Hills?

GlennLee As far as I can tell from your description Henry is behaving normally.
Last year I added 14 keets (5 months old) to my flock of 4 adult guineas. There was and always is a lot of chasing, feather pulling, charging with wings uplifted. I've learned it's all normal behaviour. I introduced the teenagers during free range time. It wasn't long before all guineas were roosting together.

We have about 5 acres of pasture and 100's of acres of woodland around us. The guineas cover a lot of mileage in a day including going up hills and flying on top of the coops.
They sleep in a maple tree at night, sometimes they go back in the coop for the night.

The important thing is that they know where their home base is. Where the food and water and treats are.

Your bell idea is a great one for training for food.

I yell "Chook-Chook! Chook-Chook! Chook-Chook" and the flock will come running from the top of the field for their favourite treats. I give them BOSS and a little cracked corn. They actually stand in front of me, looking directly up at me making the noise back to me until I throw the treats down.

I love my Guineas <3 I just wish they had more brain cells to avoid predators.

Dragon Lady said:

GlennLee As far as I can tell from your description Henry is behaving normally.
Last year I added 14 keets (5 months old) to my flock of 4 adult guineas. There was and always is a lot of chasing, feather pulling, charging with wings uplifted. I've learned it's all normal behaviour. I introduced the teenagers during free range time. It wasn't long before all guineas were roosting together.

We have about 5 acres of pasture and 100's of acres of woodland around us. The guineas cover a lot of mileage in a day including going up hills and flying on top of the coops.
They sleep in a maple tree at night, sometimes they go back in the coop for the night.

The important thing is that they know where their home base is. Where the food and water and treats are.

Your bell idea is a great one for training for food.

I yell "Chook-Chook! Chook-Chook! Chook-Chook" and the flock will come running from the top of the field for their favourite treats. I give them BOSS and a little cracked corn. They actually stand in front of me, looking directly up at me making the noise back to me until I throw the treats down.

I love my Guineas <3 I just wish they had more brain cells to avoid predators.

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Thank you for your information on Henry - that his behavior is normal. I will try free ranging them together during the day for a while, but keeping them separate at night. I guess I have to get used to having my babies terrorized!

When is the aggression too much? I do have a friend who is willing to take him off my hands if necessary, but don't want to do that if what I am experiencing is normal behavior.

I know Henry did show aggression toward his "mate" and chickens and ducks at his last home.... that's why I ended up with him. I would like it to work, but don't want to sacrifice the good of the flock for the sake of one.

The big question then, is Henry being aggressive or just a Guinea being a Guinea?
Henry is already familiar with the keets, my next step would be to allow them to free range with them. They will sort their own pecking order out - just like chickens do. Except they will behave like grownups with the chasing and feather pulling etc.

If a Guinea is acting aggressively you can hear it in their voice. The language changes.

I would expect Henry would adopt the young ones and show them how to free range, show them treats etc. the teenagers should look to him as a guide.

Try not to worry too much

This being mating season may also be contributing to any aggression. Although, I am finding that my adult females are more likely to chase after my keets than the males are. Generally, it is just normal @-hole behavior and not true aggression. It seems they just get a kick out of being jerks. If I throw scraps to the chickens, they will run over and chase the chickens from it a bit, even though they have no interest in eating it themselves, and then run back off. Luckily, they spend a lot of time wandering, so the chickens get to live in peace most of the time.


BTW thanks for the pics. It clarifies a lot. You have a nice setup. No neighbors in sight it looks like, which is what I love about my place.

Dragon Lady said:

The big question then, is Henry being aggressive or just a Guinea being a Guinea?
Henry is already familiar with the keets, my next step would be to allow them to free range with them. They will sort their own pecking order out - just like chickens do. Except they will behave like grownups with the chasing and feather pulling etc.

If a Guinea is acting aggressively you can hear it in their voice. The language changes.

I would expect Henry would adopt the young ones and show them how to free range, show them treats etc. the teenagers should look to him as a guide.

Try not to worry too much

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I sent the entire flock our yesterday - late afternoon - when I went to check in on them about an hour before sundown - the usual time I do my final check, feed, water and encourage them to move from the run into the coop, they had already gathered and put themselves in the run. Ecstatic!

Then, Henry decided to target one and chased him out of the coop. I worked for a while to try to get them back, but the keet was really having a hard time figuring out how to get into the door of the run - all chicken wire around the coop and thought it should be able to go through - super keet complex! So, the two of them spent the night outside last night. Not my first choice, but it was getting hard to see them in the dark. They are alive and well this morning. I added another keet to the outside crew and will send them all out to free range together again this afternoon. I think we're making progress. Thanks for sharing!

SunHwaKwon said:

This being mating season may also be contributing to any aggression. Although, I am finding that my adult females are more likely to chase after my keets than the males are. Generally, it is just normal @-hole behavior and not true aggression. It seems they just get a kick out of being jerks. If I throw scraps to the chickens, they will run over and chase the chickens from it a bit, even though they have no interest in eating it themselves, and then run back off. Luckily, they spend a lot of time wandering, so the chickens get to live in peace most of the time.


BTW thanks for the pics. It clarifies a lot. You have a nice setup. No neighbors in sight it looks like, which is what I love about my place.

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Interesting that your females tend to be more aggressive to the keets than the males. I think Henry is targeting males (hard to tell with the keets unless they buckwheat). He likes to round up a harem. I wonder if your females target females? And, they do like to play chase - they are even puffing up and trying to chase the tractor!

And you are right, no neighbors in sight - we love the same set up! Send pictures of your place if you can. Would be good to see, especially with your mix of guineas and chickens. I'm glad that's working out for you. It doesn't in a lot of cases, from what I've read and that's why I ended up with Henry. Keep cool... we're having a heat index of 100 today. Hope it's a bit cooler where you are.

GlennLee said:

Interesting that your females tend to be more aggressive to the keets than the males. I think Henry is targeting males (hard to tell with the keets unless they buckwheat). He likes to round up a harem. I wonder if your females target females? And, they do like to play chase - they are even puffing up and trying to chase the tractor!

And you are right, no neighbors in sight - we love the same set up! Send pictures of your place if you can. Would be good to see, especially with your mix of guineas and chickens. I'm glad that's working out for you. It doesn't in a lot of cases, from what I've read and that's why I ended up with Henry. Keep cool... we're having a heat index of 100 today. Hope it's a bit cooler where you are.

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I'm about six hours south of you. The past couple of days were nice but its supposed to get hot and muggy again. We are on the coast though between the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean and that helps moderate the temps a bit.

It seems like they just chase them randomly (whichever gets separated from the group) but I'm sure its easier for a guinea to tell a female keet than for me. My oldest juveniles (now 2 months old) both announced they were female at 6 weeks old, much to the annoyance of my husband. I am overrun with guineas right now - my four adults, 2 oldest juveniles that hang with the turkeys, 3 4-week olds going to my neighbor, 2 4-week olds I'm keeping, 29 keets from 5 days to 3 weeks in the brooder (14 pending pickup), 13 due on the 21st, 7 due on the 3rd, and 24 shipped eggs arriving today so I can try to add more colors to my flock! My sales have slowed down and I think I will call it quits after that. I don't want to end up stuck with 80+ guineas.

I'll get some pictures later on. Ours is not as beautiful as yours. We just have a two acre plot, but its surrounded by farmland on all three sides plus across the road, and then it is all lined with forest. We do have one house in sight, but it is unoccupied and hopefully stays that way.

GlennLee said:

I sent the entire flock our yesterday - late afternoon - when I went to check in on them about an hour before sundown - the usual time I do my final check, feed, water and encourage them to move from the run into the coop, they had already gathered and put themselves in the run. Ecstatic!

Then, Henry decided to target one and chased him out of the coop. I worked for a while to try to get them back, but the keet was really having a hard time figuring out how to get into the door of the run - all chicken wire around the coop and thought it should be able to go through - super keet complex! So, the two of them spent the night outside last night. Not my first choice, but it was getting hard to see them in the dark. They are alive and well this morning. I added another keet to the outside crew and will send them all out to free range together again this afternoon. I think we're making progress. Thanks for sharing!

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Awesome developments Rhonda, :-D
I think if I was ever to design a new purpose built guinea coop it would have 40 foot wide doors on it so that they know where to go in and out LOL

SunHwaKwon said:

I'm about six hours south of you. The past couple of days were nice but its supposed to get hot and muggy again. We are on the coast though between the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean and that helps moderate the temps a bit.

It seems like they just chase them randomly (whichever gets separated from the group) but I'm sure its easier for a guinea to tell a female keet than for me. My oldest juveniles (now 2 months old) both announced they were female at 6 weeks old, much to the annoyance of my husband. I am overrun with guineas right now - my four adults, 2 oldest juveniles that hang with the turkeys, 3 4-week olds going to my neighbor, 2 4-week olds I'm keeping, 29 keets from 5 days to 3 weeks in the brooder (14 pending pickup), 13 due on the 21st, 7 due on the 3rd, and 24 shipped eggs arriving today so I can try to add more colors to my flock! My sales have slowed down and I think I will call it quits after that. I don't want to end up stuck with 80+ guineas.

I'll get some pictures later on. Ours is not as beautiful as yours. We just have a two acre plot, but its surrounded by farmland on all three sides plus across the road, and then it is all lined with forest. We do have one house in sight, but it is unoccupied and hopefully stays that way.

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That's a lot of guineas :-O

Mine enjoy running around this place. They have 5 acres of pasture to maintain and then they like to explore the woods that surround our property too. Our home is set back from a country road so we don't have to worry about traffic.



Here the guineas are enjoying the long grass in the shade of the maple tree that they roost in. The blue coop is the guinea coop.


Baby guinea cuddles. Hatched this week in the incubator <3

SunHwaKwon - if we were closer, I'd try to pick up a few more females from you. I'm amazed by the variety of ages and number of guineas you have! I'll bet it keeps you VERY busy. I think I'm really male heavy - about 2/3 of the flock. Hard to tell with 100% accuracy, but there isn't a whole lot of buckwheating going on. Makes for a quiet flock, but I'm not sure how all that will play out next year - going to be a lot of lonely bachelors! It sounds as though your place allows for your guineas to roam in pleasure. Please post some pics when you have the chance. Would love to see your place. Must be nice living close to the shore, I'll bet that breeze helps keep things a bit cooler and not as humid.

Dragon Lady - thanks for the advice on trying not to worry - I'm working on that! Henry is still being a pain. I'm chasing him out of the coop at night because he won't let any of the males in with him and his harem! The only way they are free ranging in peace is because they head for the tall grass and I don't think Henry can target them as well in there. As soon as they are in the clearing, he runs after them - constantly - like a maniac. He puffs all up and charges through the group. I think he's really a social nerd, but the ladies seem to be attracted to him. I'm waiting for the males to get bigger than him and let him have it. That day can come any time now! Thanks for sharing pics of your place. It's nice to have a visual and I'm sure they enjoy the shade of that maple tree and the tall grass. How many different kinds do you have? The keets look like maybe pearls and a lavender? It must be a treat watching them hatch. Mine came in the mail in a cardboard box. It's good that you are set back and don't have traffic so that they are safe to roam. That was part of my concern here with Henry. When we first got him, he would go uphill and cross a main road. If he led the flock there, we'd be in trouble. It doesn't look like he's leading the flock though. He may be chasing them a bit, but he's not dictating the movement of the flock in the long term. Interesting to watch.