I don't know why I thought the guineas would be the easy birds... perhaps because they are the ones I expect the least from?
We bought a mixed group of day old chicks and keets in June. They are about 4 months old now. We just got the excess roosters sorted out a week or two ago, so now its 2 roosters, 1 probable rooster, 13 hens, and 10 guineas in the coop. They have a large fenced-in yard to run in, with a few trees to play in/under. The chicken social dynamics improved considerably when we sorted out the extra roosters. The guineas, not so much.
We have 3 royal purples, 5 lavenders and 2 chocolate guineas. There is one royal purple guinea in particular who is a bully to other guineas. He/she (not sure!) particularly likes to chase around 2 of the lavender guineas, although he/she will also chase the 2 chocolates and sometimes other lavenders. I can't tell them apart very well yet so not sure how many get bullied, but I know the 2 lavs for sure because they roost in the window rather than on the roost, and usually hang out with the chickens all day and avoid the other guineas.
In retrospect, I guess its silly, but I thought since guineas were such flock-minded birds, they would just make a flock. I didn't think about their social hierarchy excluding just a few of the birds.
Any ideas why the guineas are bullying each other? Any thoughts what I can do about it? At the moment, I am inclined to take the biggest bully and toss him/her in with the roosters we sorted out.
We bought a mixed group of day old chicks and keets in June. They are about 4 months old now. We just got the excess roosters sorted out a week or two ago, so now its 2 roosters, 1 probable rooster, 13 hens, and 10 guineas in the coop. They have a large fenced-in yard to run in, with a few trees to play in/under. The chicken social dynamics improved considerably when we sorted out the extra roosters. The guineas, not so much.
We have 3 royal purples, 5 lavenders and 2 chocolate guineas. There is one royal purple guinea in particular who is a bully to other guineas. He/she (not sure!) particularly likes to chase around 2 of the lavender guineas, although he/she will also chase the 2 chocolates and sometimes other lavenders. I can't tell them apart very well yet so not sure how many get bullied, but I know the 2 lavs for sure because they roost in the window rather than on the roost, and usually hang out with the chickens all day and avoid the other guineas.
In retrospect, I guess its silly, but I thought since guineas were such flock-minded birds, they would just make a flock. I didn't think about their social hierarchy excluding just a few of the birds.
Any ideas why the guineas are bullying each other? Any thoughts what I can do about it? At the moment, I am inclined to take the biggest bully and toss him/her in with the roosters we sorted out.
