Adding Guinea Fowl to an Established Chicken flock

[MrsTush]

I look at it this way.. Chickens are kind of domestic at this point. Guineas are...guineas. Their ancestors were dodging African predators. I can take a lion cub and raise it with my cats which might be fine in the beginning but at some point he's going to realize he is a lion.
Having said that, there is a house not far from us that has dozens of guineas and chickens out on their property. I wouldn't do it but it's working for them

 

[Adrisducks]

Very interesting post.
I gave my silkie hen 2 baby keets that she took as her own and loved them. They are now almost 1 year old and seem pretty good as far as guineas go. They will occasionally ram a chicken butt but my chickens will turn around and poke them back or my rooster will. They seem 'possibly' more calm because my rooster puts them in place. And I have a lot of hens that don't take any sh** so that helps. I also have ducks and geese which the guineas leave alone. Maybe it's because I only have 2? This is my first time with guinea fowl so I'm still learning too.

 

[629864]

I've had a different experience than most here have had. We started with guineas and when they were about 3 months old, we got a good deal on laying hens and added an equal number. While I know the guineas weren't fully mature, they were just as big as the hens...but the hens bullied the guineas mercilessly, never letting them eat. I have all of my birds free range, but I had to herd the guineas into a closed pen to let them eat. They all get along now, so long as they are free range....guineas and hens will NOT accept roosting together. Eventually, the guineas became wilder and freer and now they emphatically resist going into any enclosure, even for their own good in bad weather. Now I'm clambering to figure out how to provide them some sort of protection from the elements over the winter. They roost on top of a closed chicken run, but that's just not going to be sufficient when snow and ice head our way. Ive considered wrapping a n open wire cage with a tarp and just putting it up on the run where they roost anyway. The problem is how to secure it so it wont blow down in the wind. I know this wont protect from predators, but I cant get them to go into a protected house anyway. At the least, I'd like to give them shelter from bad weather. We have a barn, but our LGDs (for goats and sheep) have a "problem" with poultry, so the birds steer clear of the dogs and barn. Any ideas would be incredibly welcome!

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

The most common result from imprinting guineas with chickens is that everything can seem fine until the guineas start their first breeding season. At that time their true nature shows. They start their chasing and racing, attacks from behind, feather pulling and breaking. This is their nature. It is not a chicken's nature. Guineas that have been imprinted cannot understand that chickens are not guineas. The chickens don't understand the guinea behavior and end up extremely stressed. It is also not a chicken's nature to attack en masse but that is natural guinea behavior.

I raised guineas with chickens. I will not brood, raise or house guineas with chickens.

I can let my guineas, chickens and turkeys free range at the same time in the same place with each group keeping to themselves and not bothering the others.

I would not do what you are planning.

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

Is there some benefit to having guineas in with goats? Disadvantage?

 

[raingarden]

All of our birds detest the guineas. The chickens hate them, the ducks hate them, the peafowl hate them. When we had turkeys the turkeys hated them. Some of the guineas even hate each other. They are all free range and when broadcasting feed the guineas are competitive and aggressive trying to monopolize all the feed. Everyone else has to just sit back and hope there is something left when the guineas finally leave.

 

[R2elk]

Is there some benefit to having guineas in with goats? Disadvantage?

I can't think of any advantage of having guineas with goats other than the guineas will take care of most bugs especially ticks. The disadvantage is the possibility of the goats stepping on them.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

All of our birds detest the guineas. The chickens hate them, the ducks hate them, the peafowl hate them. When we had turkeys the turkeys hated them. Some of the guineas even hate each other. They are all free range and when broadcasting feed the guineas are competitive and aggressive trying to monopolize all the feed. Everyone else has to just sit back and hope there is something left when the guineas finally leave.

Sounds like guineas are not very desirable bird. Why would anybody want them? Are they good meat? Do they lay fine eggs? It’s my understanding that some people have them to eat lice and ticks to protect their life stock against infestation. Is that true?

 

[R2elk]

Sounds like guineas are not very desirable bird. Why would anybody want them? Are they good meat? Do they lay fine eggs? It’s my understanding that some people have them to eat lice and ticks to protect their life stock against infestation. Is that true?

Guineas are delicious. They are a season layer and not a continuous layer normally laying from spring to fall..

Guineas are not for everyone but those of us that like them enjoy their antics.

They are known tick and insect eaters. I have never heard anyone claim that they eat lice. They can suffer from lice and mite infestations just like any other bird.

Some people do keep them specifically to control tick populations.