Guinea Fowl

[jivanjoti]

We just started raising guinea fowl last spring. We have ended up with 9 - 8 males and 1 female. As they pair up, is it going to be a problem with only 1 female? Should we try to trade a couple of males for females? thank you for your help.

Also, about telling males and females a part. It is very hard, but what I read and have identified in our flock...males have a 1-tone "squack," females have a 2-tone. It is pretty easy to identify from that. They look so much a like otherwise.

 

[R2elk]

We just started raising guinea fowl last spring. We have ended up with 9 - 8 males and 1 female. As they pair up, is it going to be a problem with only 1 female? Should we try to trade a couple of males for females? thank you for your help.

Also, about telling males and females a part. It is very hard, but what I read and have identified in our flock...males have a 1-tone "squack," females have a 2-tone. It is pretty easy to identify from that. They look so much a like otherwise.

It will be best if you can manage to get you flock to equal numbers of males and hens or a few more hens than males.

Once you become really familiar with your guineas you will be able to notice that males and females do have different behaviors that make it possible to tell the sexes apart without hearing the buckwheat.

While males cannot make the buckwheat sound, the females can make any and all of the sounds that the males make.

Good luck.

 

[jivanjoti]

Thank you for your reply about males and female ratios of guinea flowl.

You mentioned that males and females have different behaviors. Can you please describe them to me? And what do you mean by buckwheat sound? My female is more submissive. The males are much more active, especially around her. They run around and are almost aggressive but never fight, so far. Will it create confusion, insecurity if they switch flocks...if I trade some of the males for females? We have created a secure and safe enclosure for them to come back to at night, which they have been trained to do now on their own. As along as the original flock knows to come home, will the new ones follow? Do they accept new members to the flock easily? Thank you for your help. Jivanjoti

 

[R2elk]

Thank you for your reply about males and female ratios of guinea fowl.

You mentioned that males and females have different behaviors. Can you please describe them to me? And what do you mean by buckwheat sound? My female is more submissive. The males are much more active, especially around her. They run around and are almost aggressive but never fight, so far. Will it create confusion, insecurity if they switch flocks...if I trade some of the males for females? We have created a secure and safe enclosure for them to come back to at night, which they have been trained to do now on their own. As along as the original flock knows to come home, will the new ones follow? Do they accept new members to the flock easily? Thank you for your help. Jivanjoti

Hens will normally have a lower stance than males when walking. Hens will look directly at you but males will look at you from the side as they get very upright and sidle around you. A paired up male and female will have the hen puttering around in a large circle as the male lies in one place.

When breeding season arrives in the spring there will be fighting among the males that will mostly consist of high speed races which terminate in actual fighting.

The buckwheat is the two syllable sound that the guinea hen makes.

The more mature your guineas are the less likely they are to accept new members. A predominantly male flock however is usually very receptive to new hens.

Any change of any kind usually causes tension in a flock of guineas whether it as simple as giving them a different colored waterer, changing the feed or adding or removing flock members. The only change that seems to mostly guarantee positive results is the removal of a bully from the flock.

Good luck.

 

[jivanjoti]

Thank you. Your responses have been helpful. Now I need to find some hens to trade with my males.

 

[jivanjoti]

Thank you. Your responses have been helpful. Now I need to find some hens to trade with my males.

And, we do have a bully I might just trade out.