Turned Guineas Out Today

[Rose66]

Well we turned out all the guineas this afternoon for the first time all together. They stayed out about 30-45 minutes. They found plenty of things to scream at and spent a lot of time next to the chicken pen but overall they did great. I was a little worried that we might not get them all back in their tractor but we did and it was easy!!!

My husband had a stall picker and I had a leaf rake and we just **slowly** herded them towards their tractor and as soon as a few of them saw the tractor door, they walked right in and of course all the others followed them. I'm so glad they were easy to get back in the tractor and it sure wouldn't hurt my feelings if they were that easy every time.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Good job! I can't wait to let mine loose.

 

[Rose66]

We kept our keets in with our chicks until they were 11 weeks old at which time they started beating up the chickens so we moved the keets to another pen. The keets are now 18 weeks old. We've been turning them out everyday for almost a week now and they still just hang around the entire time by the chicken pen. Any thoughts on when they will start venturing away from the chickens?

 

[mkcolls]

We had to move our 12 week old keets out of the chicken pen for the same reason.

Our sweet, wouldn't hurt a fly, turkeys had to accept their new coop mates. (A thousand pardons to the turkeys.)

Now, five weeks later, we still have to remove them from the chicken run nearly everyday. They will free range for awhile, then they must get bored because next they head to "visit" the chickens.

The daytime run does not have a top and the guineas fly over the fence, chase the chickens around the run, attempting to mate with as many of the pullets as possible, then eat chicken feed as fast as they can. We have to go into the run or sometimes the chicken coop and chase them out, telling them to "go home". Yes, they know what that means and they go. Not willingly or quickly, but they do go.

We have come to the conclusion that they are bottomless pits, mean, trouble makers that are only happy when they are making noise, in the wrong place, or torturing another fowl.

Did I mention the noise. Unbelievable!!

Thankfully they have reduced the bug population, but then so have the chickens.

The farm would be so boring without them.

Good Luck to you, Rose66. I would love to know that they will stop this some day.