Guinea Fowl Fighting

[JANINEBONA]

Hello,

I am new to raising Guinea Fowl. We have a flock of 6 that have been together since babies. One day I noticed on of the guinea picking on another guinea. The one that was being picked on hid one evening when it was supposed to go into the barn for the night. The next day I found it hiding in a corner. I separated it from the flock for a few days and then released it back with the flock. One (only one) of the guineas goes right after it and picks on it. The one being picked on tries to hide under one of the other guineas. It seems to be just one picking on that one. I don't want to leave them together as I fear it will kill it. I leave the one in the outside pen while the others wander free and it just paces back and forth all day; I feel bad for it, but don't want it to get killed. Any ideas? Thank you.

 

[R2elk]

Hello,

I am new to raising Guinea Fowl. We have a flock of 6 that have been together since babies. One day I noticed on of the guinea picking on another guinea. The one that was being picked on hid one evening when it was supposed to go into the barn for the night. The next day I found it hiding in a corner. I separated it from the flock for a few days and then released it back with the flock. One (only one) of the guineas goes right after it and picks on it. The one being picked on tries to hide under one of the other guineas. It seems to be just one picking on that one. I don't want to leave them together as I fear it will kill it. I leave the one in the outside pen while the others wander free and it just paces back and forth all day; I feel bad for it, but don't want it to get killed. Any ideas? Thank you.

This is normal guinea fowl behavior. You should not have separated it from the other guineas. If you want to separate one for a time out, pick the one that is the bully.

 

[K4mxfk]

Guineas fighting, one injured & bleeding around his eye. Have removed him from flock till his area around his eye is healed & no longer looking red. After reading other posts know I should have removed the bully but concern was for the bleeding guy, now I can not identify the bully nor know how to proceed to discourage fighting when I return the injured guinea back to the flock. ??????

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Guineas fighting, one injured & bleeding around his eye. Have removed him from flock till his area around his eye is healed & no longer looking red. After reading other posts know I should have removed the bully but concern was for the bleeding guy, now I can not identify the bully nor know how to proceed to discourage fighting when I return the injured guinea back to the flock. ??????

Sorry to hear that! How many make and female guineas do you have? Are they penned or free range? Did you see them fighting?

 

[red horse ranch]

This 5 year old male gets abused every breeding season by the other males. Last year I discovered his back raw and bleeding so I put a chicken saddle on him to protect the wounds. The other males left him alone immediately and stayed away from him the rest of the season. I took the saddle off in the fall after he was done molting and breeding season was over. This spring I noticed they were abusing him again so I put the saddle back on him. Nobody bothers him now. It's a little big on him but he seems to like it. It hasn't affected his flying and he still breeds his girl normally.
p.s. It's easiest to get it on him if someone else is holding him.

 

[raingarden]

Bullying is part of guineafowl culture. You can't change the flock dynamics. Sometimes it's best to just not get involved in their personal lives.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

This 5 year old male gets abused every breeding season by the other males. Last year I discovered his back raw and bleeding so I put a chicken saddle on him to protect the wounds. The other males left him alone immediately and stayed away from him the rest of the season. I took the saddle off in the fall after he was done molting and breeding season was over. This spring I noticed they were abusing him again so I put the saddle back on him. Nobody bothers him now. It's a little big on him but he seems to like it. It hasn't affected his flying and he still breeds his girl normally.
p.s. It's easiest to get it on him if someone else is holding him.
View attachment 3213628

Wow! What a creative and effective solution!

 

[K4mxfk]

Sorry to hear that! How many make and female guineas do you have? Are they penned or free range? Did you see them fighting?

1 female out of the 5 guineas. Currently penned in run cause I have not trained them to be free range yet. Working on the training BUT after fight I'm a day behind letting one of them out of the run during the day.

 

[K4mxfk]

1 female out of the 5 guineas. Currently penned in run cause I have not trained them to be free range yet. Working on the training BUT after fight I'm a day behind letting one of them out of the run during the day.

Yes did see the two males fighting, at first thought it was the typical guinea antics, then it turned ugly. I hit the run hard to stop the fight, noticed blood on the injured guinea's head. Doctored him and placed him away from the flock.

 

[K4mxfk]

Bullying is part of guineafowl culture. You can't change the flock dynamics. Sometimes it's best to just not get involved in their personal lives.

Too hard 4 me, it's like watching gladiators....especially when their bloody