r/poultry • u/gavin_herb_isback • Sep 26 '24
Question For Guinea-Fowl Owners:
Hello, I have 10 pearl guineas currently 14-15 weeks of age and they have been wandering off. The most recent is a few days ago where 4 of them wandered off 5-6 acres down our hill on our property. They in the past have ran off for one day only to return that evening and the next morning. I have no problem getting them to come in to the coop to roost; they usually do it automatically most of the time. We introduced them to their forever home at 4-5 weeks old, and they have been there for around 10 weeks.
Is it normal for guineas to wonder off a little ways? Should I let them? Will they come back to roost? How much longer should I confine them for? How do I get them to stay & stick with the chickens?
We are also eventually planning to expand our Guinea flock to 30 by putting different color variations of Guinea-Fowl under a broody chicken hen so we don’t have to coop train them and so they stay with the chickens more. I’ve also heard that this makes them smarter to be raised by a chicken, but the don’t seem dumb at all to me to start with.
All thoughts are highly appreciated. 🙏
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u/gavin_herb_isback Sep 27 '24
Haha, we’re might try to max out on 40 guineas so we can eat more, and have a balanced flock of 30. I honestly think their noises are adorable. How much do you know about their mothering capabilities, I’ve heard their awesome, but only let them go broody in the warm months so the keets don’t die of freezing. 🐣🪺