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Can I release a 7 week old keet, new to our place, lone guinea to be with our chickens... his former housemates got eaten the same day we got them... I don't know what to do with this keet being by itself.... which is worse, being in a cage by itself? or being let out to hopefully follow the chickens?? jennifer

 

[robin416]

You're in the part of the country that it might work. The biggest obstacle is that the chickens will probably shun it or try to run it off. Where it might become a problem is if its a male. As it reaches sexual maturity it will pound on other birds for dominance.

 

[damselfish]

Is getting more an option?

Guineas hate hate hate to be alone.

If you can't get more, try putting it somewhere enclosed (pen outside coop?) but where the chickens can see it for a while before you let it out. This will also help teach it where home is.

I think if you let a seven week old guinea out that's new to your place, and new to the flock, nothing good will happen. It will either bail or get slammed is my guess.

I hope I'm wrong...good luck!

 

[casuarius]

7 weeks is too young, and Guineas don't care for chickens, I doubt that it would have anything to do with them. At it's age it would probably get eaten or die from the weather...particularly rain. It will be fine on it's own, but if you could get more it would help it.

 

[robin416]

Quote:
Not entirely accurate. A lone Guinea will bond with chickens if that's all they have.

The OP is in TX, which is plenty warm enough and dry enough to allow a two month old out to free range. Mine escaped at a week old and did fine in S. TN. Although they were not officially allowed out at a week but they did go out at two months.

 

[Nyxish]

not that i know anything really about any of this (this is my very first flock - 5 chickens, 2 able guineas and one hurt guinea that has been inside for a month) but my guineas seem to be very attached to the the chickens in their flock. Now... they are more attached to each other, but they very much dislike when the rest of flock is out of sight, like to be int he middle of the flock, and Luke (who is i think the male guinea?) herds them all.

 

[featherz]

My guineas love their chickens! we tried to separate them but the guineas yelled for a straight hour until we put them back. So now we have 23 birds in a coop meant for 15 -thankfully they free range during the day and there's plenty of roost space. That said, they were raised with the chickens since they were a day old.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I have a guinea hen that is the sole survivor of a group(dog attack) and she has paired up with a pair of black ameracana roos. The newer flock of free range guineas will have nothing to do with her.

 

[cgmccary]

A friend of mine had a flock of 25 Guineas he hatched and raised until grown and all got wiped out over a period of about year EXCEPT one lone Guinea hen. The Guinea hen took up with the roosters and got along real well with them, which he had about 4 running loose. When he gave away the chickens, he never could catch the Guinea hen, and she lives alone on his place to this day (he's had her for over 5 years now).

 

[cracking up]

featherz - me too! My last group of guineas hatched out with chickens and one of the roosters was small so I just left him in with the guineas. Every time I tried to separate them they peeped continuously. When I sold them I told the buyer if she would take the rooster I would give her a refund on one of the guineas because they just weren't going to be happy without him.