Guinea talk.

[MartinsPoultry]

Wow! They get fed a gourmet meal at Chez Poulet de Martins!

That they do. Spoiled kids.

And an update,
Everyone is doing well, I had to improvise one of the desk nest boxes into a tunnel nest box as the birds for some reason were afraid of it the other way. Now they run in and run to the back end of it trying to figure out how to get in on that side. Last night was a special event with my guineas, I was about to leave the coop for the night after feeding them and had most of the birds eating from my hands including the guinea squad, and once the food was gone I was walking out to hear Charlie my top guinea sound an alarm. He didn't want me to leave the coop. We also had the neighbors grand kids come over on Sunday after I did some cleaning for another friend and everyone behaved even the ducks, well somewhat. Skyline my rehab duck poo'd on the girls shoe.

I put her in the coop while they were over and the majority of the birds were being watched by the kids and I can say this, the Guineas do not approve of the big flappy flap.

Skyline walked around the coop stretching her wings, the chickens didn't mind her being in there with them but the guineas were growling at her when she would go near them to see what they were. It was a sight to see.

With the warm and cold weather they are getting out more and more while we work around the yard.

 

[GlennLee]

Everyone is doing well, I had to improvise one of the desk nest boxes into a tunnel nest box as the birds for some reason were afraid of it the other way. I like the tunnel idea. It would give them a sense of more privacy. I often thought those cat houses that curve around and in would make a good nesting box and would try one, but they are super expensive and if it didn't work.....

...had most of the birds eating from my hands including the guinea squad YAY!

Skyline my rehab duck poo'd on the girls shoe. Well, that's a fine "how do you do!"

Guineas do not approve of the big flappy flap.

Skyline walked around the coop stretching her wings, the chickens didn't mind her being in there with them but the guineas were growling at her when she would go near them to see what they were. It was a sight to see. I'll bet it was! The guineas sure know their own minds and let us know as well.

With the warm and cold weather they are getting out more and more while we work around the yard. It's always a good thing when they can get out free range a bit. Plus, they are so amusing to watch as they skittle and skuttle around. Definitions - skittle is when they do that road runner racing movement and skuttle is when they waddle like a goose. Thanks for the updates - always interesting to hear about your happenings and projects there!

 

[guinealeghorn]

Im thinking about guineas but need the pros and cons to convince my parents
Also anyone know where to get keets in canada?

My guineas are pretty mean, and they hate to be touched. You can tame them to let you hold them, though. They get along well, for the most part, with my other chickens. They do have a habit of picking on the others. You will probably need to let them free-range, as mine hate being confined to the coop. They will eat ticks, bugs, snakes, mice, weeds, and most other pests. They are fun to watch, and do silly things all the time. And they are FAST! We haven't had ours by the garden yet. They were too young to free-range until later last summer. And yes, they are LOUD!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote: Hey, GlennLee, Thank you so much for posting this. I must have missed the notification and have been so overwhelmed I lost track. Very interesting to see this. Yeah, cool, thank you. I'm going to try something like this and see if they'll possibly consider nesting inside.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Hey all,
It's been a while since I've been here. I've never posted about our guinea coop here, I don't think. I wanted to design a coop that the guineas would enjoy, and also figure out a way to make it using cattle panels, so @Aart helped me engineer it. I just added a new piece of information to my thread about building the coop, and that link is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120946/modified-hoop-coop-design-development/30 The link goes to p4 where the photos start, more on each page of the thread.

Here are a couple of photos. The top of the roof is 10-ft tall:

 

[pearlGuinea]

I love you guinea coop. It gives them something up high to roost on. It's a great design.

 

[BiophiliaDJT]

Hey all,
It's been a while since I've been here. I've never posted about our guinea coop here, I don't think. I wanted to design a coop that the guineas would enjoy, and also figure out a way to make it using cattle panels, so @Aart helped me engineer it. I just added a new piece of information to my thread about building the coop, and that link is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120946/modified-hoop-coop-design-development/30 The link goes to p4 where the photos start, more on each page of the thread.

Here are a couple of photos. The top of the roof is 10-ft tall:

Very nice design, Ill have to think about something similar when I build my mobile coop.

 

[guineapeeps]

I decided to take a picture and post it, so you could see. Basically I criss-cross the bales and it makes like a little cave for them. They have actually pulled out some straw from the back side of the bales where they were against the wall and have created a little hallway to walk through. The only thing I'm noticing is that I'll have to check the stability in time because they do pick at them - all good for stimulation being stuck in the barn consecutive days in the winter - but I don't want the structure to fall on them. I added a table I bought at the Salvation Army for the one closest to the roost. They like hopping from the roost down onto it and eventually getting to the floor. Since most of mine are the French variety, they prefer to hop and don't do much flying. The girls seem to love being in there and will sometimes hunker down and hide on me! I'm not sure if their behavior will transition into safe nesting spots for them in the spring - the call of the wild is VERY strong and they LOVE the acres and acres of tall grass they free range in for the summer, but I figured it was worth a try.

Awesome idea on the straw tunnels....I'm going to have to try that! I was wondering if your French Guineas are in these pictures or your videos that you posted? I've never seen French Guineas and I'm curious how much bigger they are than the typical guinea.

 

[guineapeeps]

...

Hey all, It's been a while since I've been here. I've never posted about our guinea coop here, I don't think. I wanted to design a coop that the guineas would enjoy, and also figure out a way to make it using cattle panels, so @Aart helped me engineer it. I just added a new piece of information to my thread about building the coop, and that link is: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120946/modified-hoop-coop-design-development/30 The link goes to p4 where the photos start, more on each page of the thread. Here are a couple of photos. The top of the roof is 10-ft tall: Great job on the coop! It would be great in a hot humid climate as it looks like it has a lot of ventilation. Do you have any cover over the top? It looks like there is a clear plastic tarp cover but I couldn't tell for sure. I was curious what works for you in that particular style of coop? Thanks for the pictures and link to the build... I may have to copy that if we end up moving to Florida!

 

[pattyhen]

Love the coop Victoria but my guineas would be on the ground wondering how to get up on the perch. I've clipped their wings twice and I don't think they know they can fly. I am not going to tell them either. They freerange in the yard so I don't want them flying over the chain link fence.

Well Spiderman and Mary Jane took a trip to walmart in the truck. My husband didn't tell me about it until the next day. He said they were very calm and good and he only had a problem with Mary Jane when he shifted the gears on the floor Mary Jane would peck him. Can you imagine peoples faces if they saw two guineas in the truck.

He should have taken them inside because our Walmart anything goes. They would fit right in with the crowd.

We've had so much rain here and everything is a muddy mess. I haven"t let the guineas in because of all the mud. I would have muddy footprints all threw the house.

I hope everyone has a nice day we are going up to 61 today but we have rain predicted.