Want to add (two) 1 year old Pearl guineas to chicken flock??

[CCCChickenman]

Can & How do we add 2-Pearl Guineas to my 17 laying hens
Our coop is 10'x10' x 7'high with 7- 10'long perches made of different size branches attached about 40"the floor.
We collected 14 eggs today & 12 yesterday, we average 10 eggs a day, I didn't want to rock the boat in the coop with 2 new birds this time of year, but if possible for $5 I would give it a try, temps here are +9 at night

 

[NateinFL]

The question was
Can & How do we add 2-Pearl Guineas to my 17 laying hens
Please stay on topic.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Guineas digging holes. I never saw one scratch. How did that happen? That is why they are supposed to be so good in the garden, they won't rip it apart like a chicken. I admit they are noisy, but no one ever complained, except in a joke. Anyway, I am getting some and doing it apart from the coop. I want all the benefits I read about and that several on this section have testified to. I can use all the gardening help I can get.

 

[MuranoFarms]

My Guineas don't dig holes! They don't even scratch much. It's so cute when they delicately pluck bugs off the leaves in the garden! They are not destructive at all. Getting any type of animal just to get some could be a bad or good thing...depending how prepared the owner is.

CCCC: Guineas like to roost as high as they can get so if you don't have a branch up high you might want to add one. Do NOT let them free range for at least a month! They might leave if you do. They need to learn that this is home now. Add them to your flock same as if you were adding full grown chickens. Keep them separate for awhile, but close by so they can see each other. I feed mine the same thing as chickens. Egg layer crumbles in the morning and crumbles & scratch at dusk. They come running for that scratch! I have to toss some on the ground, because Polly will sit in the bowl so nobody else can have her scratch! They have such great personalities!

You'll love them!

 

[speckledhen]

Let's answer the OP's question, not try to talk him out of guineas, please.

 

[NateinFL]

post removed.

 

[greathorse]

If you have read up on Guineas at all you will know that they can be unpredictable. I miss the noisty little buggers that I had, but frankly as they got inot breeding season they did become a bit disruptive in my coop. Actually it was not in the coop as much as when they ranged or were feeding with the chickens the male made sure he and his mate ate first.

On the other hand if you only have two, and you introduce them to an established coop of chickens they may be on pretty good behavior. You will of course need to make sure they cant fly out of your pen. They should stay confined for a couple weeks for sure. The upside is that when they do become acclimated to your place they will hang around even if they choose to roost in the nearest tree.

They are some what susceptible to predators despite the fact that they sound an early warning.

They are not a known commodity that is for sure. You will like them if you give them a chance. I dont think your temps will be an issue. I also found mine to be most aggresive in the summer during mating so this would be a good time to introduce them I think.

They are darn quick so I dont think they are at risk from the chickens

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have to agree that it is best to read up on something, before you go into it. I, myself, got a few gifts of birds that I was not at all planning on. Turkeys for one and guineas. I did okay with the guineas, except that I never found a single egg. I knew about where the nest was, but I never found it. And then suddenly I had no guineas. I know they can be raised with chickens, but then I can't free-range, unless I can figure out where the guinea nest will be and I can't garden with the guineas, because if they are family with chickens, the chickens will destroy everything. So I am planning on raising them close by, but not very and in a completely different way. I believe all that stuff about guineas are true, but I have got to SEE it also. I can't wait.

 

[NateinFL]

Quote:
When I said mine were digging holes in the yard, it was referring to dust bathing, sorry if it offended others, I was sharing my OWN personal experience, not to say they would do the same in your yard, that's just what happened with mine, and I think I have the right to say on here what did happen through my own personal experience with guineas. Everyone's situation is different.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Well, thats cool. I will be trying to keep them in a coop in the corner of the garden, so when they get up, they will work first in the garden, before going out into whatever areas I allow or they choose to go......which ever happens. And I usually have a firepile a few places in my yard, so hopefully they just roll around in there to tend to their little bug problems. I try to make my yard more practical than nice....you know? Besides, I have blackjack, rather than good workable soil, except for what I have improved upon in the garden, so even a full grown person has a hard time digging in my yard....

I noticed very early on that poultry appreciates a bath, but I find they will use ash first if given the opportunity.