to clip wings or not?

[roosterdog]

Hello:

I have my first guineas. 1-Pearl, 1 white and 2 lavender is what the breeder told me thy were. At the time, I just wanted them and knew nothing about a guinea. They were hatched in August 2010. I have keep the in a run 8ftx14f. Since i got them in September.

They want out to free range my backyard, but I am afraid they will run away. I have a 6' fence

...should I clip their wings?
I have 3 hens and one roo.

 

[robin416]

They have been confined long enough that leaving home shouldn't be an issue.

I don't clip wings, once they're clipped they have a much lower chance of escaping predators.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

I have 5 guineas that hatched in August of this year, so they're the same age as yours - 2 lavenders, a lavender pied, a blue coral and a pearl grey. I've kept them clipped so far (so that I could keep track of them til they learned where "home" is), but they're growing out now, so they're able to get out of their enclosure if they so choose - which I really don't mind, because their enclosure is within 2 fenced in acres, and the whole purpose of getting them was for bug control for the yard.

Problem is, as soon as they hit the ground on the other side of the enclosure fence, they seem to panic and want back in, but they can't figure out how to get there. I would just leave the enclosure gate open for them, but I don't want the chickens inside the enclosure to get out into the yard. So, they run circles around the enclosure fence til I go out and herd them back in. I even find them huddled up in front of the gate when I lock up in the evening. I sorta wish now that I'd raised them with my free range flock, but then again, teaching them where "home" is would have been more difficult.

I just LOVE guineas, but mine don't seem to be the sharpest tools in the shed... YET, anyway. I'm hoping they'll get alittle braver as time goes on, and maybe figure out that if they flew over the fence to get OUT, that they can get back in the same way.

 

[robin416]

Quote:
Guineas are pretty much linear thinkers, they see the others (chickens?) on the other side of the fence on the ground and as far as they are concerned they should be able to walk over to rejoin them. There really isn't a fix for it. I've never considered the fly in only option a good one when it comes to the birds.

 

[speckledhen]

I had a landing board up high for them to fly in and out of the pen from and they used it well. If they free range, which is the only way to keep guineas in my opinion unless you're just breeding them and sending out eggs to folks, I'd never clip their wings. They can sail over a 6 foot fence with ease so have the means to escape a predator if they think of it at the time. Usually, they just run away, but they're very fast.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Quote:
What a cool idea Cynthia!!! I may be able to make a modified version of it, hopefully, because I don't have as many trees in/near my pen as you do.

My fencing is similar to yours on three sides of the pen (and no, the top of this type of fencing isn't stable for landing), but the fourth side is the entire length of a greenhouse, which is 24 feet long and 8 feet tall. There is one HUGE maple tree in the center of the pen that sort of acts like an "umbrella" over the pen and greenhouse, with the coop sitting right up next to the tree trunk. My guineas walk on top of the coop, they hang out in the tree, they sit on one section of the fence that is reinforced to keep it from sagging, and they fly over and run around on top of the greenhouse, all with relative ease - and they seem to be having a great time! But let them touch the ground on the outside of the pen, and the fun is immediately over...

I keep my bantam chickens inside this pen, and I have a free range flock that roams the yard outside the pen. Any way you look at it, the guineas are with chickens no matter what side of the fence they're on. Ideally, I'd prefer it if they took up with the free range flock and roosted in the big coop with them, but I guess THEY prefer the little guys and the little coop, at least for right now.