Guinea talk.

[Nwygle93]

My chickens and guineas are housed in the same coop and share the same roosts. They free range together all day so all the birds have plenty of space to associate with whomever they choose.

Thanks for your input! I was hoping that maybe if they were raised together they would be able to co-mingle.

 

[Dmontgomery]

Thanks for your input! I was hoping that maybe if they were raised together they would be able to co-mingle.

Are you planning to raise them together from newly hatched chicks/keets?

 

[Nwygle93]

Are you planning to raise them together from newly hatched chicks/keets?

I think you have to, right? But yes, that's the plan, though the chicks may be a touch older by the time the guineas hatch and are available from the hatchery

 

[R2elk]

I think you have to, right? But yes, that's the plan, though the chicks may be a touch older by the time the guineas hatch and are available from the hatchery

I do not recommend raising keets and chicks together. If they are raised together the keets will imprint on the chicks meaning that once they grow up they will not recognize a difference between themselves and chickens. Guineas have completely different manners than any other poultry and these different mannerisms can cause extreme stress for the chickens.

While the guineas are growing up everything can seem to be going great and the chickens and the guineas may seem to be getting along fine. Then the first breeding season arrives and the guineas can turn into terrorists as they go through their mating rituals. The chickens cannot understand these behaviors.

 

[Nwygle93]

I do not recommend raising keets and chicks together. If they are raised together the keets will imprint on the chicks meaning that once they grow up they will not recognize a difference between themselves and chickens. Guineas have completely different manners than any other poultry and these different mannerisms can cause extreme stress for the chickens.

While the guineas are growing up everything can seem to be going great and the chickens and the guineas may seem to be getting along fine. Then the first breeding season arrives and the guineas can turn into terrorists as they go through their mating rituals. The chickens cannot understand these behaviors.

Interesting. I guess I have heard two different ways to go about it. So, is it best to introduce baby keets to an older flock, or keep them totally separated?

 

[R2elk]

Interesting. I guess I have heard two different ways to go about it. So, is it best to introduce baby keets to an older flock, or keep them totally separated?

I have done it both ways. I do not recommend have fewer than 10 guineas since they are a flock bird. When raising keets with chickens and keeping them with chickens, they were all fine until the first breeding season. I now do not raise my keets with chickens and I do not house my guineas with chickens. Doing it this way, when both the chickens and guineas are free ranging in the same area at the same time, they each keep to their own groups and do not bother each other.

Some people have been able to house guineas and chickens together but the ones that are successful have really big coops (more like a barn) so that each can keep to their own kind. It is just a whole lot less stressful for the chickens to house the guineas separately.

 

[Nwygle93]

I have done it both ways. I do not recommend have fewer than 10 guineas since they are a flock bird. When raising keets with chickens and keeping them with chickens, they were all fine until the first breeding season. I now do not raise my keets with chickens and I do not house my guineas with chickens. Doing it this way, when both the chickens and guineas are free ranging in the same area at the same time, they each keep to their own groups and do not bother each other.

Some people have been able to house guineas and chickens together but the ones that are successful have really big coops (more like a barn) so that each can keep to their own kind. It is just a whole lot less stressful for the chickens to house the guineas separately.

I'd say so! Around here they won't sell them unless you buy 10 of them, minimum. I'd love to be in a situation where I could have them all to free roam, like you. But until we get our mink population down, they all have to stay in a fort knox type coop and run

 

[R2elk]

I'd say so! Around here they won't sell them unless you buy 10 of them, minimum. I'd love to be in a situation where I could have them all to free roam, like you. But until we get our mink population down, they all have to stay in a fort knox type coop and run

My guineas only get to free range during the daytime. I herd them into their coop every evening. I let my first flock do whatever they wanted including sleeping outside at night and quickly lost the entire flock to Great Horned Owls.

 

[BoogieBug]

Did you end up putting some in the incubator? Just wondering how things were going. I LOVE to hatch eggs. I'm on my 5th round in the incubator now. I was thinking that if I ever started an egg hatching business, I could call it "The Nut Hatch" - a bit of play on words with the nuthatch bird itself. Have fun and keep us posted of your hatchings.

The Nut Hatch!! I love it!! =D
I didn't put any in the incubator. When I started reading about it, I decided not to mess with it since I'll be out of the country in June. I just put all the eggs back in the coop and she's been siting on them ever since.

 

[BoogieBug]

It is common for young guineas laying their first eggs to just drop them where ever they happen to be when the urge to lay hits them.

It is very unlikely that your hen will ever gather those eggs and move them together. What is likely is that at some point she will make a nest and start laying eggs in the nest and once she lays enough eggs she may go broody. Not all of my guinea hens have gone broody so it is possible that she might never go broody.

My hens layed all their eggs in the same place and one of them has been sitting on them about 2 1/2 weeks now. I do find a random egg laying at the entrance to the coop which I believe is from another hen, because the one on the eggs hasn't moved off of them. Sometimes I go check on her to make sure she's still alive because I haven't seen her in so long. The random eggs I find laying around come into the house for breakfast!! =9