When can I let my guineas free range

[buggymuffin]

Hi! We are new to guineas this year and I was wondering when we can start letting them free range? As background: we have established flocks of ducks (divided between two 25x50 pens) and free ranging geese. We ordered guinea keets at a local feed store and then decided we might want a few more, so we put our name on a waiting at another. The first batch of 6 came in Memorial Day week and, due to the warm weather, we moved them into one of the duck pens at around 2-3 weeks. They did good for the first week, then we lost one to drowning in the duck pool, so we brought them back in. At around 4 weeks we got a call from the second feed store, they had finally gotten an order of guineas (we had given up on getting them) and we picked up another 6. At this point the older guineas went back outside and have done well, roosting in the duck shed at night. We moved the baby guineas outside during the day at around 2 weeks and full time at around three weeks. We lost one of the little ones (literally, it disappeared one night/early morning) at around 4 weeks, but they are otherwise doing great. We were surprised that the older ones took to the babies instantly and the 10 are inseparable. My question is, how soon can we start letting them out of the pen regularly? They hop the fence periodically now (a couple at a time), but we always herd them back in immediately because we don't want them to disappear on us. Are they old enough to know where home is now since they have been outside since early July? Or should we wait a bit longer?

 

[PD-Riverman]

Mercy that's a tough question?? You can let them free range when they are a few weeks old, BUT do you have predators? They can not protect themselves from predators---for sure at a young age. Example I let mine out---when they got about 5 months----they did ok for a little, even hatched some---then the hawks found them. In just a few short weeks I lost all but 0ne and he would NOT even go out the wire covered chicken pen, but he disappeared. I was wipped out---about 30 in that flock. The next ones I got were kept in pens---wire tops. I hatched all their eggs, never lost any of them---when I decided to some-what sell out---I sold them. Good Luck

 

[tmelber]

With our first batch, we kept them inside for 8 weeks, then 8 weeks in their "home base" pen before allowing them to free-range. We only let a few out at a time in hopes this would prevent them from wandering too far (it did, but as others have noted, they basically spend all their time trying to figure out how to get back with the rest of the flock). We always fed them at night, in the home base pen, to encourage them to come back.

We followed a similar schedule with our second batch: 8 weeks in the "preschool" pen, 8 weeks in the "home base" before allowing them to free-range. This time, we let everyone out together, and this seemed to be less stressful for them. That said, we also had adult guineas that they joined up with, so they had an established flock.

Something we learned the hard way is that even though we want them to be penned at night, herding them backfires- they found it really stressful when we would walk behind them and try to "encourage" them back through the door to their pen. It got more and more difficult to get them penned at night until we decided to stop doing that, but still put the food in the pen, and then allow them the choice of whether or not to go in. We also threw in some meal worms to say "sorry for freaking you out!" and further reward their decision to go back home at night. Very rarely do they now stay out, and when they do they end up perching on the top of the pen anyway!