Why would one need to know this? Guineas are wary and fast. You have to have a plan if you want to catch them. And a Plan B and C and...
Tools required:
Cage: Have a big enough cage ready to accept the birds.
Net. A trout fishing net works well. I got this net last year to catch the chickens so I had it handy.
Flashlight. Because you'll be doing this in the dark.
Dark. See above because there's no way you'll catch guineas in daylight.
Rain. Drizzle makes it more...umm...fun.
Plan A: Go to the guineas' night roost. Use the flashlight to make sure they are there. See if you can snag them off the roost. Nope. Can't. Guineas aren't like chickens. They don't go into a stupor after dark, and they see pretty well in the dark. They hop off the roost.
Plan B: Now the guineas are on the ground. Luckily, they don't try to fly. Maybe they can't see that well in the dark? Attempt to corner them somewhere and net them. Nope, still too fast. Try to create a corral to herd them into. They go the other way. Try not to slip and stumble on the wet grass. Go back in the house to get fresh batteries for the flashlight as it's now run down.
Plan C: You realize they are dazzled by the flashlight. Use it to herd them where you want them to go. Keep the spot in their eyes to hold them long enough to get close enough with the net. Quick, net the nearest one. Got em! Put in the cage. Go after the other one. Which has now taken off somewhere in the yard and you'll have to scout around with the flashlight until you find it. Ignore the neighbor's 3 big really stupid dogs who can't tell the difference between someone who belongs here and any other intruder, human or otherwise, and have no business over here anyways, and after being alerted by the flashlight are now frantically barking at you from the field next to the fence, thus alerting the neighbor who steps outside to see what all the ruckus is and probably has a gun in his redneck hand. Go to where you last saw the guinea go but it's not there. Go back to where you were and find it not far from the one in the cage. Get the light in its eye and catch it as before. Success!
Why did I need to catch the guineas? There's only the 2 males left and they have become more annoying than they are worth. They beat up the free-ranger bantam roosters. If I want to give the roos some corn, which I do, I have to fend the guineas off until the chickens clean it up. I also want to let all the chickens free range during the day, but can't while the guineas are there. Since I quit feeding the guineas last year and shoo them away a lot, they lost their "tameness" around me. I discovered they hate the yellow broomstick handle I sometimes need to fend off the aggressive rooster Spiffy and all I have to do is wave it at them. So anyways, I'm over guineas and they need to go away, and they weren't going away on their own.
There's a parking lot animal swap in Kingsport this Saturday. I tried it once last year, but didn't sell anything to even make back the $8 seller's fee. Decided if the weather looks good (it does) and I could catch the guineas (did), I'd take excess critters up there. That's why I decided to attempt the chase last night instead of tonight. In the rain. In case I needed a Plan D. This means I have to feed and water them in the cage today. I'm also taking the aggressive roosters with me, but those are easy to catch after dark so I'll get them tonight. And a few rabbits. I'm hoping to make back the fee on the guineas, there's almost always a market for guineas, but the roosters might end up free to good home. Or whatever. They must go now.
10 Days Until Spring!
tnt
