Can you have too many male guinea fowl?

[Last Train Vnyd]

I bought 4 keats in April or May and have no idea yet if they are male and female. One is definitely smaller than the other 3 and 2 are definitely the biggest leaving 1 right in the middle. (If that makes sense) Anyway, my question is, if I have 3 males and only one female, do I have to get rid of the extra 2 males? I hear they are monogamous so it seems like they wouldn't be like roosters and continue to fight over the girl. Will they be one happy family or will there be strife? I should mention that I bought them for tick extermination on our farm. Eggs would be a benefit but not essential. Thanks.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I don't know the answer to the question but I do know that I have about 20 males and only about 9 females and that is too many males for me. I need to get rid of about 16 males. :/

All of the males seem to get along at my place . They have about 2 acres of space to roam around and not be in each other's face all of the time. And at night, they all come back and sleep together. Of course, we have the occasional running after the other but for the most part, I have NEVER saw the males fight.

 

[BarbaraNH]

Domesticated guinea fowl aren't usually monogamous. I had 3 males and 4 females, and all of my males would fight over the chance to mate with as many females as they could. Sometimes males get along, and sometimes they don't. It seems to me that smaller flocks have more problems with the males fighting. You'll probably have to wait and see how your flock behaves. Hopefully, they'll be better behaved than mine were.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

At the beginning of spring I had and have 2 M 6 F. Since hatch last fall brought the 2nd male. The older was always more dominate but he seemed to have slackened off a lot since breeding season started. The younger male has 1 hen with him 24/7. The older has 2 always with him. 1 hen on a nest. Others roam and mingle whenever they choose.

1 thing we noticed the Older male ALWAYS put my chickens in place, even the BA Roo that's 2-3 times his size. But now my rouen drake has em all running. Except broody birds those EVERY1 stays away from. Other than dominance and over breeding more males than females shouldn't be a large issue. Other than the racket

 

[sadie10023]

I just logged on to learn about the male-on-male issue.

I have started gathering my first flock and have (had) 8 males and 2 females. Seven males came from the same breeder and raised together. I got news tonight that I have a dead bird in the run - they are being cooped for six weeks to acclimate them to the new location before introducing free ranging. They are young juveniles to full adults. The one lone male that came to the group with a female has been aggressive to all the other seven males that were added in. And we expected that the singular male would be under harassment. I can only assume that aggressive male has killed another. I hate to claim ignorance and feel very bad - I understood there would be pecking and chasing. I was not prepared for killing amongst the guineas. Must I separate him out (you will say, of course I should or lose the others).

Is this unusual? Could it be if I had more in number there night be less fighting - he would be out numbered and less likely to start attacking?

 

[nailladi]

Sorry but that would be a comon problem, the younger male was a threat to him in the competition area, haven't you ever been to a country bar on a Saturday night?? LOL. Mating season is especially bad time to put young male with adult male.

 

[indigo3]

males seem to be fine together if they are raised together. you might try introducing new or younger guineas by putting them in a cage in the coop so that everyone can get to know each other without took much contact

 

[whitewing]

I have four guinea fowl that were raised together since 5 days old. They are now 9 months old. Sexes unknown. One of the birds had tended to be picked on by the others. Spring is here and now that they are out of the winter enclosure and into the larger fenced yard they chase this bird and literally drive it over the fence. Poor bird doesn't realize it can fly and come back over the fence; it keeps following the fence line until I can herd it close to the gate to get back in. Is this about the sexes of the birds; maybe I have 2 males? What can I do to bring harmony to my little flock?

 

[bayvistafarm]

The females make a two syllable call... as well as the alarm sound. And good luck with creating harmony with the pickers and the pick ons. It won't happen. I've had this same group for eons... and they pick on the one boy. I have 2 of each sex. They also tend to be mean (all of them), to the lonely white female. After I finally was able to catch the bully, I penned him up. Now the pick on.. is VERY happy, and relaxed, and its nice to see, after witnessing him bounce off the pen wire (where they sleep at night), and having him chased around the yard, and having countless feathers picked off him... to see him chirp and freely wander, and not have to worry about being attacked!!
You very likely have 2 males in the group.

 

[chickbird]

The females make a two syllable call... as well as the alarm sound. And good luck with creating harmony with the pickers and the pick ons. It won't happen. I've had this same group for eons... and they pick on the one boy. I have 2 of each sex. They also tend to be mean (all of them), to the lonely white female. After I finally was able to catch the bully, I penned him up. Now the pick on.. is VERY happy, and relaxed, and its nice to see, after witnessing him bounce off the pen wire (where they sleep at night), and having him chased around the yard, and having countless feathers picked off him... to see him chirp and freely wander, and not have to worry about being attacked!!
You very likely have 2 males in the group.

I AM NEW TO RAISING GUINEAS, I HAVE RECENTLY ACQUIRED 5 MALES AND ONE FEMALE AND I AM NOW INCUBATING SOME OF THE EGGS AND THUS FAR HAVE 9 LITTLE ONES, HOW LONG SHOULD I KEEP THESE SEPARATE FROM THE OLDER GUINEAS AND HOW DO I INTRODUCE THE NEW ONES INTO THE OLDER FLOCK?