woo! Found first egg! & coop question

[CurlyLindsay]

I bought 3 adult guineas about 5-6 weeks ago and still haven't turned them loose. They were supposed to be about 8 months old and 2 females and one male- but I'd never gotten any eggs or seen them mating.

But last night I found an egg in their cage! Yay! It's my first egg from any bird ever so I'm super excited.

I couldn't even break it or use it, I'm just enjoying looking at it.

OK. coop question. I know guineas rarely, rarely adopt a chicken coop as theirs, but if the coop is really, really tall- with roosts like 9-10ft off the floor would they be more likely to use it?

 

[ranchhand]

Can't answer the guinea question, but congrats on the first egg!

 

[Munchies]

Quote:
You have to train them. Keep them in the coop for a couple weeks, then open door and let them venture out on their own. Before they get too far away from the coop, shoo them back in. Stop at the door of the coop, you want them to know that the coop is safety from being chased. Each day let them roam a little longer outside the coop and make sure you have herded them back in before dark. You have to repeat this everyday while they are young, so when they are adults they will do it out of habit.

I actually herded mine back into the coop everytime it rained, now as adults they do it themselves when it starts to pour out.

My coop is only 8 feet high and 10 feet x 12 feet with a roost 3 feet off the floor and nesting boxes at floor level underneath.

 

[lux_interior]

congrats on the egg!!

 

[Debbienmousey]

Congrats on your first egg

As Munchies said, you have to train the guineas. Our first guineas were kept in a cage inside the coop until they were old enough to free-range. I don't believe I had to herd them inside every night, but they bonded quite well with the chickens and followed them around, so I guess the guineas learned from the chickens. Either way, some you will have to herd/catch and put in the coop and others you won't have to herd/catch.

However our second batch of guineas trained them selves to use the coop. They were locked in the nursery part of the run for a few weeks and then let in with the flock. I guess the younger guineas followed the older guineas.

But with our Sept. 08' hatch of guineas the only keet which lived from the hatch couldn't figure out to get in the coop. I had to catch him and put him in every night. Unfortunately he never got it and would sit outside in the rain. He died in January or February of this year, due to loneliness and pneumonia, if chickens/guineas can get it.

I would suggest caging them in the coop for a few weeks like Munchies said, and then depending on the style of the chicken coop door (We have a ramp which makes it harder for baby birds to get into the coop) you may still have to herd them back in.

Good luck