Will my guineas kill one another?

Doohinkey said:

My guineas were all hatched together and raised together in my chicken coop, which is enormous, chain-linked with a netting over the top to keep hawks and such out. They're 4 years old and just killed one of their siblings. I don't understand it, they've gotten along all these years and I didn't see them picking on my lavender at all, just found her dead, with her neck plucked clean and bloody. Why would they suddenly do this? I know it was the other guinea, because my chickens are all very mellow and don't get with the guineas except to eat and scratch.

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Doohinkey said:

We really don't have any small predators around like weasels and they couldn't get through our fence anyway. The bird wasn't eaten, just her neck pecked and bloody.

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SunnyD said:

I'm afraid my Guineas are going to kill each other! I have 14 Guineas that are almost 3 months old and are in a "Hoop Coop" which is basically a run that measures 9 ft x 15 ft with a tarp covering 25% of it to give them protection from rain and keep their feed dry. Last week I witnessed the entire flock attacking one of their siblings and by the time I could get them off, his head was all bloodied. He was smaller than the rest so I guessed maybe that was why they attacked him. I took him out and sprayed "blue" on his head and kept him separate until he was all better. He now circles the run continuously with the birds inside trying to peck him through the wire! Yesterday, I saw them do the same thing to one of the largest birds. Again I took him out and he spends his day circling the run try to get back to his "buddies."

Has anyone else experienced this? I found a dead guinea in the run about 6 weeks ago and thought it died of natural causes. Now I'm not to sure. What say you?

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SunnyD said:

I'm afraid my Guineas are going to kill each other! I have 14 Guineas that are almost 3 months old and are in a "Hoop Coop" which is basically a run that measures 9 ft x 15 ft with a tarp covering 25% of it to give them protection from rain and keep their feed dry. Last week I witnessed the entire flock attacking one of their siblings and by the time I could get them off, his head was all bloodied. He was smaller than the rest so I guessed maybe that was why they attacked him. I took him out and sprayed "blue" on his head and kept him separate until he was all better. He now circles the run continuously with the birds inside trying to peck him through the wire! Yesterday, I saw them do the same thing to one of the largest birds. Again I took him out and he spends his day circling the run try to get back to his "buddies."

Has anyone else experienced this? I found a dead guinea in the run about 6 weeks ago and thought it died of natural causes. Now I'm not to sure. What say you?

Click to expand...

SunnyD said:

I'm afraid my Guineas are going to kill each other! I have 14 Guineas that are almost 3 months old and are in a "Hoop Coop" which is basically a run that measures 9 ft x 15 ft with a tarp covering 25% of it to give them protection from rain and keep their feed dry. Last week I witnessed the entire flock attacking one of their siblings and by the time I could get them off, his head was all bloodied. He was smaller than the rest so I guessed maybe that was why they attacked him. I took him out and sprayed "blue" on his head and kept him separate until he was all better. He now circles the run continuously with the birds inside trying to peck him through the wire! Yesterday, I saw them do the same thing to one of the largest birds. Again I took him out and he spends his day circling the run try to get back to his "buddies."

Has anyone else experienced this? I found a dead guinea in the run about 6 weeks ago and thought it died of natural causes. Now I'm not to sure. What say you?

Click to expand...