Guinea Newbie Here - Need Advice!

[Jasfarm]

Maybe check out livestock guardian dogs for your flock?

My dog isn’t out with them all day, but he is most of the day and he’s the best with them (wary of the guineas though). He has chased numerous hawks off. He’s a good boy! I’d love a permanent outside LGD, but my husband is vehemently opposed. He thinks I’ll sneak it inside the house. I want all the animals and he never wanted double digits of chickens. We have 10.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

My dog isn’t out with them all day, but he is most of the day and he’s the best with them (wary of the guineas though). He has chased numerous hawks off. He’s a good boy! I’d love a permanent outside LGD, but my husband is vehemently opposed. He thinks I’ll sneak it inside the house. I want all the animals and he never wanted double digits of chickens. We have 10.

I’m guessing that a poultry safe dog is better protection than Guinea fowl or geese. I looked into geese at one point but they have there own set of issues, and many predators can take on geese as well.

 

[sandiiiiiiiii]

Could you describe guinea hen submission so that I could recognize it when I see it?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Could you describe guinea hen submission so that I could recognize it when I see it?

I see this mostly in fall when the couples and throuples need to reform into a single flock. It’s mostly my males that do this so I’m not as sure how the hens are working things out.

In the spring and summer, cocks are constantly chasing each other (sometimes long races sometimes a quick rush) with wings raised high and body puffed up. Even subordinate males will do a quick rush followed by hasty retreat from dominant males. In the fall, as the flock reforms, the subordinate cocks will duck under the dominant cock with wings spread and make a squeaky/honky kind of call. I’ve really seen that a lot this fall since I also introduced keets, which a mid-ranked cock (Razorback) desperately wanted to be near, but the most dominant cock (Bullet) decided they were his keets. Razorback would make that submission/supplication move and squeaky call to Bullet over and over to get near the keets. It was quite interesting since usually the subordinate birds just keep their distance.

Other submission moves I see are just balling up/lying flat on the ground and getting pecked (my most picked on hens do that and I hate it and try to intervene sometimes). Sometimes they act shocky and need some time to recover from that kind of attack, even if there are no obvious wounds. I am guessing that catatonic state is an extreme act of submission. I’ve also seen the rest of the flock pile on when one goes catatonic like that, which is why I intervene if they look too placid. Once they shake it off they usually just avoid the dominant birds. Occasionally (like maybe once a year) they get shunned by all of the flock, and I think that’s quite dangerous for them. Mostly mine have their pecking order worked out, and subordinate ones try to stay out of the line of sight of the dominant ones.

 

[sandiiiiiiiii]

Thank you for your time to respond.
I saw activity like that with my prior guinea toward my chickens. I didn't know what I was seeing.
My prior guinea lived for 6+ years and was tame. The horn bent over at about 2 years of age for unknown reasons or cause. The guinea was free ranging. Was the horn being bent over a sign of nutritional deficiency or had the horn just been injured at some point in the adult life of the guinea?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thank you for your time to respond.
I saw activity like that with my prior guinea toward my chickens. I didn't know what I was seeing.
My prior guinea lived for 6+ years and was tame. The horn bent over at about 2 years of age for unknown reasons or cause. The guinea was free ranging. Was the horn being bent over a sign of nutritional deficiency or had the horn just been injured at some point in the adult life of the guinea?

I couldn’t say why the horn or casque would fall over, but I would suspect an injury?