[roddycm]

I am thinking of getting some Guinea fowl and was wondering if any of you keep them penned in? In the past I had them free range and they got fixed so this time I'd keep them in the hen run.... I would buy eggs and raise them with a broody. Do you think they'd be happy or do they need to free range?

And as an aside do peacocks roost high enough (given the chance) to be out of danger from the fox? I've not lost a hen or duck in years now because I am meticulous but if I want other feathered friends I'd like to keep them safe too!

Cheers

[Eve]

Mine are penned in with the chickens but our run is large. If you let them free range as adults they'll be up in the trees.



Just asking: you are aware of how much noise they make? They can shatter eardrums    (well, nearly  ).




 

[Marches Farmer]

We kept them in a small pole barn for years. Locked them in for three weeks and once we let them free range they came back to roost at night.  They would also come to call like hens.  We hatched them in an incubator and raised them in the living room for the first three weeks so they got quite bomb-proof, having put up with the telephone, television, vacuum cleaner and people shouting, "Has anyone seen my maths book?"  Real characters, although the dominant male turned the other one into a something resembling a motheaten feather duster at the beginning of the breeding season - they got along just fine most of the year.  Had to go in the end, as we needed the space to begin breeding Narragansett turkeys.

[roddycm]

Haha Eve I know it's odd but I really like the noise they make! Also really like the noise peacocks make haha I guess I'm a bit odd that way! I'll extend the run then and I will buy eggs to make sure I hatch quiet chicks! Thanks for the advice both of you!