guinea and quail living together

i now a similar thread has already been started but i wasn't sure if it was still active.

we hatched out some eggs and long story short we have gotten what i now think is a keet. she looks like a giant quail, but is now getting spotty. we got 10/36 bobwhites hatched one by one they dropped down to 5. born a few days after the keet and 16 chicks. to start with the baby quail were in with a small chick who was a little weaker than the rest and the quail seemed to really take to her and used to hide under her. sadly the chic died complications when born and her "belly button" got infected. after she died the quail were really restless and jumping/bashing about the box, and the little keet was getting trampled by the boisterous chicks, so i placed her in with the quail and they all seem to be getting on famously.
they are now 2ish weeks old and i'm thinking about plans for the future, bearing in mind we are into october now and the winter weather has started up here. what sort of age could/should i be moving the guys outside. i have a seperate run coming home that planned to keep my bobs in.
whati am wondering is, where should keet go? she's been living with quail so far and prob will be untill they all head out unless something happens. we have turkeys (11 weeks) in the main shed with the clucky bucks. she's been used to company but i think the turkey's and hens will bully her. but also worried that as she goes she may harm the quails. having her live out on her own isn't an option it's cold and she will be lonley. we have more guineas in the incubator, but to tell the truth this is the 3 or 4th lot with nothing out of them exept keet. up here in Orkney we only have the option of postal eggs for these sorts of things. IF this hatch is sucessfull keet will be 6 weeks before they are hatched, 12 weeks before they are ready for out at the soonest. by then we are in the middle of december.
do i just keep keet with the quail untill such time she gets some friends, or what should i do? and if she gets friends will she reject them?


this is a plan of the roost i have winging it's way to me will this be suitable for Keet?

sweety birds said:

i now a similar thread has already been started but i wasn't sure if it was still active.

we hatched out some eggs and long story short we have gotten what i now think is a keet. she looks like a giant quail, but is now getting spotty. we got 10/36 bobwhites hatched one by one they dropped down to 5. born a few days after the keet and 16 chicks. to start with the baby quail were in with a small chick who was a little weaker than the rest and the quail seemed to really take to her and used to hide under her. sadly the chic died complications when born and her "belly button" got infected. after she died the quail were really restless and jumping/bashing about the box, and the little keet was getting trampled by the boisterous chicks, so i placed her in with the quail and they all seem to be getting on famously.
they are now 2ish weeks old and i'm thinking about plans for the future, bearing in mind we are into october now and the winter weather has started up here. what sort of age could/should i be moving the guys outside. i have a seperate run coming home that planned to keep my bobs in.
whati am wondering is, where should keet go? she's been living with quail so far and prob will be untill they all head out unless something happens. we have turkeys (11 weeks) in the main shed with the clucky bucks. she's been used to company but i think the turkey's and hens will bully her. but also worried that as she goes she may harm the quails. having her live out on her own isn't an option it's cold and she will be lonley. we have more guineas in the incubator, but to tell the truth this is the 3 or 4th lot with nothing out of them exept keet. up here in Orkney we only have the option of postal eggs for these sorts of things. IF this hatch is sucessfull keet will be 6 weeks before they are hatched, 12 weeks before they are ready for out at the soonest. by then we are in the middle of december.
do i just keep keet with the quail untill such time she gets some friends, or what should i do? and if she gets friends will she reject them?


this is a plan of the roost i have winging it's way to me will this be suitable for quail?

Click to expand...

If you want to know what is suitable for quail, you should ask in the Quail forum.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/48/quail

not really asking about the quail. what I want to know is what best to do with keet? the quail were mentioned along with the chicks and turkeys to give a fuller picture of the circumstances here.
should the subject heading "guinea and quail living together" be under guinea or quail? don't see the pont in posting the same thing twice?
the last sentence asking would this be suitable for quail was a typo, should have asked if this would be suitable for keet. apologies for the typo

sweety birds said:

not really asking about the quail. what I want to know is what best to do with keet? the quail were mentioned along with the chicks and turkeys to give a fuller picture of the circumstances here.
should the subject heading "guinea and quail living together" be under guinea or quail? don't see the pont in posting the same thing twice?
the last sentence asking would this be suitable for quail was a typo, should have asked if this would be suitable for keet. apologies for the typo

Click to expand...

A lone keet by itself is not a good situation. Guineas need a lot more room per bird than do quail. I personally would not house guineas in something that small. But then I also do not house guineas with any other poultry. Guineas have their own unique traits such as feather pulling and are also a flock bird.

she's an only Keet as she was the only one to hatch, I have more in the incubator with fingers crossed for a successful hatch this time round as I would like her to have friends, but the only way to get guinea eggs is to get them through the post so hatch rate is abysmal. by the time the new eggs hatch (providing they do) she will be 6 weeks oldish. by the time they will be old enough to leave the brooder them being 6 weeks at least as we are going into winter, meaning keet will be 12 weeks. how difficult will it be to introduce the group/single to her. I don't know if she is a her it's just easier than saying "it".

In my experience guineas get along pretty well with new guineas assuming you understand they are ornery birds to start with and will pick on each other pretty much constantly...

As for guineas getting along with other types of birds, if you want them to get along they need space and lots of space so that they can have their own 'territory' if not you will likely find your other birds being run down by the guineas and plucked or nipped just for fun, and this very well might lead to death of the other birds, if nothing else it's stressful...

That coop you have pictured is way to small for guineas and other birds to co-exist... I personally feel it's even too small for a single guinea, as unlike other poultry guineas really need space to run and sprint at high rates of speed or else they go stir crazy and that introduces even more bad behaviors...

In the end they can be housed with other poultry but you need to give them A LOT of space of their own...

thanks for that, i'm new to guineas, usually I read up as much as I can about the breed before hatching but keet was a surprise. trying to find out as much as I can about them now. the main shed is pretty big as in 8 foot hight 16 ish long and 8 ish wide. with rafters in the roof. the bit of land the poultry are on is around 3/4 of an acre. around the poultry area there is a 6 foot fence, but i'm guessing a guinea could clear this, as the turkeys can. this I don't mind i'm happy for her to have her own space. just want to ensure i'm caring for her properly. I have read mixed reviews as to weather you can train guineas to come home to roost i.e in the shed with everyone else. is this poss in your experience? the turkey's like to sit on the roof ridge of the shed. would guineas do this too? and would they be happy to share the roof with the turkey's. sorry for so many questions. i'm trying to learn as much as poss as fast as I can. think I will keep the run for the quail I have after all. either that or a breeding trio of black buff Orpingtons' i'm getting later today. now just to sort out keets housing before she needs to go out x