Guinea Fowl

​June 23:  I bought 3 Guinea fowl. We had some when I still lived at home.  They freaked the chickens out and then when we let them out, they wouldn't come back in at night.  They would sleep in the tree.  Lay eggs all through the woods.  So, we didn't have them long before my father gave them away.  Later on, the neighbours got a few.  Slowly, they disappeared, until there was only one.  Every morning it would come over for a visit, stand infront of our house and scream for a good 10 minutes.  Then it would wander off, causally crossing back and forth the road.  Until one day someone didn't get stopped quick enough.

I never considered getting any after that.  But, here I am. with 3 of them.  I have no idea what sex they are yet, or how old they are.  Someone reached out to me and ask if I'd be interested in them.  I said yes.  I don't know why.  They also knew nothing about them, execpt for the fact they were raised with chickens.  

We're in the process of finishing the run on the coop, so right now they are living in a dog crate.  The chicken seem indifferent to them.  Once the run is finished and they can be let out with the chickens.  Hopefully, things go well.  After another 2 weeks, I will let them out in the yard,  I want to be sure they know where home is.  Fingers crossed.  Will update as things progress

July 12:  Things are not going well.  I let them out with the chickens, and they chase them.  And sometimes grab them.  I moved them out back to the small coop by themselves.  These birds need space.  They are foragers.  I knew they would not be happy there.  But, they were good.  They were loud because they couldn't see the chickens.  But they'd go in at night.  After just under a week, I let them out.  They went back in through the blueberries and continued south-west.  The next morning, I'm told, they were standing outside the neighbours bedroom window, yelling.  (I asked if they'd mind the guineas in their yard before I let them go) And one was missing.  When I got home from work, they had found themselves back to the chicken coop.  They would lay down against the fencing.  Run the perimeter.  That night, they slept in the chestnut tree that overhangs the run.  And then it rained.  And I felt bad for them, so I let them back in with the chickens.  And they chase them.  

I let them in, I let them out, they don't go anywhere.  At all.  I wanted birds to roam the yard and eat ticks.  But they don't go anywhere.  And they're annoying.  I was asked if I wanted the other one (there were originally 4)  I said sure, though I'm not sure why.  They're all males.  Do I need to swap some out for females?  Do I just need a bigger flock of them?  Or are my guineas broken?