How do i tell the gender of my Guinea's?

[chickenlover286]

How do i tell the gender of my guinea's? They are only maybe 1 or 2 months old!

 

[HEChicken]

When they get a little older, the females will start to make a two-toned call, known as a "buckwheat" because that is a little what it sounds like. The males will not buckwheat.

 

[cupman]

I never understood how in the world it got the "buckwheat" comparison. It's probably just me who never pieced it together. I asked this question before and got the same response... I didn't get it. I would suggest you go to YouTube and search for guinea hens and guinea cocks. That is how I ultimately understood the difference between the two. The main thing is the males will only do a single syllable call while the hens will do a two syllable call. Hens will also do a single syllable call when they are alarmed but males will never make a two syllable call under any circumstance.

I basically listened to both the males and the females on YouTube and said, "oh, yeah, I've heard both of these calls." I read a post from our educator-in-chief, PeepsCA, and she said a good way to determine sex is to separate them one at a time. Once they are isolated they will start calling for their friends and you will be able to determine whether their call is that of a male or that of a female.

Good luck.

 

[PeepsCA]

That's how I reliably sex my Hens, but every once in a while a few of the Hens will fool me and not make a sound at all while I have them separated. I separate them out of sight of the rest of the flock, but where they can still hear each other (and also where they can't see me) and that usually gets the Hens calling within a few minutes, as soon as their anxiety separation kicks in they can't keep their mouths shut. This method can work as soon as they are 5-6 weeks old, but usually is a pretty fail proof method by the time they are 8-10 weeks old. I will band the ones that I can confirm are females and then go back and re-try all that I'm guessing are males again a week or so later just to confirm. Sometimes I'll end up with 2 more Hens than I though I had, lol.

 

[OtterD]

The buckwheat thing doesn't sound like buckwheat to me. It sounds more like baka!

 

[PeepsCA]

Or "butt crack" lol. (Not all Hens sound exactly alike...)

 

[Butthead1969]

We think it sounds like they are saying "Go back Go back"

 

[inthesticks]

That's how I reliably sex my Hens, but every once in a while a few of the Hens will fool me and not make a sound at all while I have them separated. I separate them out of sight of the rest of the flock, but where they can still hear each other (and also where they can't see me) and that usually gets the Hens calling within a few minutes, as soon as their anxiety separation kicks in they can't keep their mouths shut. This method can work as soon as they are 5-6 weeks old, but usually is a pretty fail proof method by the time they are 8-10 weeks old. I will band the ones that I can confirm are females and then go back and re-try all that I'm guessing are males again a week or so later just to confirm. Sometimes I'll end up with 2 more Hens than I though I had, lol.

Had to jump in on this. This is how I rechecked my ducks. I watched a video online about vent sexing, tried it out @ the place where I got them & came up with 2girls 2boys & one that wouldn't stop pooping when I tried

so once they were older I used the method you use on the guineas. 3girls 2boys! booya. I completely forgot about that till I saw this thread. I have 2 guineas that are going to be 5wks in 2 days that I will be trying this out on, then 2 more in a few weeks!

 

[critters]

That's how I reliably sex my Hens, but every once in a while a few of the Hens will fool me and not make a sound at all while I have them separated. I separate them out of sight of the rest of the flock, but where they can still hear each other (and also where they can't see me) and that usually gets the Hens calling within a few minutes, as soon as their anxiety separation kicks in they can't keep their mouths shut. This method can work as soon as they are 5-6 weeks old, but usually is a pretty fail proof method by the time they are 8-10 weeks old. I will band the ones that I can confirm are females and then go back and re-try all that I'm guessing are males again a week or so later just to confirm. Sometimes I'll end up with 2 more Hens than I though I had, lol.

we are so glad you know your guineas!! I have 9 "free range" babies that are a few days short of being a month old....anyway, I'm going to try this....sounds easy enough! Thanks!!
(these are the babies that one of my free rangers brought to the house to show off when they were just days old!) 2 buffs and 7 royal purples I believe...

again, Thanks PeepsCA !!

 

[PeepsCA]

I'd wait 'til they are at least 5-6 wks old for your first attempt, or they may just peep their distress cry.

Post some recent pics critters!