What did your guinea/s do today? 😁

[Pastel the Rooster]

I've seen threads here and there on BYC like this, just not with guinea fowl.
I figure that this will be a fun opportunity for us guinea owners to share our guineas antics!
And for those who want guineas, come see how fun they are!

I really hope that you all will enjoy this thread, and please keep this thread peaceful. Please do not argue, or swear.
Thanks, and enjoy,
Pastel
Ps (you can also tell what your other birds or horses, or goats, etc did!)

 

[Salt and timbers]

Decided that tied boots are unacceptable

 

[R2elk]

I've seen so many mixed verdicts about raising them with chickens. My chooks are about 8 weeks old, my 2 keets about 4 weeks old, i suppose there's too much of an age gap really to mix them. as chickens can be such savages I really hesitate to put them together. their behaviour is so different already, the keets are hurtling around their pen like dingbats and the chickens are... chickens.

realistically the keets should go and live with the rest of the guineas when they grow up but i do wish there was a way to tame them just a LITTLE, our older birds are pretty daft and wild

I have raised them both ways, with chickens and by themselves. I will never raise them with chickens again. You think chickens can be savages, they have nothing on guineas.

The majority of people who raise them with chickens say how wonderful they are. Once the first breeding season starts you don't hear from them anymore or if you do it is: "Why are my guineas attacking my chickens."

The people that get away with having chickens and guineas have lots of room where they can segregate from each other. Guineas need a lot more "personal space" than chickens need.

If you want tame guineas, spend time with them. Bribe them with treats but let them approach you, don't go after them. Try to meet them on their level when keets. They have an instinctual fear of anything approaching from above.

When they are in the brooder, put some feed in your hand and hold your hand down on the bedding. Let them come to you and they will eat from your hand with little ones even crawling into your hand to get the feed.

 

[parsnips]

I got my husband to cull the crossbeak when he got home, couldn't face it myself. He's made of tougher stuff than me. But this morning we had another keet hatch, day 31... this one is absolutely fine and now in with the others


After the crossbeak hatched I thought perhaps I should have tossed the remaining eggs after day 29 as they were probably not hatching for a reason but it was worth waiting for this little guy.

This is the first year I've tried hatching my own so has been a rapid learning curve but overall pretty fun

 

[parsnips]

Sorry to hear your keets are unwell. They seem so fragile. I hope they turn a corner soon.

Dave is Lavender, I think, which was unexpected from our pearl adults, but admittedly I know almost nothing about the genetics of their colours

Dave3 was doing the splits upon hatching so got renamed Spraddle, but did well with little hobbles on and is perfectly normal now

I have ordered some hatching eggs for one last go this year to try and widen our gene pool a bit

Anyway, what they did today was flap their new wings (and get on top of the brooder. there will be mayhem soon, so need to put a lid on the box I think before i'm chasing them round the house)

 

[parsnips]

Well my newest one moved from the incubator into the brooder I've just noticed another has pipped. these are eggs from our little gang and it's their first year laying so it's a bit experimental at this point.

only one hatched from the last attempt and it sadly died after a few days. I'd had to assist as it couldn't zip. I probably left it too late to help after reading all the "let nature take its course" advice online. I think it was positioned wrong Anyway Dave2 (all new babies get called Dave in this house) zipped itself swiftly and without issue yesterday. Keeping my fingers crossed for Dave3.

We have 6 adult pearl guineas and they are 3 males and 3 females. The only one with a name is Mrs Flappy who flies at me if she's hangry

 

[macmac955]

Posting this picture because Nugget looks like one of those country fellas with the grass in her mouth

 

[cvamoca]

My husband brought me home 9 eggs in May, 6 hatched. They are my first guinea but I have chickens, geese, ducks, and house birds.
I had to cull 2 at about 2 weeks, both developed neurological disorder- one was walking in circles, the other had wry neck that got so bad so quickly, I didn't try to treat it. I got them through it with high protein food, lots of cooked egg and the stress vitamins, with E and selenium.
They were raised by an old chicken mom, and think they are chickens at 6 weeks. Are super tame, sweet birds.
Today, he sweetly brought me home another 5, week to 2 week olds from the same people. I don't have a chicken mom for them, but I'm hoping in a few weeks they can go out with the bigger ones and everyone will be tame.
Every day, they do something cool. Chasing me around equals cool.
They spend a fair amount of time on the doorstep trying the dog houses out for size.

I'd like to know what colours they are- the older ones I'm guessing- just guessing are 3 lavender and 1 porcelaine, new keets look to have a couple porcelaine. The parents- there are quite a few buff dundottes in their flock but none of these keets are. I have seen pictures of a few lavenders they have, they just collect all the eggs and hatch so you don't know what you are getting (except awesomeness)
You can see my older ones up in the rafters, the one that looks white is porcelaine I believe, has partial pearling and same as my D'uccles were.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Currently, I don't have any Guinea Fowl, though I want some. I used to own some Lavenders and Pearls in my first year of poultry keeping. I loved my Lavenders (one was a rescue) and didn't like my Pearls (one was the evil Half-Wattle). Three of my Lavenders I raised from juveniles, which were friendlier than I expected. They were friendly enough that I was able to hand feed them once. My fourth Lavender, Eagle, was a rescue who was given to me. Sadly after I got him, he broke a wing and ended up living with some of my chickens and became best friends with this decrowed rooster I got somewhere else. On my Pearls, I had either three or four of them for a very short time. They weren't as friendly as the Lavenders, which is expected, though one, Half-Wattle, who had half of a wattle, was somewhat aggressive. He didn't really attack, he just liked to bite.

If you do want to classify me as having Guineas, my family and I do have five Guinea Pigs.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Currently, I don't have any Guinea Fowl, though I want some. I used to own some Lavenders and Pearls in my first year of poultry keeping. I loved my Lavenders (one was a rescue) and didn't like my Pearls (one was the evil Half-Wattle). Three of my Lavenders I raised from juveniles, which were friendlier than I expected. They were friendly enough that I was able to hand feed them once. My fourth Lavender, Eagle, was a rescue who was given to me. Sadly after I got him, he broke a wing and ended up living with some of my chickens and became best friends with this decrowed rooster I got somewhere else. On my Pearls, I had either three or four of them for a very short time. They weren't as friendly as the Lavenders, which is expected, though one, Half-Wattle, who had half of a wattle, was somewhat aggressive. He didn't really attack, he just liked to bite.

If you do want to classify me as having Guineas, my family and I do have five Guinea Pigs.

Awe. I used to have lavenders, but three died, and one I rehomed. At his new home, he is top of pecking order, even over chickens.

This Section Is For Eveyone!-
My white female and her daughter are sweet, although her daughter bites.
Her possible half daughter (a pied guinea) is super sweet. Gave eggs away over a year ago, and owner needed to give me them as adults.
My white females son as neurological problems, and is pretty dumb. He attacks everyone and everything. He makes me laugh though.

My adult pearl female has one daughter. (Actually, three, but I gave two away) Her daughter is hard to catch-just like her mom- UNLESS you have food. I can pet her when she is eating. And once she is in your arms, she is pretty sweet.

My pearl male is pretty sweet. His son is crazy.
White male is kinda sweet, but wary.
Royal Purple male is sweet, but don't come within 100 ft of him, or he might have a heart attack.



I SUPPOSE NOW THIS THREAD IS ALREADY ALSO A "TELL ME ABOUT YOUR GUINEA FLOCK" THREAD!! But also still what the title is!!

My adult guineas:
Harry-sweet pearl male. Will eat out of hand.
Madame Pearl- sweet pearl female, but don't touch her.
Guineiss- Royal Purple male. Skittish.
Bluey- White Male, sweet but don't touch him.
Ridges❤ Amazing, awesome, super sweet white female. Has gone broody. No keets allowed!

"baby" guineas (they are laying)
Russell- crazy pearl male.
Eclipse- sweet/crazy pearl female.
Frost- sweet but bitey white female.

Special ed guineas
Ditzy- sweet white male with neurological problems that attacks everyone and everything.
Pie- Ditzy's half sister. Only in this group because she is Ditz's "service sister"

Okay! Tell me what your Confusion of guineas did, and who all/what colors you have in your confusion!