Considering Guineas

[Mantisquailman]

And they were all in the Sam chicken tractor

 

[R2elk]

And they were all in the Sam chicken tractor

For one thing, guineas don't do well in "tractors". For another thing you make no mention of the age of your guineas or how many you had,

It is common for people to say how well their guineas get along with their chickens while they are juveniles. When the guineas' instincts kick in at the first breeding season, the story completely changes.

 

[SamLockwood]

It is common for people to say how well their guineas get along with their chickens while they are juveniles. When the guineas' instincts kick in at the first breeding season, the story completely changes.

Yup. Best case is you have enough space and a setup to where when the guineas start their chasing and feather pulling antics (in other words "flirting" if you're a guinea) the chickens can get away from them.

Last year one guinea figured out he could make the roosters jump by charging them from behind, he'd even lift them a bit with his head. I think I saw the big cuckoo maran leap at least 5' straight up one time. It did teach the roos to be more watchful.

 

[SamLockwood]

That is not what happened with mine. I put three different breeds of chickens with my Guineas and they were all best friends.

Good for you. Other people have absolute horror stories about guineas injuring or killing their chickens, which is why I did a ton of research and took some extra time and expense for a setup where I could, if need be, separate the two flocks easily.

For me, they got along fine until the hormones kicked in. Then, there were a couple months unpleasantness: no murders but definitely some above-average bullying. Then they settled into a routine where they tend to act like two separate flocks that share an apartment complex and restaurant (with the sole exception of egg-laying and incubation).

 

[AGeese]

Correct if wrong, but I think the assumption is people keep Guineas more for meat, eggs less so, but also for tick and snake control with the added bonus of having feathered sentinels on patrol.

not prone to wandering too far, ... , amiable to other flock members

Not sure about this one.

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

Hey all y'all. The guinea flock earned their roost bar when the males ringed around a patch of tall grass and alerted me to a huge rattlesnake hiding among the wildflowers.

I don't care if they aren't at peace with the other flocks, guineas are all right with me.

 

[Taj MaHen]

Be aware----People tell you guineas are very loud, but nobody ever tells you some of them NEVER shut up! I got 15 for tick control. They did a great job and are incredibly cute/ugly/funny, but the sound of some of the females calling for hours and hours and hours on end (including 3 am!) about drove me crazy! Seriously! You could torture someone by forcing them to listen to that! Theyd tell you anythng to make it stop after awhile! I harvested 2 but didnt care for the taste.( Ill never know if I just dont like guinea or that I raised it lol) I ended up giving them all away just to get rid of them!

 

[R2elk]

I harvested 2 but didnt care for the taste.( Ill never know if I just dont like guinea or that I raised it lol)

My father told me to never harvest a guinea by chopping off its head. He claimed that it would cause the body to turn black & blue. I did not use that method and the ones I processed were delicious. To me they tasted like chicken but with a whole lot more flavor.

People who don't like dark meat on chickens will often not even try guineas because even their breasts are not "white meat".

 

[R2elk]

People tell you guineas are very loud, but nobody ever tells you some of them NEVER shut up!

Visitors here would often comment on how quiet my guineas were.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The time I had guineas, they were not amenable to sleeping in the coop with the chickens. They slept in trees. If they ever laid an egg, I never saw it. They ate as much sweet feed as my horses did, I discovered upon butchering them. Noisy beggars.