Upset, Will they come back?!?

[GlennLee]

Welcome, GraceHolmstead!

It sounds as though you have been on the Guinea Fowl roller coaster ride over the past 24 hours. Enjoy the ride as that's the way it will be with Guineas. I've had mine for about 2 months now and believe me, I feel your pain and celebrate your joys and luckily you will find the same to be true of many others on BYC. Their thoughts, ideas and support have been greatly appreciated on this journey.

I'm very sorry to hear that they made their great escape and that you lost one and one was injured in the process. At least most of them made it safely back home and that's a VERY good thing since it doesn't always work out that way.

We have a dog as well and she's not as "good" as your dog about other animals, but there is something about the Guinea Fowl that intrigues her and brings out that hunting instinct, so don't be mad at her. I think it's just a natural curiosity and perhaps the scent and sight of them are both peculiar and mesmerizing.

So, now that your heart has stopped racing (or not) maybe you can enjoy their comic antics in the moment and rest up for the next crazy thing that will happen with them. It always does!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

When I first got chickens, one of my dogs killed two within the first few weeks. He meant no harm but of course a 90 pound dog trying to play with a young bird is not going to end well. However, he seemed to realize after that that the birds were no fun since they stop playing with him after a few seconds. It also helps that as they get older, the birds will become less flighty and thus less attractive. Its those fast movements that tend to be mesmerizing to the dog.

I would discourage your dog from sitting and watching the birds until they become less of a novelty. I would take my dog in the run with me and make him sit in there with me, but if I found him watching the birds with that look in his eyes (that tunnel vision look) I would reprimand him. This made him get used to having the birds running all around him and conditioned him to ignore them instead of viewing them as toys.

What are your future plans for housing the birds? They grow very very fast!

 

[GraceHomestead]

Thanks GlennLee,
All 4 are doing well now. We took a popsicle stick and tape and splinted the guineas toe. She did very well with letting us hold and doctor her foot. We gave her a full day of rest and she worked the splint off herself. She is now walking without a limp and her toe is a tad bent but NOT like it was!!
And I will never be "mad" at Gretal!!! disapointed but never mad! I know she saw something New and interesting and was just wanting to play! Just like the skunk she was "playing" with the other day! She has always (1.5yrs) been a city house dog, so all these "new" animals are cool to her! If I know I cant be outside with them I will put Gretal in her kennel.

Overrun with chickens
I am trying to do the same. We sit next to the chicken tractor and she sits and mostly sleeps. I have had to get on her once for running around the tractor "herding" the guineas. I like your idea of making her go with me and sit...will have to try that, thanks.
With the housing situation we are still working on it!!
I am converting an old horse trailer for our chicken coop but have read mixed reviews on mixing guineas and chickens. We have 6, 3 month old chickens and not sure how they will interact with the guineas.
So thinking I need to build a coop/roost for the guineas alone. What is your take on mixing them together?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

My four guineas are in with my chickens (5 bantams, 3 big) but I'm currently planning a second coop to move the guineas to. They get along okay but they will harass the chickens and three turkey poults that are in there with them if I try to sleep five minutes longer. As it is, I am up at 5 or so to open the coop door. I'd like to have their own coop and hopefully eventually an automatic door just to make my life easier. Housing them together from chicks and keets is great though to have them get along better. Mine didn't start messing with the chickens until this spring when the hormones kicked in.