Will Guineas Stay Close By?

[JimWWhite]

I've not had guineas before but we have five of them now. They're about nine weeks old and we've been keeping them in an enclosed run where we had our chickens before. Our hens would always come back to the run at night to roost even though they'd been out free-ranging for hours. Normally we'd let the hens out about an hour or so before dark but sometimes on the weekends they'd be out pretty much all afternoon once they'd layed. My question is this: Will the guineas do the same? Come in at night, that is? We live way out in the country on about five cleared acres ringed by woods. I suspect they will go off into the woods if we do let them out. The hens pretty much stayed in sight of the run and hardly ever went into the woods. And a second question, how long should we keep them in the run before we start letting them free-range? We're getting another 24 black sex link started pullets in September so we'll be back in the egg business before long.

 

[AlienChick]

My guineas free range with my chickens and return to the coop at night.
The guineas will stay out longer than the chickens will as it gets dark, but they will eventually come inside before it gets too dark.
When I first got my keets, I kept them locked up in the run for almost a week so they could get used to the sights/sounds of "home" before I let them out to free range.

 

[JLeigh]

The guineas will most likely wander into the woods when free-ranging. They pretty much go where they want, but if they know where home is, they'll come back at late dusk.

A general rule of thumb is to keep guineas (keet or adult) confined in their coop or run for 6 weeks so they'll know that the run/coop is where they're fed and sleep, aka: home.

Some people, like me, took a week and let them out a little at a time - for an hour or so on the first day, a couple of hours or more on the second day, etc., until they were out almost all day. Others open the door and let them go after 6 weeks. Either way can be successful, but I'm a worrier....The first time I let them out for the day, they went straight to the woods and hung out all day. I was wringing my hands all day until they came back in on their own.

Sometimes you have to "herd" them back into the coop if you're ready to be in for the night and they're not. They are also virtually blind at night, so letting them stay out until it's dark means they may find their own roost and stay there for the night. In my area, night predators pose the most threat so I got them in at dusk.

Very often they'd be in the run before I got out there, so they should come back in for you most of the time, but I never took it for granted.

Another thing I noticed about my guineas is they had a roaming routine. They'd make the rounds of their own choosing and, for example, be in my front yard at about 2:30 in the afternoon, then they'd be in the back yard at about 5:30. It's possible yours will develop a routine, too.

A trick to getting them into the area you want them to be, when you want them to be there, is to notice where they are at, say, 6:00 p.m. and be there with treats. You can train them to come to you by using the same phrase EVERY TIME and then giving them their treat. You'll find that they usually come to that spot at that time in anticipation. (Word of Advice: Don't call them to your front porch to give them food treats. You'll have guinea poop EVERYWHERE on your porch.....speaking from experience. LOL.)

 

[Lollipop]

LOL, The treat idea is a real good one. White millet is like candy to them and, if you treat them most evenings in their roosting area, they will be fine. Also, keeping them confined for at least 6 weeks is best. There are all kinds of stories about guineas being loose to soon and just wandering away. I trained mine to roost in the rafters of my pole barn. I have to scrape the concrete floor daily, but owls don't get to pick them out of the trees at night. They do roam, sometimes up to a half mile. In my present location, I started with 20 keets and by the time they matured, I had 3. Those three seemed to have enough street sense to stay close to home and watch for predators, which is why I lost the rest of them. Now I have 4 keets on the ground with a chicken mom and they are almost ready for being on their own. Chickens are far better mothers than guineas, so if you can find their nests, give the eggs to a broody hen and more of them will get to grow up. Have fun. Guineas are a hoot........Pop

 

[JimWWhite]

Thanks, everyone! Great tip about the treats. When we had the hens before I'd take leftover greens or whatever we had from the kitchen and give it to the Gals at dusk after we'd let them out and they loved it. Then I'd sit out there for an hour or more until it got dark and they went in to roost just watching them and enjoying the evening before locking them in the coop. Then one evening I was sitting out watching them and just relaxing when MamMaw asked our grandaughter where PawPaw was. She replied simply: "He's out watching ChickenTV." And a new catchphrase was coined with that little reply. We'll go out with a big slice of watermelon on an early warm summer evening and watch ChickenTV. All of our friends and neighbors know about ChickenTV and are always asking about it. Some even come over and enjoy it with us. Now we can't wait until early September when we get our 24 Black Sex Links and a new season of ChickenTV begins again.

 

[JLeigh]

Jim, you sound just like me. We have Chicken TV here, too. The Chicken Channel - All Birds, All the Time.

For a great season finale, try live crickets