OT - Guineas

The guinea keets are starting to stink up the garage & getting too big for the washtub; time to put them outside in the chicken yard. But, over night lows are still in the 40's around here. Will they be ok or should I buy more Airwick?

How old are they? are the fully feathered? I've got 9 chick still in the basement but it was in the 20's last night with a dusting of snow/ice.

Kirk

About 3 weeks. Just starting to feather.

Will they have enough sense to follow the chicks into the coop at night?

I would wait until they are fully feather. Maybe if they were raised with the chicks they will follow. If your going to just throw them together there might be a little trouble. My guineas always fought with my chicken so I finally got rid of them. They are good for keeping the tick pollulation down and do make a racket when a stranger shows up.

Kirk

OK, tnx.

I usually get keets later in the Spring so I won't have this problem. and I put them in the coop at night w/ the hens so that they won't fight each other.

Yea, i've done the slip them into the coop at hight deal. I'll sometime divide the coop with some chicken wire on a frame so they came look at each other for a couple of days than mix them. There's always going to be that pecking order but you don't what it to get to be a bloody mess.
Good luck with your birds.

Kirk

That young would be best to let it warm up a little more. I only have one and it was raised with other chicken chicks. They get along good. My Guinea just thinks it's another chicken. I planned to get a few more. But my wife hates the noise it makes. I wouldn't be surprise to come home and set down for supper one night and be served Fried Guinea.

on our first batch of guineas after we took them out of the brooder we kept them in their own cage down at floor level until they were 12 weeks old, then we let one out every day, otherwise they might decide to take off and live with the neighbors instead.
when our babies hatched last year i tried to let them out and the big guineas picked on them until they were about 15 weeks old.
last year all of our roosters were running around without any tail feathers because guineas don't tolerate any aggressive behavior and when a roo went to mate they would go and chase him away taking a tail feather or two as a reminder. well it cost them roo's all there tail feathers and then some to never learn their lesson. this year they all seem to be getting along a lot better, well, according to the roo's tail feathers anyway.
they can get very loud right about the time you want to take a nap and we have to clip their wing feathers so they won't fly into the garden and eat everything.
other than that they are good bug eaters and they are entertaining to watch because they live every single second of their lives to the fullest, everything is an adventure and must be pondered and talked about in great detail. good luck with them.

Thanks!

I hope they don't get in the garden; never had a problem w/ them doing that w/ the last flock I had.

Thanks!

No problem. Wonder what Guineas taste like? Chicken? LOL

(quoted from post at 20:25:53 04/16/14) No problem. Wonder what Guineas taste like? Chicken? LOL

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i saw online someone fry em up like chicken. i tried it and it was tough as shoe leather. next time im gonna put it in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hrs and see how that works.

(quoted from post at 09:14:06 04/17/14)

(quoted from post at 20:25:53 04/16/14) No problem. Wonder what Guineas taste like? Chicken? LOL

Click to expand...

i saw online someone fry em up like chicken. i tried it and it was tough as shoe leather. next time im gonna put it in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hrs and see how that works.

Click to expand...

There are some things you do & some things you pay to have done......plucking a chicken is something I pay to have done!

Same with cleaning chitlins........

My wife kills, plucks, butchers and does the cooking. All I need
do is eat. Same if I was to bring in a string of fish. God, I love
her.

I was raised in an extended family of about a dozen cousins, second cousins & neighbors & I was the youngest. When it was time to kill hogs, the younger you were, the worse the job. I got to scrap the hog. And clean the chitlins. Same w/ chickens. Scorching pinfeathers. Cleaning gizzards. And best of all, cleaning the feet for seasoning in the snaps. Nothing got wasted!

That $6.99 roasted chicken at the grocery store is the best bargain in the world.

Maybe for your wallet - not for your health.

Chicken at the grocery store - almost all of it - is full of stuff you don"t need. Like salt injections and growth hormones.

You"ve had your coop for years - I remember you posting about the blacksnake you caught in there once. Surely the taste of fresh never frozen chicken ought to be worth some work.

Doug in east TN

" Chicken at the grocery store - almost all of it - is full of stuff you don"t need. Like salt injections and growth hormones."

I totally agree. So is beef & pork. And farm raised fish.

That's why most of the meat we eat around here comes from the organic producer at the link. (they are also our neighbors at the farmers market where we sell produce May - Sept)

What meat we don't get from Keenbell comes from the organic aisle in the grocery store. Even Walmart is selling organic food now!
Keenbell Farm