Can I safely put 4-week-old keets with 9-week-old chicks?

GretchenM

Songster
9 Years
Mar 7, 2011
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I've seen variations of this question in other threads, but haven't found a clear answer (there may not be one, but I appreciate hearing your experiences!). I have 25 9-week-old hens/chicks (they look like small hens now) and 7 4-week-old keets. We had to coop the hens up a couple days ago due to a tragic hawk attack. We'll be working on covering the hen yard, but that will take some time. I want to get the keets in with the hens now, while they're all cooped up, so we can start coop-training the guineas. Are the keets too young for that? Are the chicks likely to go after them? I know once everyone's grown they mostly ignore each other and am hoping that would be the case now.

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
I've seen variations of this question in other threads, but haven't found a clear answer (there may not be one, but I appreciate hearing your experiences!). I have 25 9-week-old hens/chicks (they look like small hens now) and 7 4-week-old keets. We had to coop the hens up a couple days ago due to a tragic hawk attack. We'll be working on covering the hen yard, but that will take some time. I want to get the keets in with the hens now, while they're all cooped up, so we can start coop-training the guineas. Are the keets too young for that? Are the chicks likely to go after them? I know once everyone's grown they mostly ignore each other and am hoping that would be the case now.

Thanks for any thoughts!
I would not house keets with chicks. Guineas do not have the same instincts or behaviors as chickens. Everything can seem to be fine until breeding season happens. When the races and chases start along with the attacks from behind with the feather pulling and the feather breaking, it can cause a lot of stress to the chickens. The chickens do not understand this type of behavior. They do not know how to be submissive and cause the attacks to stop. Only guineas can understand each other.

Guineas also require a lot more "personal space" than chickens can get by with.
 
Although there are success stories out there with mixing guineas and chickens in the same coop, it is actually not recommended.

Guineas have a different way of establishing their pecking order that is foreign to chickens and as they grow will actually end up hurting chickens and even killing them.

I have 5 boys that are housed separately and they are constantly chasing each other. But it’s normal for them. For a chicken, that would tire them out and be a target for constant pecking from the guineas.

ETA: My guineas free range and are able to run everywhere to get away and yet they are constantly chasing each other, but I can tell they like each other 😂
 

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