4 males and one female guinea fowl

[klesoine]

So I'm starting to get enough guinea knowledge to suspect I was given 4 males and one female 1 year olds that needed a home. They are penned for one week now and it looks like from my replies from another posting that they should be penned for at least a few more weeks so they will stay around. They have a mirror, which seems to entertain the males, the space is a 12 x 10 foot space and several roosting spots. I have hay in corners and a covering for one spot. I get an egg a day or every other day. But I"m worried that it's stressful for the female to be cooped up with 4 males for this length of time. Any advice?

 

[feathersgalore]

It doesn't seem to be the same for guineas as it is for chickens. You can keep a lot of males together. My guinea hens seem to pick out a male at the beginning of the season and don't have anything to do with the others.

 

[Kev]

Or you could let one or two of the males loose soon(if they are intended to be totally free range, eventually) and keep the female and your preferred male in the pen, just in case? The pair kept in pen should act as 'call backs' for the loose males. Usually it's turning ALL birds at once too soon that results in disaster. Should be letting one or two birds at a time because the loose birds will want to stay close to the penned birds at first and they in turn can be 'teacher birds' for the newly turned out birds.