Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Sanitation
Baby guineas are one of the driest and tidiest of the fowl to raise. As long as you provide
them with no-drown waterers, your facilities will be dry most of the time. Their drop-
pings are a dry, concentrated waste product — not wet and runny like that of waterfowl.
It is always a relative joy to clean the guineas' shelter because you know you're not go-
ing to be dealing with a messy, runny, or sludgelike waste product. The dry and in many
cases powdery waste makes an excellent fertilizer for your garden and can be used as
such. When it comes to cleaning the guinea house, it's called common sense. When it
looks bad, clean it; there are no sure-fire formulas except using your brain.
Getting Their Wings
Guineas grow rather rapidly when eating a proper diet. You'll find that after two weeks
in the plastic tub, they will be more than willing to get out and fly into the outside world.
Be cautious, though, and don't turn them out to forage at too early an age. Anything less
than six weeks can be hazardous if they've not been raised with small chicken friends
that they have “bonded” with. Without them, guineas become independent thinkers and
sometimes wander off.
The more they are threatened or traumatized by predators or sudden movements, the
wilder and more independent they will become. They will drive you slightly buggy with
their independence, to be sure.
Caring for Adults
Once the guineas reach adulthood, their care is fairly simple. They are well-suited for
any living quarters that work for chickens. It is best to move them from the brooder to
the house they are going to live in for the rest of their lives. They do not like to change
houses and always try to return to the place where they first learn to roost. Your best bet
is to try to get them into their final home by the time they are four to six weeks old.
Adult guineas handle the cold well, as long as they are dry. Make sure that they have
some place to get in out of the wind and rain and storms. The basic shed as described in
Outfit the house with roosts and consistently train them to go into their house at night.
You must be ready to lock them up every night. If you get lazy, break training, and don't
lock them up one night, you'll spend the next three weeks retraining them.
When we've had exceedingly cold weather, I have seen the feet of my birds frostbit-
ten. Some of these guineas have lost both of their feet from staying out in the snow (see
chapter 25
,
Flock Health, for frostbite treatment methods).
