Our Adolescent Guineas are now roosting with the old guy

We are now down to only 2 of our 12 original keets. A local fox and raccoon have gotten 10 of them. Our son noticed the other day that the 2 remaining birds are now roosting high in an evergreen with the old one eyed guy. That's good news because in the past, they would keep roosting on the ground and end up as easy prey for whatever happened along (fox, possum, raccoon or even cats).

This year I had fenced off part of the outside of the chicken house for the guineas. There was an enclosure where they could get out of the rain if necessary. What I think happened was that the chicken wire kept them relatively safe (We did lose a couple due to a tiny opening. Details, details, details. Anyway, the birds became aware that critters are out there at night looking to eat them and that the ground is not the safest place to be. They had all started roosing on top of the game feeder that was in their part of the enclosure.

Lessons learned so far this year:

• You need to check every square inch of the chicken wire. Predators will find the tinyest weak spot
• If the birds can see what is going on, they will learn to roost off the ground.
• If at least one halfway intelligent bird survives from the previous years, they will be instrumental in teaching survival skills to the young birds.
• Regular 1" chicken wire is not an adequate barrier. In the past critters have reached through and literally pulled the birds through the wire. I went with a double layer that is offset to make it difficult for paws to get through
• Until you let all of the birds free, they free birds will roost near or on top of the enclosure making them vulnerable to predators. However, if you free all of them too early, they might wander off.