Why are my guineas becoming handicapped?

[mayoman]

I feed everyone the same thing.

What birds do you have that need to eat wild bird seed and crushed corn?

Just feed an all-flock type food (which in my case is the 20% pellets) and put oyster shell out for layers.

ETA My guineas sleep in my run and I let them out to free range when I am getting ready for work, around 630am. Once the guineas are out I let the chickens out into the run and they stay in there until around 3pm when they are let out to free range for the afternoon. I also keep a dish with a scoop of pellets and a waterer outside the run for the guineas to have access to while they are kicked out of the run. My guineas range in age from 2 weeks old to a year old, but right now the adults plus one baby they are raising (~6 weeks old I think) are the only ones free ranging from dawn to dusk.

Peacocks and quail eat the majority of the wild bird seed. The scratch goes to the chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese. As to the guinea injuries I have about decided it has nothing to do with diet but is occurring when they try to climb through field wire instead of flying over it.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Well, I'll just throw it out there that wild bird seed and scratch are not appropriate feed and I'll leave it at that.

 

[Krazyquilts]

Well, I'll just throw it out there that wild bird seed and scratch are not appropriate feed and I'll leave it at that.

I agree. Wild bird seed is for small wild birds like robins and sparrows, not domesticated ones like guineas and chickens.

 

[mayoman]

Peacocks and quail eat the majority of the wild bird seed. The scratch goes to the chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese. As to the guinea injuries I have about decided it has nothing to do with diet but is occurring when they try to climb through field wire instead of flying over it.

I don't know how to close this particular post since I am new to this website. Originally I posted that I had released 20 NEW guineas who seemed to be coming home injured. Then the thread took this crazy feeding thread. While I agree with EVERYTHING that EVERYONE says, it does not apply here. These are not the first guineas to be released to this property. We are a licensed sanctuary. A certified rescue, with continuous veterinarian access. We have over 20 different species animals that exist here. The only ones that are caged full-time are the ones that need rehab and those at night when they are returned to predator proof barns. That is when the guardian dogs (pyrenees, Ackbash, and Australian Cattle Dog's take over. My Mastiff works the home and office. The problem with the guineas turned out to be property related. They were flying over fences into adjacent woodlands during the day and then at night running parallel to the fenceline instead of flying over it to return to the coop. We are dealing with hundreds of birds who forage over hundreds of acres.

*Edited by staff*