A French Breed?

[annageckos]

Yeah, it's a guinea fowl. I love them, many people can't stand them. They are different from chickens and really need their own kind. There is a french variety of guinea also called jumbo that are larger and normally raised for meat. There is a guinea fowl section on this forum you can check out.

 

[katy5]

Hi all! This is my first post, we are new chicken owners. Your site is a wealth of information, Thank You!! I hope you can help me figure out what breed my chick is. She (I hope!) is about five weeks old, we got her from Tractor Supply and he told us she was a French breed. She was from a straight run batch but despite asking friends and looking online since we brought her home I can’t figure out what she is!! In the attached pictures she is the grayish colored chicken with the striped head. She is much bigger than the rest of the ones we got the same day. Any ideas would be appreciated!! View attachment 2095029View attachment 2095030View attachment 2095031

yup she looks like my guinea fowls

 

[katy5]

those chicks will be a year in August and one has already started to lay this month

 

[LovnNYLivn]

That is definitely a guineafowl. They do better with their own kind. Raising them together with chickens may be okay at first but within a year or two they’ll start picking on your chickens.

They have a weird way of working out their pecking order and it’s not the same as with chickens. Guineas will peck and pull feathers. But like I said, this is usually around a year or two during the mating season, but once it starts it usually never ends.

I love my guineas, but they are loud. How big is your area and how close are your neighbors?

They are great for bug control. Sorry they lied to get the one sold. They should have forced the last person to buy a bunch of guineas to buy that one too.

As far as eggs, they will hide their eggs. If you’re going to let them free range, and if that’s even a girl, she will hide her nest and you’ll have to search for it. But she won’t start laying til next spring.

As far as knowing if it’s a boy or girl, it depends on the call and it’s easier to tell at around 6 months, maybe a little sooner but for sure by then.

Thank you! I appreciate all the information. We are in a neighborhood, but have eight acres on the top of a hill so are about a quarter mile up a hill from our nearest neighbor. Hopefully she won’t bother anyone too much, I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I am reading they can be aggressive, our property backs up to a day camp for kids. The campers hike through the woods most of the summer. Do I need to be concerned about her with the kids? That’s probably a silly question, I just don’t know.

 

[katy5]

Thank you! I appreciate all the information. We are in a neighborhood, but have eight acres on the top of a hill so are about a quarter mile up a hill from our nearest neighbor. Hopefully she won’t bother anyone too much, I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I am reading they can be aggressive, our property backs up to a day camp for kids. The campers hike through the woods most of the summer. Do I need to be concerned about her with the kids? That’s probably a silly question, I just don’t know.

i dont know, mine get annoying when the can't find a good nesting spot. I had to lock them up cus they kept going the the neighbor's house, i put different kinds of nesting in the coop finally got a small to medium dog kennel in there with some pine shavings. When i had them loose they always layed in tall grass

 

[hysop]

Thank you! I appreciate all the information. We are in a neighborhood, but have eight acres on the top of a hill so are about a quarter mile up a hill from our nearest neighbor. Hopefully she won’t bother anyone too much, I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I am reading they can be aggressive, our property backs up to a day camp for kids. The campers hike through the woods most of the summer. Do I need to be concerned about her with the kids? That’s probably a silly question, I just don’t know.

They’re not normally aggressive toward humans. It’s other birds that they mess with. They should be fine.

 

[hysop]

View attachment 2095534those chicks will be a year in August and one has already started to lay this month

Aww so cute. My last female got taken by a hawk last month so I have no females. They are seasonal layers so if they were born in August they’ll lay by Spring. But for those who were born this Spring they won’t lay til next Spring.