he would not have left home once his mate was killed. But he is more comfortable with them than the Guineas.

My Dutch coop is right next to my Silkie coop. During the summer I make mud puddles for the birds to cool off so the Guineas hang at those two coops taking breaks in the mud. That brings them all closer together so, fingers crossed, they will integrate soon. They have to, I need that pen for the keets that are going to hatch.

 

[perchie.girl]

Maybe hes was raised by a d'Uccle hen.

I bet we all see more and more walkabouts that are drawn to big flocks. Like someone said more and more people are getting them. We might even see ones that are dumped in the "country" because they were more than they bargained for.... or the economy.... Just some rambling thoughts here.

 

[robin416]

I live in the middle of farm country where Guineas are pretty much a part of the landscape on most of the farms. But on the road where I initially saw this pair I'll bet the people are not farmers and did just what everybody is thinking, get a couple for tick control and leave it at that. No housing, no feed, no water. Just turned out to fend for themselves.

I'll watch more but I've come to believe that he's hanging with my free rangers because they are not a threat to him and he senses that he's the low bird where the Guinea flock is concerned.

Now I need to go back out, see if he's done eating and let him back out again.

 

[speckledhen]

Robin, I keep wishing a guinea or three would just show up here and stick around, but no such luck. The quarter horse farm about 1/8 mile from me had about 20 and last I talked to the wife, was down to 3, from losing them on the road. I kept hoping they'd migrate up here. I think they had pearl and royal purples, maybe a couple whites, if I remember. I've even heard a peacock calling a couple times from somewhere around, but alas, I am still guinea-less and no peacocks have shown up, either. I'm still not to a place where I can incubate guinea eggs and have Tom not be a little more than a tad PO'd with me or I'd have you send me some when I got the next broody I could rely on.