And then there was 12😞

[My2butterflies]

How common is it for males to kill other males?

I really wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, even though I’m sure it happens.

My husband saw two guineas down by the tall grass flapping their wings and making noise. One guinea has jumping on the back of the guinea laying down. All I could see was the tail of the guinea laying down and the other guinea pecking and hopping on it.
I thought it was a male trying to mate with a female. I figured he was just having a hard time getting it right, so I told my husband it was just mating and we should leave them alone.
We kept watching and said he doesn’t think it’s mating and that the guinea on the ground wasn’t moving.
I ran down to investigate and sure enough the guinea laying down was my male #13 and he was dead! The male that killed him was boss man, the alpha male of the flock. I’m still in shock and can’t believe he killed him right in front of us

My flock is female heavy. 7 females and now 5 males. How likely is it that he will continue to attack other males? #13 had been a fringe male for many months and most nights slept outside the coop, refusing to go inside. I’m sure it’s because he was picked on a lot. My husband said boss man will have to go if he kills again

 

[orloffer]

I don't know anything about guineas, but 5:7 does not sound like a healthy ratio to me. The 'boss' guinea is probably fighting for dominance and wanting to get rid of competition.

 

[R2elk]

I don't know anything about guineas, but 5:7 does not sound like a healthy ratio to me. The 'boss' guinea is probably fighting for dominance and wanting to get rid of competition.

In guineas, unlike chickens, a 1:1 ratio is preferred. It isn't always about fighting for dominance either. Guinea flock dynamics are different than any other domestic birds.

Guineas will sometimes kill members of their own flocks for reasons that are not apparent to us. Sometimes it is the whole flock ostracizing a single member. The bigger the flock, the more obstacles and the more hiding places, the less likely a guinea is to be killed by another member of the flock.

I had a guinea cock that had a roaming eye and would sneak in and breed the alpha's mate every chance he got. Actually it didn't matter which hen it was or how close the mate was. He was constantly in fights with the males that were trying to retaliate against him for breeding their hens.

There is just no way to know why this particular guinea was killed since no one saw the events leading up to the fight.

 

[orloffer]

Well, I have learned something new today. Sorry if I was spreading false information; I am only familiar with chickens.

 

[My2butterflies]

I don't know anything about guineas, but 5:7 does not sound like a healthy ratio to me. The 'boss' guinea is probably fighting for dominance and wanting to get rid of competition.

Boss has three hens to himself. He is greedy The other males have one hen. It could be that #13 was trying to claim one of Boss’s hens. But I’m not sure. #13 habeen an outcast of sorts for a long while.

In guineas, unlike chickens, a 1:1 ratio is preferred. It isn't always about fighting for dominance either. Guinea flock dynamics are different than any other domestic birds.

Guineas will sometimes kill members of their own flocks for reasons that are not apparent to us. Sometimes it is the whole flock ostracizing a single member. The bigger the flock, the more obstacles and the more hiding places, the less likely a guinea is to be killed by another member of the flock.

I had a guinea cock that had a roaming eye and would sneak in and breed the alpha's mate every chance he got. Actually it didn't matter which hen it was or how close the mate was. He was constantly in fights with the males that were trying to retaliate against him for breeding their hens.

There is just no way to know why this particular guinea was killed since no one saw the events leading up to the fight.

I have so much space and plenty of hiding spots that it just boggles my mind that he let himself be cornered in the grass. Perhaps he was hoping being submissive would make the attack stop

I really hope adding the keets I’m brooding will help the flock dynamics. I’ll basically be doubling my flock for a total of 25.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

I have found that when chickens kill other chickens, or birds gang up on another bird in general, there was often something wrong with the victim. Either he/ she was sick, or defective in some way. Maybe it was not something we could see, but birds know. It's natural selection. Of course, there can be bullies, who are just rough to the point of murder, but I don't think that's common. Male on male fights with fatal results are rare. Usually the weaker bird gives up. I have had a couple of roosters who both wanted to be alpha and would have bloody (literally) really awful fights often. I did end up rehoming one before it became fatal. But maybe the fact that he didn't run and hide meant he was sick or injured or something. He might even aready have been dead, and the alpha male was taking advantage of easy bullying (I've seen a rooster try to mate with a dead hen before, ew). It's just speculation though - you said you definitely saw him alive and struggling? And that doesn't make it any less traumatic for you. I hope the alpha is satisfied now and none of the other boys challenge him, if it really was malicious.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

How common is it for males to kill other males?

I really wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, even though I’m sure it happens.

My husband saw two guineas down by the tall grass flapping their wings and making noise. One guinea has jumping on the back of the guinea laying down. All I could see was the tail of the guinea laying down and the other guinea pecking and hopping on it.
I thought it was a male trying to mate with a female. I figured he was just having a hard time getting it right, so I told my husband it was just mating and we should leave them alone.
We kept watching and said he doesn’t think it’s mating and that the guinea on the ground wasn’t moving.
I ran down to investigate and sure enough the guinea laying down was my male #13 and he was dead! The male that killed him was boss man, the alpha male of the flock. I’m still in shock and can’t believe he killed him right in front of us

My flock is female heavy. 7 females and now 5 males. How likely is it that he will continue to attack other males? #13 had been a fringe male for many months and most nights slept outside the coop, refusing to go inside. I’m sure it’s because he was picked on a lot. My husband said boss man will have to go if he kills again

Oh how awful! I’m so sorry!!! I keep penning all of mine up for part of the day to decrease their roaming and predator exposure. I am so afraid that the guys will get into it while they are penned up and I’ll have a fatality because there is not space to get away. My head male can be pretty hard on the other males, and on our six week old keet. What a bummer that you had this happen!!!

 

[My2butterflies]

I have found that when chickens kill other chickens, or birds gang up on another bird in general, there was often something wrong with the victim. Either he/ she was sick, or defective in some way. Maybe it was not something we could see, but birds know. It's natural selection. Of course, there can be bullies, who are just rough to the point of murder, but I don't think that's common. Male on male fights with fatal results are rare. Usually the weaker bird gives up. I have had a couple of roosters who both wanted to be alpha and would have bloody (literally) really awful fights often. I did end up rehoming one before it became fatal. But maybe the fact that he didn't run and hide meant he was sick or injured or something. He might even aready have been dead, and the alpha male was taking advantage of easy bullying (I've seen a rooster try to mate with a dead hen before, ew). It's just speculation though - you said you definitely saw him alive and struggling? And that doesn't make it any less traumatic for you. I hope the alpha is satisfied now and none of the other boys challenge him, if it really was malicious.

I don’t think he was sick in any way. If he was in any way ill then he hid it well and it wasn’t anything that showed outward signs:/
It was hard for me to believe he was really dead. Besides a couple small blood spots on his head and the fact that his body was completely limp and lifeless, he had no big injuries. My husband thinks his neck snapped. It was floppy, but I didn’t feel an obvious break.
I held him for a while in complete disbelief. I felt horrible. I still feel horrible.
And yes, we watched it happen. Not from the start of it, but once he was pinned down and flapping really hard with Boss on top of him. After that he didn’t move again

 

[My2butterflies]

Oh how awful! I’m so sorry!!! I keep penning all of mine up for part of the day to decrease their roaming and predator exposure. I am so afraid that the guys will get into it while they are penned up and I’ll have a fatality because there is not space to get away. My head male can be pretty hard on the other males, and on our six week old keet. What a bummer that you had this happen!!!

That was my fear locking him in the coop at night. So I started letting him stay out when he was admitted about not going in the coop. I knew that was risky to leave him outside, but seemed like maybe it was for the best. I really didn’t think I’d lose him this way.

I hope your keet will be ok and that your alpha male isn’t too hard on them all. They are such strong birds. I had to catch one of the males yesterday and I could hardly get a grip on him

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

That was my fear locking him in the coop at night. So I started letting him stay out when he was admitted about not going in the coop. I knew that was risky to leave him outside, but seemed like maybe it was for the best. I really didn’t think I’d lose him this way.

I hope your keet will be ok and that your alpha male isn’t too hard on them all. They are such strong birds. I had to catch one of the males yesterday and I could hardly get a grip on him

Bruiser really is a bruiser. He is bigger than the others and just strikes me as really dominant, bulky, and tough. He’s always sweet to Slate and Violet, his two hens, but the dominance situation is weird because he’s the most dominant cock (by far) but his hens are way at the bottom in the hen pecking order. Bruiser and his hens were all keets I bought last year for their unusual color and integrated as juveniles, along with keets we hatched. His group still seems so separate from the original group, with original cock Ghost and his six hens. Ghost is usually the last guinea in the coop at night, to prevent aggression from the other cocks. The other two males and their partners are able to move between Bruiser and Ghost’s groups, but Ghost and Bruiser’s subflocks rarely mix. Pic of pied pearl Bruiser, looking like a bodybuilder, and of lanky lavender Ghost. Please don’t kill anyone, Bruiser!