Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

I like to keep 10-12, but it is hard to hold that number with their habit of playing on the road.

I think 4 is better than 2 though, and depending on how much land you have makes a difference for bug control.

If I turned all mine out, I would not have a bug anywhere around here, but the Sheriff might stop by and ask about the pile of dead birds on the road......


If I lived on a less busy road I would have them all lose. I only have 4 adults and 21 babies free right now, the babies do not leave the side of their adopted Mother Hen yet.

 

[Nickeyo]

I'm finally free ranging all my guineas now, all is going well and there are even some chickens out with them. They all go into a tree at night (about time) although the adults are still reluctant and require chasing up otherwise they sleep on the floor by the run door

Naughty birds! Other than that they seem to love it but like running up and down the road

Thankfully it's very quiet but have still seen some close calls

 

[harley587]

Hello everyone! I got my first flock of chickens this spring and next spring I'm looking into getting 1-2 Guineas. Will they get along OK with my chcikens? As of now I have 2 roosters and 10 hens. They would be allowed to free range if that's helps.

Quote:

Start with a dozen. 1-2 is never enough.....

They will get alone fine. If you have a broody chicken put guinea eggs under her and let her hatch and raise them. A chicken raised Guinea has a 72% better chance of staying out of prison than one raised by a human.


Which brings up another point, At what age to you allow your guineas to start playing with knifes and guns?


My chicken raised guineas have found they can sit on top of the guinea's, I raised, cage/pen. They sit there and hurl insults at the caged ones then go on their way. I am thinking they could become reprobates.

Quote:

I agree with DR that 1 to 2 is not enough. I would say bare minimum amount of guineas for a flock would be 4, but more is preferable as they seem to do better in a larger flock. I have had as few as 4 and as many as 30 but I prefer to keep somewhere between 10 to 12, that way there are enough for effective bug control but not so many that I am overrun and go broke feeding them in the winter. (Although I commend DR and his bravery for being able to manage 100 guineas!)

Agreed. I'd suggest starting with no fewer than 7-10. All my birds get along. My 2 older drakes can be aholes, though. I'd never risk just 2 guineas. They need their own gang.

 

[harley587]

I'm finally free ranging all my guineas now, all is going well and there are even some chickens out with them. They all go into a tree at night (about time) although the adults are still reluctant and require chasing up otherwise they sleep on the floor by the run door

Naughty birds! Other than that they seem to love it but like running up and down the road

Thankfully it's very quiet but have still seen some close calls

Mine are just like yours...They're free range and have the nesting tree right above our coop. I don't know how anyone gets their guineas back into a coop as mine absolutely refuse unless they have to hit up one of the chickens! Mine love to run up and down our road too & thankfully our road is fairly quiet too. We just have to worry about the serial killer in training kids who try to stone our birds. Our neighbors have started to get into the action of yelling at anyone who tries to get to close to our birds or tries to stone the birds.

 

[Nickeyo]

Wow

We don't have anyone who tries to stone my birds thankfully although my neighbours all have dogs and the guineas play a dangerous game of perching just out of reach to provoke them or running into the gardens and then back out

Up until the last week all of mine refused to go into trees at night they were all hell bent on going into their coop and still have the odd day were they do

 

[duluthralphie]

Wow

We don't have anyone who tries to stone my birds thankfully although my neighbours all have dogs and the guineas play a dangerous game of perching just out of reach to provoke them or running into the gardens and then back out

Up until the last week all of mine refused to go into trees at night they were all hell bent on going into their coop and still have the odd day were they do

I am going to teach my guineas to throw stones back at anyone who tries to stone them! I love my little hoodlums! If anyone is going to say or do something to them about their behavior it will be me! Everyone else keep your hands off my gangsters!

 

[Victoria-nola]

I am going to teach my guineas to throw stones back at anyone who tries to stone them! I love my little hoodlums! If anyone is going to say or do something to them about their behavior it will be me! Everyone else keep your hands off my gangsters!

I know, right? I asked our nearest neighbors before we got the guineas if they would be troubled. The guy's grandmother kept guineas so he's stoked to have them around. The across the street people live far enough away I don't think they'll hear them much at all. I wanted guineas when we lived in the city but knew it was not correct to do so. I guess point being, I have reason to think no one around here is going to be mean to our birds. That would tear me up if someone did that.

 

[harley587]

I am going to teach my guineas to throw stones back at anyone who tries to stone them! I love my little hoodlums! If anyone is going to say or do something to them about their behavior it will be me! Everyone else keep your hands off my gangsters!

Rah Rah DR!!! I am right there with you. I think I should teach my little gangsters to bomb drop stones!! They don't do anything to hurt anyone and they eat all the bugs around you, what is there to complain about! Thankfully, Lefty is still hopping along on his good leg (left of course) and the other guineas take care of him. They will wait for him and surround him to protect him. It's really cool to watch how they care for him.

 

[duluthralphie]

Rah Rah DR!!! I am right there with you. I think I should teach my little gangsters to bomb drop stones!! They don't do anything to hurt anyone and they eat all the bugs around you, what is there to complain about! Thankfully, Lefty is still hopping along on his good leg (left of course) and the other guineas take care of him. They will wait for him and surround him to protect him. It's really cool to watch how they care for him.

Be aware, they might not be protecting him, but fattening him up for a late winter snack..

 

[harley587]

Be aware, they might not be protecting him, but fattening him up for a late winter snack..

Lol!!! quite possibly - never thought of that one!!