chickens and guineas living together or not?

[flyingdragon]

I raised 30 from keets. Two weeks in the brooder in basement then four weeks in a screened enclosure in the barn then into the chicken coop. And this was in late December here in NC. They took to the top roosts in the coop even though the chickens which were about four months at that time tried to keep them down. Everyone was out in the run during the day and they all went to roost on their own and I shut them up each night until late March. They all went out in the snow and seemed none the worse for wear. Guineas are now six months old and are exhibiting dominance behavior among the males and the females have been laying for about a month. They free range all day and come to roost in the evening with the chickens. I have one cuckoo marans rooster who is a perfect gentleman to his ladies and is indifferent to the guineas. The guinea males don't pester the chicks either (yet). By the way, there are 14 now. They are very tasty eating!!!

 

[Mysterious]

I might get a chicken rooster(cuz I do t want it to be eaten) and I have 2 guinea fowl, around 2 months and will get 5 more and might add hens next spring. Should I get him or not have until him. I will accept answers for 1 week before I get him which is in 1 week.

 

[MeepBeep]

IMO if you have enough coop space so that they can 'segregate' they can get along just fine... I have over 100 birds in my coop, bantams, standards, guineafowl and peafowl and they all get along as best as could be expected, but it's clear the different breed all have their own 'corners' of the coop that they lay claim to and others respect...

The only real conflict is with the young hormone raged roosters and guineas, the guineas simply won't tollerate showboating or cocky roosters and have a tendency to pluck the cocky roosters butts clean, and that is actually something that troubles me in the least...

 

[Mysterious]

Will have over 96 square feet. But we still have to build it. In a week I can start building it. Will they harm Lucy, my female and will they harm the 5 keets I'm getting? And will they harm Tom, cuz if they harm him, I don't want to have it cuz he's my favorite and likes to follow me and he is protective of Lucy, basically screeching when she's on the top part of their makeshift coop.

 

[R2elk]

Will have over 96 square feet. But we still have to build it. In a week I can start building it. Will they harm Lucy, my female and will they harm the 5 keets I'm getting? And will they harm Tom, cuz if they harm him, I don't want to have it cuz he's my favorite and likes to follow me and he is protective of Lucy, basically screeching when she's on the top part of their makeshift coop.

When it comes to guineas, 96 sq. ft. (8'x12') is not a very big space especially if you want them to peacefully share it with other poultry. That is what I have and it becomes cramped quarters for just the 10 to 12 guineas that I keep in it. I can imagine what they would do to any chickens if I tried to force them to share their space.

 

[MeepBeep]

When it comes to guineas, 96 sq. ft. (8'x12') is not a very big space especially if you want them to peacefully share it with other poultry.  That is what I have and it becomes cramped quarters for just the 10 to 12 guineas that I keep in it.  I can imagine what they would do any chickens if I tried to force them to share their space.

Yep, I agree although it's a decent sqft amount, it's not really much space in the end... When you put a half dozen guineas in there the chickens simply won't be able to claim an area as theirs without being immediately next to the guineas...

Plus the rooster is not going to be happy with just one hen and she isn't going to be happy she is the only hen either... Worse when the rooster turns his attention towards the guinea hens as his single lady isn't enough for him things are likely to get ugly as the male guineas really don't tollerate sharing their ladies with chickens all that well in my experience... In fact last week I saw one of my young roosters attempt to mount a guinea, he spent the next 15 or so minutes running his butt off at full speed all over the place with several guineas in chase plucking his feathers, and guineas hunt like a pack of dogs so he didn't stand a chance at avoiding them...

 

[Mysterious]

Well my plan is to have 32 square ft on the bottom plus lots of shelving for roosting. What is a good ratio of chickens and guineas? But thanks for advice. And what chickens are best for living with them? The rooster I might get is a black Australorp.

 

[MeepBeep]

Well my plan is to have 32 square ft on the bottom plus lots of shelving for roosting. What is a good ratio of chickens and guineas? But thanks for advice. And what chickens are best for living with them? The rooster I might get is a black Australorp.

I have no way to answer that question as personalities vary... I have about 30 guineas to give or take 100 other birds, and several different breeds of chickens as well as mixes.. I would say that any chickens that are known to be more aggressive like game fowl would probably be your worst case, while heritage or dual purpose birds are probably fine...

As I stated I fully believe it's about the available space, I have a 1800 sqft coop, the birds have plenty of space to get away from each other, even though they are currently confined to about 900 sqft...

 

[R2elk]

Well my plan is to have 32 square ft on the bottom plus lots of shelving for roosting. What is a good ratio of chickens and guineas? But thanks for advice. And what chickens are best for living with them? The rooster I might get is a black Australorp.

32 Sq. ft. of unencumbered floor space will house at the maximum 8 guinea fowl and nothing else. You really need at a minimum 4 sq. ft. of clear floor space for each guinea. I absolutely would not try to jam guineas and chickens into such a small area.

 

[MeepBeep]

Well my plan is to have 32 square ft on the bottom plus lots of shelving for roosting. What is a good ratio of chickens and guineas? But thanks for advice. And what chickens are best for living with them? The rooster I might get is a black Australorp.

32 Sq. ft. of unencumbered floor space will house at the maximum 8 guinea fowl and nothing else.  You really need at a minimum 4 sq. ft. of clear floor space for each guinea.  I absolutely would not try to jam guineas and chickens into such a small area.

In addition the problem with small spaces is not necessarily the sqft it's the linear distance of separation available... Take a 4x8 coop aka 32 sqft, realistically unless you only have two birds stay in opposite corners all day long they are probably only going to be able to stay a few feet away from each other, put in 4 or more birds in that space and basically they will forever be bumping shoulders... In my case the chicken can go to one side of the coop and the guinea to the other and there is easily a 20 foot linear buffer between them...

There are of course going to be exceptions,some guineas get along great with chickens, I currently have a guinea and chicken broody in the same nesting box, and they have been broody for over a month together, they seem to enjoy each others company for some reason...