Female Guinea Hens with Chicken Hens

[rileyelliott]

I have 3 Copper Maran hens that are doing great. They've got a good size coop and a 12' by 12' run to scratch around in all day. Someone in the area is selling female Guinea Hens, however, and I was thinking of adding one (or two) to my little flock. Would a guinea hen be okay with just female chickens and being in a run instead of free ranging?

 

[TwoCrows]

Guineas are of the gamebird family. And I do know that chickens carry diseases that can kill gamebirds. I am not 100% sure about guineas, however I keep quail which are also gamebirds and mixing quail and chickens can be lethal for the quail due to disease transfer. You might want to ask this question in the Guinea section of the forums to make sure.

Oh and welcome to BYC!

 

[Percheron chick]

I have 9 guineas in with my hens. Raised them from keets. They are probably more chicken like than I was expecting. ( I was expecting once they got out of the coop that would be the last of them) They roost with the hens, return to the coop every evening with no prodding. They can tolerate being locked in the run. They know their place in the universe is below the hens. You do not want just one or two however. One by herself will only last a few days before she hits the road looking for more of her kind. They will do best with at least 4 in their little herd. They hang out together in a tight group. If one goes off in one direction, they all follow. If one flies up to the rafters in the barn, all fly up there. (they are super flyers) If one runs across the roof of the barn screaming, the other 8 quickly join in. They are a rather raucous little group but they are tons of entertainment. If you don't like screeching or have neighbors that don't like screeching, don't get them.