Getting Guineas to go in the coup at night.

[ILuvsChicks]

Can guineas be trained to go into the coup at night. Right now they just stay in the run. They are safe for the most part there. But they would be safer in the coup. I kelp them in the coup for a couple of weeks when I got them. Works with the chickens but not them.

 

[R2elk]

Can guineas be trained to go into the coup at night. Right now they just stay in the run. They are safe for the most part there. But they would be safer in the coup. I kelp them in the coup for a couple of weeks when I got them. Works with the chickens but not them.

You can train them. It helps if you have desirable roosts. Don't wait until dark to put them in. They don't like to go into dark places.

They can be trained using a call and treats or you can teach them to be herded. Once they are in, shut them in and let them out the next morning.

 

[fowltemptress]

Coop, not coup. And yes! Mine are all trained to go into the coop at night, but you have to be willing to be more "hands on" with it. I put feed and/or treats in the coops about 20 minutes before sundown, using a call to let the ones far off in the fields know it's time to come up. Then I use herding sticks to guide everyone into the coops before locking up. Herding is more difficult some nights than it is on others - it all depends on the whims of the guineas and whether the bossier birds are chasing the others out. And sometimes I can skip a night or be a little late and all the guineas will have put themselves up, but I do not like having to do this as some birds are liable to wind up in trees rather than in the coops. If the guineas get wind of the fact roosting in trees is an option that's where they'll go, and I'd have to start the training process all over again by somehow getting them back in the coops for 24/7 lockdown for a couple weeks or so. Not fun, so I make sure I'm always out there treating and herding at the right time, just in case. You say yours are in a run, though? So you wouldn't have the same challenges getting them back into the coops, I'd imagine.
So short answer: yes, but unless you're guiding or luring them in and locking them in there to be let out in the morning, it's never going to be a sure thing the way it is with chickens.

 

[GuineaMania]

Yes, like others said, they can be trained. It is harder than with chickens, but after a long while they will cooperate.

 

[Guinea Math]

Once you get them trained, with lights, treats, a call word, a set routine of when you give treats, high roosting bars...just TRY to keep them away from the coop. Lol.

 

[ILuvsChicks]

Thanks for all the help. Sounds like work. That's OK. I can handle it. I'll have see about getting started now. Thanks again

 

[Moonbeam Guineas]

Here is a video of my flashlight trained guineas going to bed in my walkout basement, where I raise them as keets. This video is older and those birds are now part of the larger flock. Some night my guineas try to roost in the rafters of my horse barn. I shoe them down with a broom and use the flashlight to direct them to their coop. Once a group of guineas gets the concept of following the light, it is so easy to get the rest of my birds to follow along.
My guineas flash light training.

 

[Mountain Roost]

a few things to add to a thread already jammed packed with good ideas..

keep them in one coop from keets onward. home is home. When letting out and training leave about half inside the coop so that the outside group wants back in all day to be with the others. I do this for a while, like weeks.

during nesting season the hens will go into the trees to be spiteful regardless of your efforts; especially on a clear blue sky night. lol

 

[R2elk]

during nesting season the hens will go into the trees to be spiteful regardless of your efforts; especially on a clear blue sky night. lol

During nesting season I herded the hens off of their ground nests and back into the coop before I collected their eggs daily.

I had trained my guineas at an early age that I would not tolerate them roosting in trees. I had lost my entire first flock of guineas to Great Horned owls because I had not coop trained them and let them roost where they would.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Awesome. Their eggs are pretty good.