I have just got 4 guinea fowl. They have feathers on their body.. but still have stripy heads.. I think less than half grown. Still making chick sounds.
They are very scruffy and some have plucked areas of bald skin on their backs.. from feather plucking at the place I got them from (which had them crowded in a tiny cage).
I have put them into a large dog crate.. with water and food.
The food is chick crumbs.. and I gave them some greens which they loved. They are a bit skittish.. but they will take food from my hand through the cage bars.
I put a branch in the cage for them to roost on.
I have a large coop and run with Japanese Bantams and king pigeons.
Will they be OK with the chickens.. or will they eat the young chicks? (the pigeon do not breed in the coop so I am not worried about them).
What can I feed them? I can not get game bird pellets... the only feed I can buy is chick starter and layer pellets.. and also grains. Its a bit basic here (Thailand) for animal feeds.
I read they need a lot of protein.. so can I feed them boiled eggs and the chick starter.. will that be enough?
And finally, how log should I wait before I allow them to free range?
My plan is to let them live 'wild'.. My house is in the middle of a mango orchard .... and I hope they will just roost in the trees at night.. and I can feed them around my house in the daytime. Or will I have to lock them in the chicken coop each night?
The only serious predator problem I have had with my birds was a mongoose. It got into the old pigeon coop in the night and killed many of them.
It has never killed a chicken (so far) And the coop now is a metal predator proof bunker!! Will guinea fowl be clever enough to escape a mongoose when free ranging?
Sorry for so many questions.
They are very scruffy and some have plucked areas of bald skin on their backs.. from feather plucking at the place I got them from (which had them crowded in a tiny cage).
I have put them into a large dog crate.. with water and food.
The food is chick crumbs.. and I gave them some greens which they loved. They are a bit skittish.. but they will take food from my hand through the cage bars.
I put a branch in the cage for them to roost on.
I have a large coop and run with Japanese Bantams and king pigeons.
Will they be OK with the chickens.. or will they eat the young chicks? (the pigeon do not breed in the coop so I am not worried about them).
What can I feed them? I can not get game bird pellets... the only feed I can buy is chick starter and layer pellets.. and also grains. Its a bit basic here (Thailand) for animal feeds.
I read they need a lot of protein.. so can I feed them boiled eggs and the chick starter.. will that be enough?
And finally, how log should I wait before I allow them to free range?
My plan is to let them live 'wild'.. My house is in the middle of a mango orchard .... and I hope they will just roost in the trees at night.. and I can feed them around my house in the daytime. Or will I have to lock them in the chicken coop each night?
The only serious predator problem I have had with my birds was a mongoose. It got into the old pigeon coop in the night and killed many of them.
It has never killed a chicken (so far) And the coop now is a metal predator proof bunker!! Will guinea fowl be clever enough to escape a mongoose when free ranging?
Sorry for so many questions.