Getting Guineas (Help me Decide)

[AGeese]

I will be able to get them by pick up, but it's variable as to availability, this also isn't an immediate decision, kinda why I posted here to see if I might change course on anything.

 

[Guinea Hens]

I have seven guineas - we originally got 18 in may 2021. Slowly over the first four months they disappeared - some fell to rats, others were killed by an unknown predator and others just vanished.

The up-side of my flock is that the ticks are gone! No more daily checks and pulling of ticks off children, pets and adults

There are downsides I wish I thought about more carefully

They are very social, once separated from their mates they cry and cry and cry. Females cry buckwheat-buckwheat and are the instigators in my flock. Makes cry kakkkakkkkaaakkk. They are loud. I simply was unprepared for how loud they are

They also will roam past the property boundary unless u clip their wings and fense off the property and even then they manage to escape and visit neighbors

They are also vicious when growing up. They fought each other to bloody heads between 6 and 12 weeks. I thought they would kill each other

They are also are not very intelligent - they are cute and lovable, but they are not very good at learning boundaries or avoiding getting trapped in the same things over and over again

I am looking to rehouse my flock as I am running into trouble with my neighbors over noise and visitation

If tick control is your main goal I would suggest looking for a native bird who would do the job. In the East it is Northern Bobwhite Quail - they do the same job without the need to worry about them. You can release them into the wild without having to worry about consequences

 

[R2elk]

In the East it is Northern Bobwhite Quail - they do the same job without the need to worry about them. You can release them into the wild without having to worry about consequences

You have to have a release permit from your state game and fish or DNR to legally release game birds. Bobwhite quail are considered game birds.

 

[Guinea Hens]

Good to know! I didn’t know that they would require a permit since they are native to my area. Thank you!

 

[AGeese]

We do have a program for pheasants, I will have to look into that.

 

[Bird Gal]

So Guinea Fowl are a particular group of fowl that interest me, but of which I know a lot less about. Now I've used some of my chicken insight and gathered various thoughts and opinions online to form ideas on what type, what number, what sex, and in what combinations thereof, am currently rethinking everything based on discussions in the forum...

I understand that hatcheries have larger minimum orders for guineas, but I'm picking mine up so number won't be an issue. I believe some feel you should have a flock of guineas vs a pair. I want to start with a pair, and of these two I want French Giant hens for eggs and so as to avoid mating aggression and roving beyond the boundaries. I have six chickens now and hopefully three goslings arriving in May. The geese and chickens will be housed separately, but have access to the same pasture.

Some considerations:

1. They will free range (with the other breeds) on about an acre of pasture wooded primarily along the property line with interspersed trees throughout and a large clearing where a small pond will be. There are walnut trees so I'm planning to do some trimming back and placing nets around the their trunks to harvest and prevent any accidents with the birds.

2. I would like to brood the Guineas with Heritage Turkeys.

3. My breeds are:

• 4 Buckeye (these are spirited, save the youngest who is at the bottom of the pecking order)
• 2 Black Jersey Giant (these are dominate hens)
• 2 Embden Hens
• 1 Roman Gander

4. I am set on Chocolate Turkeys for the Guinea brood mates

Q. So when you got guineas how many did you get?
Q. What were their sexes?
Q. Which breeds?
Q. Why did you get Guineas?
Q. How did it all work out for you?

What would you recommend for the inexperienced guinea raiser?
Am I on the wrong course?

I have a flock of 8 guineas, one male. There are pearl, pied, pinto, chocolate, and lavender. They all have the same temperament. I have had as many as 14 with one male and everything was fine. I’ve also had a flock of 10 females only and all was fine. They free range during the day with 2 chicken hens, and 3 duck hens. They all get along well, although they each go their own way. I’ve never had a chicken rooster so I can’t speak to how they would get along. They are all housed in the same coop at night without any issues at all. As to sexing the birds, starting around 3 to 4 months old, you can tell them apart by their call. The females make a distinct call (sounds like “buckwheat”) that males can’t make. They are very loud and will roam a good distance. They are terrible mothers!! They sit on the eggs well. The hens take turns sitting on the nest with sometimes up to 4 hens at a time. But once they’re born, they are not attentive and if the keets walk through wet grass and get a chill, they will die very quickly. I have them for tick control and they do a great job!

 

[Bird Gal]

I have a flock of 8 guineas, one male. There are pearl, pied, pinto, chocolate, and lavender. They all have the same temperament. I have had as many as 14 with one male and everything was fine. I’ve also had a flock of 10 females only and all was fine. They free range during the day with 2 chicken hens, and 3 duck hens. They all get along well, although they each go their own way. I’ve never had a chicken rooster so I can’t speak to how they would get along. They are all housed in the same coop at night without any issues at all. As to sexing the birds, starting around 3 to 4 months old, you can tell them apart by their call. The females make a distinct call (sounds like “buckwheat”) that males can’t make. They are very loud and will roam a good distance. They are terrible mothers!! They sit on the eggs well. The hens take turns sitting on the nest with sometimes up to 4 hens at a time. But once they’re born, they are not attentive and if the keets walk through wet grass and get a chill, they will die very quickly. I have them for tick control and they do a great job!

Another important issue is to make sure you train them early to go in the coop at night. Otherwise they will roost in the trees and get picked off by predators. Keep them confined for the first month or they will run off and not come back…..then let one out each day. The one you let out won’t leave the rest of the flock. By the time you let out the last one, they will know that this is their home. They get used to roosting in the coop also. Once they’re all out, I train them to return to the coop at night by giving them some mealworms (it’s like “crack” to them) as a treat, in front of the coop near dusk. I don’t have to now. They’re usually the first into the coop.

 

[R2elk]

I have a flock of 8 guineas, one male. There are pearl, pied, pinto, chocolate, and lavender. They all have the same temperament. I have had as many as 14 with one male and everything was fine. I’ve also had a flock of 10 females only and all was fine. They free range during the day with 2 chicken hens, and 3 duck hens. They all get along well, although they each go their own way. I’ve never had a chicken rooster so I can’t speak to how they would get along. They are all housed in the same coop at night without any issues at all. As to sexing the birds, starting around 3 to 4 months old, you can tell them apart by their call. The females make a distinct call (sounds like “buckwheat”) that males can’t make. They are very loud and will roam a good distance. They are terrible mothers!! They sit on the eggs well. The hens take turns sitting on the nest with sometimes up to 4 hens at a time. But once they’re born, they are not attentive and if the keets walk through wet grass and get a chill, they will die very quickly. I have them for tick control and they do a great job!

Since guineas tend to pair up (usually one male to one female), I am guessing that you have a lot of infertile eggs.

 

[AGeese]

I have a flock of 8 guineas, one male. There are pearl, pied, pinto, chocolate, and lavender. They all have the same temperament. I have had as many as 14 with one male and everything was fine. I’ve also had a flock of 10 females only and all was fine. They free range during the day with 2 chicken hens, and 3 duck hens. They all get along well, although they each go their own way. I’ve never had a chicken rooster so I can’t speak to how they would get along. They are all housed in the same coop at night without any issues at all. As to sexing the birds, starting around 3 to 4 months old, you can tell them apart by their call. The females make a distinct call (sounds like “buckwheat”) that males can’t make. They are very loud and will roam a good distance. They are terrible mothers!! They sit on the eggs well. The hens take turns sitting on the nest with sometimes up to 4 hens at a time. But once they’re born, they are not attentive and if the keets walk through wet grass and get a chill, they will die very quickly. I have them for tick control and they do a great job!

That's excellent.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Since guineas tend to pair up (usually one male to one female), I am guessing that you have a lot of infertile eggs.

Do you remember when I had 8 hens and only one cock? He had five girls that were his main girls and three that he mostly ignored and chased away. However, he worked hard to fertilize all of the girls eggs, I even saw him mate the chased away ones. I expected low fertility but it was around 67%! Now that I have a less skewed ratio, he keeps two of those original hens in his harem, but the rest of his original hens have taken up with other cocks.