Putting Your Guinea fowl Into the Coop at Night
I know I have mentioned this before, but my experience last night has prompted me to bring it up again. If you put your Guinea fowl into their coop at night, be sure they are inside the coop before dusk!
Late yesterday afternoon my wife and I got deeply involved in a project inside the house. Fortunately, we had herded our flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl back into their coop yard about 3 PM. But because we were distracted, we did not go outside to put the Guinea fowl into their coop until late dusk – about 6:15 PM this time of year. This is only the second time this has happened to us, but both times that we’ve been negligent in this regard we’ve regretted it deeply.
Last night, once we realized the Guinea fowl were still not secured in their coop, my wife went out to put them away for the night. She came back to the house in less than 2 minutes to solicit my help. As each minute passed, it was getting darker. By the time we got back to the coop yard, we had to use flashlights. It was not completely dark, but the light was too dim to clearly see the Guinea fowl.
Last night all but 6 Guinea fowl had gone into the coop on their own. The remaining 6 were sitting on the roosts provided by the homemade wooden Jungle Gym in their coop yard. These Guinea fowl had nestled in for the night, and were not willing to budge at all. Even when we gently touched the birds, they would not move. Just as the last time this happened, we had to carefully pickup and transport each bird to the coop. Admittedly, this was easier this time as there were only 6 offending Guinea fowl – last time it was all 30 of them! Still, it took us 15 minutes working gloveless in the 25°F temperatures to get all the Guinea fowl put away.
Be absolutely sure that you get your Guinea fowl into their coop before dusk arrives. Once it starts to get dark, the Guinea fowl become much less inclined to move. I can’t even imagine what we’d have to go through if the Guinea fowl were still out free ranging, and not in their coop yard once dusk hits. Around here, we dare not leave them out of the protected coop and coop yard after dark. Predators would have a real heyday if we did.
Another thing to remember, should you accidentally leave your Guinea fowl out too late: do not shine a flashlight directly at the Guinea fowl! This will cause them to go ballistic, and thus dramatically increase the probability of them hurting themselves. Also, when you pick the Guinea fowl up, be gentle – but be firm. Don’t let the Guinea fowl you’re carrying think that it might slip out and fall. Don’t hurt it, but let it know that it’s secure and safe.
Guinea Fowl and Dogs
We have a flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl that are 18 weeks old. Their age places them between Guinea fowl keets and Guinea fowl adults. We call them sub-adults. We also have two very different dogs. A 115# male German Shepherd dog and a 90# female Akita.
Our German Shepherd dog, Buddy, is about 4 years old. He’s very large and aggressive, but his aggression is tempered by a sort of discretion or judgment. Buddy comes from a working line of dogs and as such has excellent herding instincts. Buddy will, on command, herd the birds to wherever we tell him. He’s invaluable in getting them back into the coop every evening.
Our Akita, Bella, is extremely aggressive. She will attack and kill any strange animal that she can get to. She’s a fearless defender with absolutely no instinctive herding skills at all. In total, it took months to get Bella to where she could be left alone with the Guinea fowl. If you read about Akitas, one thing stands out: this breed does not do well with other animals. I can attest to this fact!
The first month that we let our Guinea fowl out to free range, we supervised and guided the interaction between our dogs and the Guinea fowl. Buddy was easy and was non-threatening almost immediately. Bella, on the other hand, took quite a few corrections before she finally let go of all her attack instincts regarding the birds.
Now that the Guinea fowl and the dogs have interacted without supervision for over a month, the relationships between the Guinea fowl and the dogs are emerging. The Guinea fowl have different relationships with both dogs, and both dogs have different relationships with the Guinea fowl. It’s really quite interesting.
Buddy enjoys herding the Guinea fowl. And the Guinea fowl seem to enjoy Buddy doing that. He moves around them cautiously and then gently herds them to where they are supposed to be. The Guinea fowl respond quickly to his queues now. If he shows up where they are foraging, they will all pretty much start moving to the coop yard, which is where he most often herds them.
Bella likes to herd the Guinea fowl also, but there is no method to her madness, per se. She just moves into them and tries to get them to go in a certain (arbitrary) direction. More often than not, she just spreads them out.
Buddy is content to observe and guard the Guinea fowl at a distance. Bella, on the other hand, likes to be right in the middle of the flock. She strolls into the flock of unconcerned Guinea fowl and plops down on the ground – head high, always watching everything. The Guinea fowl will often surround her, something it was hard to get her to tolerate. But now she allows it and even allows the Guinea fowl to forage right next to her. She will even allow the birds to peck insects off of her dense fur.
There is nothing that the Guinea fowl do that upsets Buddy. Sometimes they will spread their wings and charge at his face. He doesn’t even flinch. No reaction at all. Bella can tolerate almost anything now, but she still gets concerned when there is a big fight amongst the Guinea fowl. If a fight gets out of hand, Bella will approach the offending birds and walk ‘through’ them. This ends the fight immediately, and Bella once again stretches out among the newly calmed flock.
When Buddy is told to bring the Guinea fowl to the coop for the night, Bella always tags along with him. She really doesn’t know what to do, so she emulates Buddy’s behaviors and moves. Buddy will allow this as long as she does not move the Guinea fowl flock off course. If she does, Buddy tells her to get lost, which she does instantly. I’m hoping that Bella will eventually be as good at herding the Guinea fowl as Buddy is, but we’ll just have to wait and see…
Our Guinea Fowl Develop A Bad Habit
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl, it’s that these intriguing birds are true creatures of habit. They establish routines and they stick with them – religiously. They don’t like anything that changes in their environment. I can easily upset the Guinea fowl by simply moving their waterer across the coop.
Our Guinea fowl like to come out of the coop at the same ‘sun time’ every day. ‘Sun time’ refers to the position of the sun in the sky as opposed to the clock time. Tomorrow morning the sun will rise at 7:38 AM, but in the middle of summer it rises at 4:15 AM. Needless to say we cannot use the clock to schedule releasing our Guinea fowl from the coop or putting them away in the coop.
Our Guinea fowl have been free ranging for quite some time now. They were free ranging today, and if there’s no snow falling, they will free range tomorrow. I can tell you what they’ll do when they get released from the coop to free range.
The first thing our Guinea fowl do when they are freed from coop confinement is to head down to their ‘safe’ juniper tree. This was the first place, of any distance from the coop, that the Guinea fowl visited when they started to free range. The Guinea fowl will forage around the juniper tree for a little while, despite the fact that they’ve totally picked the area clean of vegetation. After that, they will start what I call ‘their rounds.’
When our Guinea fowl go on their rounds, they walk around foraging in all of the places that they’ve previously visited. The time the Guinea fowl spend in each spot varies. I guess it depends on the vegetation and insect availability. In winter, both items are in short supply, so I’ve noticed that rounds don’t take as long as in the summer. To visit all of their foraging grounds – territory – takes the birds anywhere from 2-4 hours, depending. They are adamant about visiting every previously foraged spot.
While the Guinea fowl are making their rounds, if they get full or they are scared by something, they immediately retreat to either their juniper tree or their coop.
After the rounds are completed, the Guinea fowl will almost always stray into new locations – no doubt seeking new food and roosting locations. Until recently, they have always sought new hunting grounds relatively close by. This all changed when the Guinea fowl decided to head south – a full quarter of a mile from their coop. The first time they ventured that far away, I was hoping that it was a one time thing, but alas I now know that their new spot is part of their territory, and as such will be visited daily.
Had our Guinea fowl decided to venture a quarter of a mile out in any other direction, I would not care. But to the south is not good. The woods are dense to the south – lots of tall undergrowth and not many trees. The terrain is also really rough – steep and littered with large rocks. Because the terrain to the south is so rough, we basically never go there. That means that the probability of predators being there and visiting there is greatly enhanced.
I’ve never heard of a way to stop Guinea fowl from going somewhere, short of clipping their wings and fencing them in – which we will not do. But I am going to be trying to figure a way to get the Guinea fowl to not head so far to the south.
Until I figure out a way to stop my Guinea fowl from going south, I’ll just have to fret a bit more often about them. Tomorrow, to help minimize my concerns, I’ll turn the dogs loose to the south to clear out any predators that may be patiently waiting for a fresh Guinea fowl meal.
Guinea Fowl and Deer Season
This year has been full of Guinea fowl firsts. This is the first year that we’ve had Guinea fowl, so I guess it would be accurate to say everything has been a first. But some firsts have been much more noteworthy than others. Here are some of the Guinea fowl firsts that I thought stood out:
• The day the 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl keets arrived.
• The first day we let the Guinea fowl keets out of the brooder.
• The first day the Guinea fowl keets flew – even a little.
• The first day we let the Guinea fowl keets out of the coop.
• The first day our Guinea fowl keets started to make their adult sounds.
• The first Guinea fowl fight.
• The first day we let our Guinea fowl out of the coop to free range.
Almost all of the Guinea fowl firsts that we’ve experienced have been great events. But some of them have not been so great. We were both unhappy the first time we found that one of the Guinea fowl keets had been attacked to the point where he had bloody spots on his head.
Deer hunting season around here is a pretty big deal. Hunters travel here from all around the country to see if they can bag one of our exemplary mule deer. The area where we live is all privately owned property, so we don’t have to contend with ‘random’ hunters like they do on public lands, but there are still hunters out.
Today we discovered that it’s rather unsettling to have your flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl out free ranging and to hear a gunshot. This is especially true if you cannot see where your Guinea fowl are when you hear the gunshot. I know that deer are hunted with rifles, not shotguns, but still we could not help but worry about our free ranging Guinea fowl.
To add anxiety to our distress, our flock of Guinea fowl wandered further than they ever have before – and they went in a new direction. Our Guinea fowl went a full ¼ mile from their coop today – fully twice as far as ever before. They headed due south, also – a direction they never go. The distant area where the Guinea fowl ended up foraging was thick with underbrush and only had a few large pine trees. Worst of all, of course, is that the flock was not under the protective watch of our two dogs.
The truth is, we didn’t know where the Guinea fowl had gotten off to for quite some time. We just knew we couldn’t hear or see them – which is most unusual indeed.
After a couple of hours and a couple of gunshots we finally loaded up in the ATV and opened the gate to go in search of the Guinea fowl. Both dogs followed as we drove around the property. The first 20 minutes of our search revealed nothing. Taking into account where we’d searched, we were pretty sure of the general vicinity the Guinea fowl would be hiding in.
Our Guinea fowl really like our ATV, our tractor and our dogs – so when we finally got within about 25 yards of where the birds were foraging, they started making a racket and came to the ATV and the dogs. We slowly drove the ATV back inside the fenced acreage. Directly following us were all 30 of the pearl grey Guinea fowl. Directly following the Guinea fowl were both dogs – making sure no birds broke formation or veered from the intended course.
It took us about ten minutes to get the Guinea fowl back inside the fenced acreage and to their coop. Once at the coop, we rewarded them with millet. They did not leave the fenced acreage for the balance of the day – thankfully!
We probably worry too much but hey, what can I say – we really like our Guinea fowl.
Guinea Fowl: Defenders of the Realm
Today started out like just about every other day for our Guinea fowl. Roughly an hour after the sun rose above the eastern mountains, we let our flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl out of their coop and into their coop yard. The birds were slow to come outside, which is customary on cool, overcast days. This morning it was foggy, heavily overcast, about 38°F and there was a light breeze blowing. I think the Guinea fowl are reluctant to exit the confines of their coop on overcast days because of predators. Flying predators don’t cast ground shadows when it’s overcast.
After the Guinea fowl had played in their coop yard for about an hour, we released them to free range. They streamed out of their coop yard and headed directly for the juniper tree where they obviously feel safe. The juniper tree is where the birds go whenever they feel threatened by something, such as a flying predator. I’ve also seen them go there because a flock of geese was (noisily) flying overhead.
The base of the juniper tree the Guinea fowl use for safety is about 30′ in diameter. The tree is quite lush with branches and ‘leaves,’ so the Guinea fowl can go underneath it and still have lots of room to play – without fear of being seen from above. The Guinea fowl don’t eat off the juniper tree, but they’ve cleared all the vegetation from under it. Now they just scratch and peck at the dirt as they frolic in safety.
Somewhere around 11:30 AM I noticed that the Guinea fowl were playing outside the fenced acreage. They were all about 50 yards out in front of the main gate – doing their pecking and scratching thing near the drive. Just a few seconds after I noticed the flock I saw all of their heads go up simultaneously. I immediately scanned the sky for a bird of prey – but saw nothing.
The Guinea fowl grouped together tighter, still with their heads up high, and started squawking up a storm and moving slowly to the west. I kept looking for something that could have alarmed them, but saw nothing. The Guinea fowl flock continued their behavior, moving like liquid to the west.
Finally, I caught a glimpse of motion on the ground a few feet in front of the flock of Guinea fowl. I had to watch the grass closely to finally see the source of the movement. It was a cottontail rabbit. The Guinea fowl kept approaching the rabbit, all the while making themselves appear as large as possible and making a deafening racket with their calls.
The rabbit continued to move west, away from the slowly approaching Guinea fowl flock. The Guinea fowl moved at a constant rate, but the rabbit would wait until they were only a few feet away, then it would run several feet and again hunker down.
As the flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl continued to move west towards the rabbit, the shape of the flock changed. More birds were now in a line in front of the rabbit. And over the next couple of minutes the line started to create a perpetually moving, very noisy arc. It was clear that the flock was attempting to encircle the rabbit.
The above behavior continued for a distance of about 20 yards. At that time the rabbit was 75% encircled by the flock of Guinea fowl. I guess the rabbit finally started to feel threatened. The rabbit shot out through the opening in the circle, ran about 30 yards and went into an underground drain pipe. Once the rabbit was no longer visible, the Guinea fowl quickly ran to where the rabbit had disappeared. As they milled around the drain pipe opening they quieted down and lowered their heads. After investigating the drain pipe opening, the Guinea fowl all took to the wing and flew back inside the fenced acreage.
In reflecting on what I’d just seen the Guinea fowl do, I could not help but be impressed with the way they work together. They all raised their heads together, made loud, unending calls together, moved fluidly in the correct direction, and moved deftly to create the trapping circle for their foe. I was really glad I got to see this Guinea fowl behavior. I only wish I’d had my video camera so that I could have better shared it. Maybe next time…
Guinea Fowl Do not Like Change
It’s true. Guinea fowl do not like change. Guinea fowl do not like it when anything is added to their environment. Guinea fowl also do not like it when something is taken out of their environment. And finally, Guinea fowl do not like it when their established routines are altered.
I was recently reminded of how much our flock of 30 pearl grey Guinea fowl does not like it when I change something in their coop. A few days ago I added two 10″ reflecting domes with ceramic heat emitters and protective cages to the ceiling of the Guinea fowl’s coop. I have to close myself inside the coop when I perform such operations or the Guinea fowl will storm the coop thinking I am going to give them millet or alfalfa.
Once I completed the installation of the two domes I reopened the coop to the Guinea fowl, which were all impatiently milling around the coop yard. For the next half an hour the Guinea fowl would run into the coop, make a lot of noise and almost immediately run back out of the coop. They did this in groups of 2-5 birds. The noise was deafening and the Guinea fowl were running as fast as their little legs would carry them – both when running into the coop and when running out of the coop.
After the first half hour of utterly frantic reaction to the newly installed domes, the Guinea fowl changed their behavior, but only slightly. Several Guinea fowl would stage themselves at the bottom of the ramp leading into the coop. Once 6-10 Guinea fowl were in the staged group of birds, they would all start to squawk loudly. Once all the Guinea fowl were making as much noise as they could possibly make, they would slowly, deliberately walk up the ramp and into the coop – all the while ‘screaming.’ The small band of Guinea fowl inside the coop would continue their screams, but stayed inside the coop for several minutes before finally exiting. This process was then repeated – but I don’t know if the subsequent groups were comprised of the same Guinea fowl or different Guinea fowl. This process lasted for about two hours.
About 3 hours after I’d exited the coop from doing the dome installations, there was one group of about 10 Guinea fowl inside the coop – they were all screaming. Then, as if someone had given a command and blown a whistle, all of the Guinea fowl in the coop yard rushed into the coop. All of them screaming their calls at the top of their lungs. Despite the fact that all the Guinea fowl were inside of the enclosed coop and we were standing 15 yards away, the noise was so loud we could not hear each other speaking without yelling.
The flock remained in the coop, screaming, for about 20 minutes before they all exited and quieted down. After that, it was business as usual. Some of the Guinea fowl would go into the coop, but no more noises and fussing. The flock, which had open access to free ranging – we’d left their gate open – spent the next hour or so walking in and out of the coop. No more raucous!
As testament to the fact that Guinea fowl do not like changes in their routines…
We let our Guinea fowl out of the coop about 1 hour after sunrise. If we have not released the Guinea fowl from the coop into the coop yard 90 minutes or so after sunrise, they start squawking! They are so loud that we can hear them inside the house – which is some distance away, and very well insulated against weather and sound. They will keep this up until they are released. The instant their coop door is opened, the noise stops.
In the summertime it gets light outside as early as 4:15 AM. In the wintertime it won’t get light outside until almost 8 AM. In the summertime it gets dark as late as 10 PM. In the wintertime it gets dark as early as 4:30 PM. To ensure that we release the Guinea fowl from the coop and put them away for the night at the proper times, we don’t refer to the clock. Instead, we use the sun. We consider sunup to be when the sun clears the mountains to the east. We know it’s time to put the Guinea fowl to bed for the night when the shadow from the mountain on the west touches the bottom of the Guinea fowl coop yard fence. When that happens, we ring the bell and reward the returning Guinea fowl (which is all of them) with millet.
If we fail to get outside and put the Guinea fowl back into their coop yard for the night when the shadow is right – the Guinea fowl will return to the coop yard on their own. Then they will start screaming. They will continue to scream until we go and close their gate and give them their millet. The instant that is done, the birds switch from screaming to cooing.
As you can see, our Guinea fowl have us very well trained.
