When can you turn Guinea's out?

[cohobby]

I have five Guinea's that are 8 weeks old. When can you turn them out to "survive" on their own? I really don't have a pen for them to roost in at night after I turn them loose.

 

[zazouse]

If you have them in a cage off the ground you are going top have to put them in a ground pen fopr a while so they know where to return to because if you just cut them loose now they will get lost cause they ain't got enough brains to figure out how to get back into a pen off the ground.
I raise mine in ground pens and as soon as they feather out i open the gate to the pen, they come and go as they please and return to the pen for a while then they take to the tree at night and i close the pen till i am ready to use it again.

 

[blessedchick]

How cute is that??!! All those babies roosting on that limb!!

My oldest keets just turned 4 weeks and they are now locked into their coop to learn that this will be their home. I lost my entire flock, except for one cock, to some daytime predator that got them while they were free ranging...I'm totally heartbroken, and so is the one remaining bird. Thankfully I had eggs in the bator from my girls so I'm hoping that my flock will be back up to speed by fall!

It is SUPER important that your babies learn where they live or else you will never see them again once you open that door. I recommend locking them up for at least 3 weeks and definitely until they are fully flighted. That way they learn where home base is and can fly up to escape predators.

Have fun with your babies!!

 

[JLeigh]

I got my guineas as 7 month old adults. I kept them in a run for 4 weeks, then let them out for an hour for a few days, keeping watch and then herding them back into the run. Then I let them out for about half a day for a few days, keeping watch on them (I checked on them every hour or so).

It's always risky. There are people who advocate for 10 weeks before letting them out, but that may be just for guineas acquired as adults. I liked letting them out for a little time, then putting them up again, and increasing that time over several days. I don't know if that worked, but at least it made ME feel better.

Now they free-range all day and I put them in the run at night.