chickens living with guinea fowl

[featherz]

I have 17 guineas living with (now) four chickens. We had six chickens, but two were taken by hawks, probably cause they were too slow to keep up with the guineas! So everyone is now essentially confined to the run, which the guineas HAVE the ability to fly out of, but they refuse to. We WANTED them to free range and come back to hang with the chickens, but they just want to go wherever the chickens are. We actually locked the chickens in another coop after the hawk attack and let just the guineas out, but they wandered around the yard screaming until they found 'their' chickens (was funny watching them circle my other 'fort knox' coop with my layers just buckwheating away).

I am hopeful that once they are older they will fly out and explore more (part of the run is open to let them fly out if they want, but it has ribbons across it to help deter hawks and the fence is 6 feet high). They are all locked up at night in the coop. I'd love to use the coop to house the rest of the chickens once they are big enough to integrate but my guineas just love it there too much. They are 3 1/2 months old.

so far they are not bothering the chickens, but .. we shall see what happens when they are older. Any hopes they might split off? LOL.

Also,I think that unlike my recent chicken hatch, the guineas I hatched are almost all girls based on the call. I hope there's at least a few boys somewhere!

 

[Rozzie]

Maybe I just got lucky. I only had two guineas. There were usually 12-15 chickens housed with them. Perhaps they felt outnumbered. I did have a big roo in there that could have beat the guineas to a bloody pulp if he'd wanted to.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

I have 5 Guineas now and they all live with the chickens but roost in a different area on the outside of the coop they go in and out of the coop all day and sit on the roost sometimes with the chickens, however when night comes they go to their own roost and I have had no problems (knocking on wood) with either set. as for the chickens at first they were not sure what they were but now they co-exist like they are chickens aof a different breed the *UGLY* breed lol..


I have also read the book Gardening with Guineas and to be honest it seems to me like a parenting book you read then throw it out the window because nothing is ever like it is in the book Mine have done nothing as the book says they should would or could do, so this is what I say raise them the way way you want to and if they fight house them in a different coop feed them whatever you feed the chickens they know what to and not to eat... Most of all enjoy them for what they really are wild birds in your backyard.

 

[chseeads]

I've got 4 guineas, and they live with my chickens (and turkeys, etc.).

They got to the point they liked to chase the chickens and pull their feathers out though. Even a big rooster...they'd start in chasing him and all get in on it. You'd think the rooster coulda whipped their hides, but he'd (and everybody else) would always just run from them. His poor hiney had the feathers around the base of his tail all pulled out at one point.

BUT, I decided to try putting peepers on the guineas to see if that'd help, and it did. (The little plastic blinder things that are often used on pheasants and gamebirds.) Every once in a while you might see a guinea fluff up and run at a chicken, but it's very rare that I ever see any really chasing them or pulling any feathers since I put the peepers on them.

 

[birdman123]

ive got 3 guineas living with about 30 chickens
the chickens the guineas were raised with dont get chased but the new ones get chased all the time till the guineas get used to them
the only ones that the guineas dont chase that are new is the ones that there mom hatched out
the 3 were hatched by a chicken mom and they still follow her around like shes there mom
the chicks she hatched out they dont chase at all

 

[joedie]

I have 3 male guineas that I got as adults and they live peacefully with the 45 chickens. They go in and out of one coop all day long to eat and drink but come dusk they roost in the tree just outside of the coop. They sit on top of the coop in the morning until I let the chickens out and all free range together. It seems that they wait for the chickens to come out and play but I've never seen them bother each other. The guineas are the first to scream bloody murder when hawks are in the air. When they do, not a chicken can be seen, they're under cover in the barns or under the various implements in the barnyard.

 

[OzawkieBantams]

I have 4 guinea in the same pen with two chukar four silkies five banties and seven muscovy ducks. All of them are free ranging yes even the two Chukar come back every nite.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Great to hear some of this feedback. I have a flock of 10 chickens (one I'm sure is a roo) with one Guinea (who appeared out of nowhere in my yard when she/he was 2 weeks old). I also have a couple of older hens I'm acclimating to the chicks that will - hopefully - join them eventually. So, potentially 12 chickens to 1 Guinea.

The 10 young chickens are the same age and they've all been together since I found the Guinea (they're all 10/11 weeks old now). I was afraid my Guinea was showing aggression towards one of the pullets, but it wasn't anything severe and I haven't seen much - if any - of it in the past 2-3 days. I can't really free range them (idiot dogs and potential predators in the area), but their coop and run are a pretty good size (coop is about 50 sq feet and the floor-to-ceiling door is open to the run at all times).

The run is about 120 sq feet and I plan to add on about the same amount over the next month or so. I'm really attached to the Guinea and the thought of rehoming him/her breaks my heart. I never planned on getting Guinea fowl, but he/she is now part of the family. That's what happens when strays wander onto our property <3.