It is important to train your guineas, from an early age, to be herded, and to go into the coop every night. Going into the coop is necessary for their protection: Guineas are just not equipped to be able to defend themselves against the kinds of nighttime predators that they will encounter in most parts of the world.
In addition, guinea fowl evolved in a part of the world where a good layer of body fat and downy feathers weren’t needed, so they’re not well equipped for strong, cold winds, cold/wet weather, freezing rain. A single weather event usually won’t take out your flock, but over time, it will take a toll on their health.
Training them to be herded will make your cooping task easier; in addition, you’ll be better able to get them in if you need to, for example, in case of a weather emergency. I’ve twice had to herd mine in, in the middle of the afternoon, because of oncoming very severe storms. I’ve herded them in from over ¼ mile away. Should one of your guinea girls ever show up with an unexpected passel of keets, having a guinea who knows how to be herded will make it far easier for you to get her and the babies into a safe place. (For more information on helping a guinea mom rear her keets successfully, see our article on the topic.)
Some people train their guineas to return home by only letting them out of the coop a few at a time, which sometimes works but often doesn’t. Guineas don’t always make the connection between returning to their flock and returning to the coop to roost. It really isn’t teaching them anything; they already know they want to stay close to their flock. What you want them to learn is that at a certain time of day, or when you say so, it’s time to go back to the coop.
First, get your keets used to going in and out. If you have them in a crate such as pictured below, a pen, or a nursery-apartment within the coop, start letting them have some free time at 2-3 weeks old, allowing them to explore the coop while the adults are out ranging. Let them out of their enclosure in the afternoon, then before you need to start feeding and tending to the adults, use herding sticks (two long sticks that make it look like your arms are really long) to usher them back in. Repeat this process for a week or so, to give the keets and chance to build up some confidence and to get used to herding sticks.
At first, the keets are going to not respond to the herding sticks and you may have to actually push them with the sticks to keep them moving. After just a couple of days, though, they respond to the presence of the sticks. Guineas and other ground-grazing birds have a built-in instinct to respond to “pressure” from the rear. This instinct ensures that, as they’re grazing, the birds at the back of the flock will get some food. Otherwise, those at the front would linger until all the food was gone, and those at the back wouldn’t get much. This same process is at work in flocks of geese and other birds.
The next step will be to let them all outside, but for just a little while, maybe 30 minutes. Let them out in the late afternoon. Then, after they’ve been out awhile, use herding sticks and walk slowly behind them, gently moving them to the coop.
Herding 4-week-old keets back to the coop before feeding the adult flock in the late afternoon. Herding keets takes more time and patience than herding adults.
Repeat this process, extending the amount of time outside, until they’re out the whole day.
If possible, start by having their free-range time in the afternoon so they start to associate lowering light levels with going back into the coop.
Before long, they’ll be returning to the coop on their own. There will probably be some slip-ups, however. They may range farther than they intended, and be away from home when it starts getting dark. Their instinct be to hunker down under a shrub or in some tall grass. This may happen a time or two, so be ready with your herding sticks to go guide them home. When mine are first learning this process, I try to find where they are an hour or more before sunset, just in case they don’t get back on their own.
Later, when they’re teenagers, they may go through a rebellion period, just as all teenagers seem to. They will decide that the roof is far more fun than the coop. This will be the time you’ll need to really reinforce the training, and be ready with herding sticks and even a ladder to make sure that all go in at night. If you notice they’re starting to eye up the trees, start distributing treats or feed a little earlier than normal, and then use your herding sticks to usher them in before they can even start thinking about alternate places to roost. If you let them get away with staying out at this point, before long, part or all of your flock will be roosting outside at night.
The benefit to this program is that, if you should be unable to make it home before dark, you’ll likely find all or nearly all your flock has put themselves up for the night, and all you’ll have to do is close up the doors. Those who haven’t gone inside are sitting nearby and can be herded in with herding sticks and a flashlight to help them see where they’re going. Guineas can’t see well at all at night.
Other factors that will help you in training your flock to go into the coop:
It’s helpful for you to have a light (on a timer) inside a coop, which turns on an hour before sunset. Guineas hate going into a dark building. Their instinct tells them to go toward light, and there is more sunlight at the top of a tree or rooftop than on the ground, so they’ll fly upward to roost. A light inside the coop will help tremendously. A red light, instead of a white one, will help settle them (red light doesn’t interfere with melatonin production, which is the sleep-hormone). If you don’t have electricity in your coop, or can’t run an extension cord, get a battery-powered tap-on closet light or a solar light.
Make your coop as easy to access as possible. Have more than one door, if you can. Have your doors at ground level, or make sure your ramp is big and easy for them. Having a small or high door or a skinny ramp just makes it harder to go inside, which makes it harder to train them and gives them more opportunities to “miss” going in the door. Avoid high doors, as you want your guineas calm at herding time. If they need to fly to get in, they may just as easily fly to trees or rooftops as to the coop entrance. Herding should be a slow, calm process.
Speaking of coop doors, it helps if you have more than one door, or a door that is very large. In every guinea flock, there will be one or two self-appointed door-bullies. They think their job is to stand inside the door and harass every guinea coming in. The birds lower in the pecking order, or the less self-confident birds, will soon become reluctant to go in at night and may start roosting outside in preference to going through the abuse. It is harder for the door bullies to “guard” the door if it’s a big door, or if there is more than one door.
It is a good idea to put out treats in the coop area, when you first let them out in the morning and in the late afternoon. This gives the guineas something to look forward to and pleasant associations with the coop yard. In fact, putting treats out randomly throughout the day will keep them coming home to check for goodies. It also makes you the “Food Goddess” (or “Food God”). It’s always a good thing to have your flock respond positively to your presence. Guineas do not need to have food available 24/7, and doing that can attract insects and rodents. Use food as motivation for your guineas to return to the coop area.
I start this gradual-release training when my keets are 4-5 weeks old, but I live in an area with long stretches of warm, dry weather, almost no daytime predators, lots of ground cover, and I’m fortunate enough to work at home, so I can keep an eye on things. You may want to wait until your keets are closer to 6-8 weeks old. I recommend against keeping them cooped up for 10 or 12 weeks or longer, just because guineas are very athletic birds and they need exercise. As with all animals, training youngsters much easier than training older birds. Keets are less likely to run or fly from you at the first herding try than older birds are.
Good luck with training your flock. Email us or go to our Facebook page if you experience problems not mentioned here, or if you have more questions.
