The birds are free!...at least from the basement.

After the realization that the guineas have been starting to use the entire basement for their home, I figured it was time to get everyone outside as soon as possible.  A few bad guineas spoiled the fun for the whole crowd.  Although, the chickens were definitely getting the better end of the deal in the chicken condo.  I had to get them out before they discovered my wife's seedlings she is starting in the basement.

I intended to spend a good part of Saturday getting the guinea coop ready for their occupation, but the good wife had other plans.  She wanted something nice around the house, so I was off to Home Depot.  (I didn't bother putting a link since I have done that on enough posts!)  Luckily I called ahead, because they only had one sod cutter and I arrived just before someone else that also wanted a sod cutter, but I had called ahead! Score one for the good guys.  After coming home and failing to "cut the sod" where she wanted, because it was more rocks and dirt than sod, we decided to work around the house some and removed the sod all around the one end of the house where we intend to put mulch and few shrubs.  After hosing the sod cutting beast off and getting it loaded into the back of the truck, I was off to Home Depot to get it back before my 4 hours expired at 3:30 pm.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It was now almost 4 pm by the time I got home and hadn't done anything on the guinea coop.  I do have to give the good wife some props though, because while I was gone she painted the panels for the guinea coop to match the chicken condo.  We didn't want the guineas to feel too ghetto.

I was able to get all the panels onto the guinea coop and a ramp for them to come up and down.  I had to wait until Sunday morning to get the feeder and waterer installed into both the chicken condo and the guinea coop.  The idea was to each have their own home and stay separate, so the guineas will start to free-range later on their own.  However, we woke up Sunday morning to bit colder weather than anticipated.

Yes, it snowed Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Notice the matching guinea coop on the left and the chicken condo on the right, thanks to the good wife.  By Sunday afternoon, the snow had melted and I was determined to get the birds out of the basement.  I put a heat lamp into each coop and put the water and food in.  The only thing remaining were the birds.

My oldest son and his friends gladly transported the birds to the coop and the run.  That evening, we got the chickens into their coop and sealed them up all nice and tight, and then caught the guineas and put them into their coop.  They were a little more reluctant since they just had a wire bottom, a couple of wood clothes rods for perches and a heat lamp.  Not quite the lap of luxury like the chickens have.  We wished them the best and then let them get to sleep.

Looking down from the deck before bed time, everything looked so peaceful.  The chickens in their condo with the heat lamp on, huddled into a ball close together to keep warm in the pine shavings.  The guineas up on their perches under the heat lamp, sleeping away with their heads hanging low.

It was supposed to be cold Sunday night.  Now we just had to hope we didn't wake up to guinea popsicles!