My loving little guineas which I hand-raised as day old keets are fighting terribly...and this is my first year with guineas...
Here's the back story: I had 2 males and 2 females which paired off fine...then one of the females died so Peep was left without.
Fizz, the dominant male, let Peep hang out with him and his mate, but would keep Peep at a distance of about 5-10 feet. This went on for about 2 months, but evidently last night everything changed.
When I opened the coop this morning, Fizz was hiding and Peep was pecking at him. Peep then walked out of the coop with the female close behind. I finally coaxed Fizz out (he looked terrible, all scraggly and had feces on him) and the minute Peep saw him (from across the yard!) he came running (leaving the female behind and alone) and chased Fizz into a tree. The minute Fizz came down, Peep chased him again. This happened several times, the female being left alone still far across the yard, while Peep focused on Fizz. He finally cornered Fizz under our wood pile and proceeded to peck at him unmercifully.
I felt so bad since I've never witnessed this level of behavior before (even from Fizz when he first established himself as the Alpha) that I stepped in. I separated them and put Fizz back in the coop.
I don't know what to do now. Should I let nature take its course even if this means that Fizz might leave or, worse, be killed? Should I just keep them separated until the breeding season is done (and when is it done exactly)? Should I look into getting one or 3 more guinea hens? Or should I find a new home for one of the males? And, if so, which one?
I currently have 9 4-week old hens waiting to move into a separate chicken coop (my first flock of chickens). I'd like to have this situation well in hand before I introduce them to the guineas since I'm worried the aggressive male guinea might hurt them.
Any advice would be appreciated...
Here's the back story: I had 2 males and 2 females which paired off fine...then one of the females died so Peep was left without.
Fizz, the dominant male, let Peep hang out with him and his mate, but would keep Peep at a distance of about 5-10 feet. This went on for about 2 months, but evidently last night everything changed.
When I opened the coop this morning, Fizz was hiding and Peep was pecking at him. Peep then walked out of the coop with the female close behind. I finally coaxed Fizz out (he looked terrible, all scraggly and had feces on him) and the minute Peep saw him (from across the yard!) he came running (leaving the female behind and alone) and chased Fizz into a tree. The minute Fizz came down, Peep chased him again. This happened several times, the female being left alone still far across the yard, while Peep focused on Fizz. He finally cornered Fizz under our wood pile and proceeded to peck at him unmercifully.
I felt so bad since I've never witnessed this level of behavior before (even from Fizz when he first established himself as the Alpha) that I stepped in. I separated them and put Fizz back in the coop.
I don't know what to do now. Should I let nature take its course even if this means that Fizz might leave or, worse, be killed? Should I just keep them separated until the breeding season is done (and when is it done exactly)? Should I look into getting one or 3 more guinea hens? Or should I find a new home for one of the males? And, if so, which one?
I currently have 9 4-week old hens waiting to move into a separate chicken coop (my first flock of chickens). I'd like to have this situation well in hand before I introduce them to the guineas since I'm worried the aggressive male guinea might hurt them.
Any advice would be appreciated...
