I moved my guineas out into a large enclosed pen in the hen house. One is scooting he cannot stand but he was fine inside my house. I cannot say for sure, I did take everyone out of the brooder a couple times a day and put them in a big rubbermaid container and I never say anyone scoot, some were laying down???? Maybe he had this problem for awhile????? I checked for breaks and he has strength in his legs and wings. All I can think is when I was bringing them out he hit his head or was trappled (it was a matter of 90 seconds from house to coop) I put him a good sized dog carrier with a heat lamp, food and water. I was thinking I should put another one or two with him to keep him company. What are you thoughts?
Scooting guinea
How is your guinea today ??
I know I read something before about keets getting splayed leg pretty easy and you need to be careful in the beginning. But I have searched my files and can't find it in any of the keet care sheets I saved, sorry. Although I don't know if that could be the issue or not. The first link has a pic, is that what it looks like ??
Here is a link I googled ::
http://www.guineafowlinternational.org/articles/splay.php
This link says guineas are prone to leg injury ::::
"(Guinea legs in general are prone to injuries so take care not to capture them by their legs or feet, either as keets or adults.)"
http://www.guineafowlinternational.org/articles/keets.php
I'm hoping that he just got bumped a bit and freaked with the move and is fine today.
I let mine out of the chicken yard to free range yesterday for the first time and finally had to put them back inside after only an hour, they wouldn't shut up....LOL. Seemed like they were freaked about it all. Soon as they got back in the pen they were happy as can be and thankfully back to just normal sounds.
~Julie =0)
Thanks for the links, he's the same. What the best way to put him down? (for the squimish) If he isn't walking tomorrow I going to put him down. I thought about and I never saw anyone laying down when I went to pick them up to clean the brooder. Hmmmm, must have been knocked wrong. I grabbed everyone the same (not by the legs) Sheesh the DG curse got my guinea! I went out this morning to feed and water the rest, everyone is fine.
I was reading on a guinea site and they say to keep the guinea in its house for six weeks then open the doors and the guineas will go out as the feel comfortable to. They can take awhile!
Never mind, I did it. He couldn't get around so I ended it.
Oh, I'm sorry !!!
I had hoped he'd be fine today.
Well I opened the pen door and they wandered out on their own yesterday but obviously were too dumb to get back to it without me "guiding" them....lol Maybe I'll try again in a few days. It took over a week for the turkeys to go out into the pen without panicking, so I guess I can cut the guineas some slack...lol
~Julie
Thanks, I am sad. The others are all doing well. Those poor guineas are getting bullied by the silkies! Its the being of June and its supposed to get down in the 30's tonight so I am adding another heat lamp so they don't get piled up if they get cold.
How old are your guineas?
My guineas are 7-8 wks now. They are fully feathered, but they have been in the coop / chicken yard for a bit now (several wks atleast). But I raised them with chicks and they all went out together.
It was cold here last night (40*) and do you think I could get everyone to go into the coop, of course not. Some of them like to go to bed under the coop, right in the center like a big feather pillow one right next to another. I debated giving them their light back but since I couldn't coax them all inside gave up on that idea.
~Julie
This message was edited Jun 6, 2007 7:19 PM
Ya thats what I am afraid of. I was thinking of adding a "skirt" to my coop but I figured if someone needed to stay cool or get away from something big it could save them. The coop is really a 10x10 shed that I added two lil vinyl windows to (and we are adding a cupola and weathervane!) I am insulating and putting up plywood on the inside plus electricity before fall. So it sits on cement blocks, I have a flood light that points on it, which I leave on all night for safety. (or my peace of mind)
So mine have about a month or so to go,unless I wait the 6 weeks.
Well I like the feature of the coop being up off the ground for added room, added safety, added shade.... I don't like that they (some, not all) choose to sleep there instead of the coop. I expect in winter they will all be inside...lol.
I keep plenty of water outside. But I have all the feeders inside and I see the birds move freely in and out. I do offer them a treat in the morning before work and in the evening after work. The treats are a lot of times in the yard....although in the evening I try to use that time to coax them all inside.
I guess they are a lot like my kids and I just can't force them to do it exactly my way...lol
Julie
When you put your chicks out in the coop for the first time, where to you 'release' them? Outside or inside? I find that when you first put them out, if you try to confine them to where you want them to take shelter that's where they seem to go for the night. If you can't confine them, try to put them out there at night when its dark so they are there for the night and wake up there. They venture out in the morning and seem to always come back to that spot.
Sorry, it should read 'where do you 'release' them?
I release inside the coop/hen house. In fact I find on young ones with older stock in the pen I gradually release them by putting them in a large dog cage inside the hen house for several days atleast before letting them free inside the hen house itself. That way they have a little time to adjust to change without being a target of older chickens.
I've noticed sometimes when I let younger stuff loose it will be days before I see them actually walk down the ramp and out of the house. It's a big transition. When I first opened my hen house and put my stock inside I kept the lil door closed for about 10 days before I decided to let them have freedom of choice.
Here is a pic I took 2 wks ago of my chicken area. The original intent was the barn style was for the chickens and the topper shed was a temporary structure for the turkeys. Come fall all my extra roos will go to freezer camp and that will give everyone more space as well during the winter months when I am assuming they will all want to be inside more. The turkeys were of course intended for freezer camp which is why I felt they only needed a temp structure.
Because some refuse to go into the hen house at night I have taken to leaving the little door open. I hope I don't come to regret that choice. I would be more comfortable if everyone in the pen were locked in the coop at night. I moved another lower roost into the other building (topper shed) today and hope to be able to entice some of the poultry to maybe go in there to roost at night. I can lock the door behind them. The chickens and the guineas do pop in that building during the day to see what the turkeys have left behind....they are terrible for spreading their feed everywhere.......
It's nothing fancy but it's functional and we all seem happy enough with it.
~Julie =0)
This message was edited Jun 8, 2007 11:25 AM
Here is one of my guineas taken again about 2 wks ago, already they have more color about the face then when this was taken.
Julie
Here is my chick playpen (the last of my new chicks this year).... most are silkies in this group.
They will go into the pen gradually in probably another week to 10 days. I have them next to the chicken yard so they can all see each other.
They are now sleeping in the playpen with no light, which I cover with a tarp on all sides then put some wood paneling on top to help keep the tarp secure (it is tied down on the sides) every night.
They will go in a dog cage inside the hen house for a couple days before they are finally released inside the hen house. It's a long process.....lol.
~Julie
Ok, last one I promise...lol
How are the rest of the guineas doing outside ??
~Julie
I love your playpen, perfect for those darling little silkies! Your coop is wonderful and you have a beautiful selection of chickens. I like the size of your chicken yard, I wish I had that much space for my chickens.
Cathy
Thanks Cathy
The playpen was a "free" sitting in someone's yard. It looked to me as if they had used it for a baby so it wouldn't get skeeter bit outside. The bottom is just springs for a baby mattress but I put a framed screen inside and it works perfectly. I like it a LOT !!!!
The flock seems to like their yard, having the ability to go under the coop gives them extra shade and protection when they choose it. I worry about them having enough space. I had intended to let them free range more than they do but with all the woods and places to scrounge up bugs the first thing they do is head for my tomato plants or my new rose bushes....lol.
When I had a flock before they free ranged all day long and as I recall I gave up gardening because it was a losing battle with them out.
Julie