Agressive Guineas

[BlackwaterBirds]

We have four guinea foul in our backyard flock. They are becoming increasingly aggressive toward ALL of our other birds. Is this characteristic of guineas? Should they be separated?

 

[Little Peep]

Not always they aren't supposed to act that way but if there are two males then you best separate them

 

[PeepsCA]

Yes that's typical of Guineas, especially for the males as the breeding season sets in and all the hormones that come with it. If you can separate the Guineas from the chickens, and free range them separately then that will at least give your chickens a break. If you have all males you may want to add some Hens, or if you have too many males you may want to re-home a couple.

I'm not sure what your set up and routine is with them, but if you aren't free ranging your birds at all then just adding that into the daily routine may help with the aggression from the Guineas, and burn off everybody's extra energy. Guineas need lots more space and free range time compared to most backyard chickens to be content... keeping them confined in a coop and pen situation in close quarters with chicken or other poultry usually doesn't work out well for anybody.

 

[BlackwaterBirds]

I house them together at night, but let them out early the next morning. They free range all of the time but stay right beside my rooster wherever he goes.

 

[barons mama]

We are also having problems with our 2 guneas picking on our hens. Our guneas are free range & our hens have a large outside electric fenced enclosure. The guneas roost with the hens at night and there's no way to keep them seperate. They are so mean that I'm considering giving them away. Any suggestions?

 

[PeepsCA]

You really need more than 2 Guineas to keep them content as a flock and focused on each other, but since your 2 are already chicken aggressive adding more may just cause more issues. What about building the Guineas a small enclosed coop/shelter to roost in that's in the outside pen and just let them out at separate times than the chickens? (You can grab the Guineas off the roosts at night in the dark or dim lighting). If that's too much for you to manage, then sounds like re-homing them would most likely be better solution.

 

[barons mama]

Our hens have access to the outside pen from sun-up to sun-down so there would not be a time when the guneas could be out. Today I shooed them out of the barn when I gave the hens their fermented oats so the hens could eat in peace, but that only worked for as long as I stayed in the barn. I got the guneas for their love of eating ticks and they were pretty pricey so I hate to re-home them before we even get 1 tick season with them, but the hens are really taking a beating.

 

[PeepsCA]

So the Guineas fly over the fence into the chicken pen, instead of free ranging all day? Cover the pen...
Their behavior won't change, and it may even get worse now that breeding season is starting up. Separating them from the chickens is the only way to stop the aggression problem, by either doing what needs to be done to prevent them from getting in with the chickens at all from now on, or re-homing them. Sorry you are having issues. There are always workable solutions, tho they may not work for you/your situation.

Don't take offense to this, because I am not at all singling you out with this statement, a lot of people have issues with Guineas being aggressive towards their chickens, (so this is just a bit of general, helpful advise for anyone new to Guineas or thinking about getting Guineas who might read this thread) but... a little bit of homework done on Guinea behavior before adding them to a flock of chickens, and having a back up plan just in case there are issues is always helpful.

 

[JLeigh]

So the Guineas fly over the fence into the chicken pen, instead of free ranging all day? Cover the pen...
Their behavior won't change, and it may even get worse now that breeding season is starting up. Separating them from the chickens is the only way to stop the aggression problem, by either doing what needs to be done to prevent them from getting in with the chickens at all from now on, or re-homing them. Sorry you are having issues. There are always workable solutions, tho they may not work for you/your situation.

Don't take offense to this, because I am not at all singling you out with this statement, a lot of people have issues with Guineas being aggressive towards their chickens, (so this is just a bit of general, helpful advise for anyone new to Guineas or thinking about getting Guineas who might read this thread) but... a little bit of homework done on Guinea behavior before adding them to a flock of chickens, and having a back up plan just in case there are issues is always helpful.

 

[tomingreeneco]

You also need more Guineas. I was told you should have a least 10. They will then stay within their own flock (they should also be kept in their own coop). In my flock it's the chicken that chase the guineas away! They do not fight with them, but let them know who's boss. Of course the ducks are king of the barn yard.