A Few Questions On Guinea Fowls.

[CourtneyTartan]

Hey there,
I`ve been considering getting some guinea fowls as I`ve read up that they`re good with keeping bugs to a minimum. They also seem like very interesting birds.

However I have a few questions.

1. Will the Guinea Fowls attack cats? I have a fair few cats that come inside and outside and I`m curious as to whether guineas and cats get along or not.

2. Will Guinea Fowls fight my Roosters that I have?

3. How many should you at least keep together? Would two or three be happy enough with each other?

4. Can they get overly aggressive?

5. Is there anything I should know about them before buying or do you have any tips?

 

[R2elk]

Hey there,
I`ve been considering getting some guinea fowls as I`ve read up that they`re good with keeping bugs to a minimum. They also seem like very interesting birds.

However I have a few questions.

1. Will the Guinea Fowls attack cats? I have a fair few cats that come inside and outside and I`m curious as to whether guineas and cats get along or not.

2. Will Guinea Fowls fight my Roosters that I have?

3. How many should you at least keep together? Would two or three be happy enough with each other?

4. Can they get overly aggressive?

5. Is there anything I should know about them before buying or do you have any tips?

1. It depends on the particular guineas and the particular cats. Some guineas have been known to attack cats and others have learned to coexist.

2. Once the guineas reach their first breeding season it is very likely. I have kept guineas in with the chickens and turkeys, now I house the guineas separately.

3. Guineas are a flock bird and require lots of room. The long time recommendation is to keep a minimum of 10. When there are enough of them in the flock and if they have lots of room they are more likely to pick on each other than to bother the other poultry.

4. Part of it can depend on the circumstances and part of it can depend an individual guinea's own personality. Often aggressiveness can be decreased by removing the ringleader/bully.

5. Read Raising Guinea Fowl 101 and pay particular attention to posts made by @PeepsCA

Good luck.

 

[CourtneyTartan]

Thanks a heap for that.

 

[NBKOC64]

1. We have a flock of about 20 guineas and 6 outside cats that roam freely. Never had any problem with the guineas attacking or harassing the cats. They mostly ignore each other.

2. If you have a male guinea, it will likely challenge the rooster at some point. Our roosters keep the guineas in check for the most part. I think it would depend on how many birds you have together and how much space they have to roam. If they free range regularly, the guineas are likely to just do their own thing and leave the chickens alone.

3. I wouldn't keep less than 2 guineas, but 3 seems to be a nice number for a small flock. They are noisy birds, so the more you have the more of an annoyance they can become to you as well as any neighbors.

 

[CourtneyTartan]

We have about 14 acres of land for them to roam around. Most of my chooks that I have are away in fenced off areas.
However I have a few naughty chooks who won`t stay within their fenced area. One of them is a little Rooster. He has about 8 other hens that follow him round.
He`s only a little fella which worries me if a male guinea fowl was to attack him.
I`d let the guineas be free range if i got them