Guinea Questions

[Chickaroo!]

Did anyone else have problems with the guineas mixing in with their chickens? That really concerns me.

 

[zatsdeb]

we have never had a problem with the guineas and chickens. we had 2 guineas at first, then lost one to a coyote when it went over the fence.. then we got 4 more, they just congragated to each other, and hang out, we got 3 more after that, and they all seem to just hang out together. they never have bother my chickens.

 

[speckledhen]

I believe they do better in larger groups of their own kind; also, after the "teen years", they get a tiny bit more calm, tend to their own business more. I had to rehome my four guineas after my alpha male decided to kill one of my RIR hens. He'd beat her up every time he saw her, then they all started in on my other RIRs. The other chickens ignored them and vice versa, except when I got my grown BR rooster Hawkeye. Dodger took on Hawkeye. It wasn't too bad-Hawkeye did fine with one on one, but when they all attacked from four sides, they ran him into the woods, where he stayed and waited for me to come get him. That's when I made my decision to let them go. I miss them and may get more later, but this time, I'll let a broody hen hatch and raise them. They act NOTHING like chickens, so be warned. The fight as a team, bodyslamming their victims, which is just what they did to my RIR hens and to Hawkeye. And yes, they are amazingly loud. Often. And for any reason, it seems, LOL. I loved their goofy personalities, but many are not so appreciative.
You may want to check out this thread with a picture of my Dodger attacking Hawkeye.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=17995

 

[nutmeggie]

http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/

After reading this earlyer I tried to find information about guinea fowls. I found the site above to be interesting.

 

[RobinEgg]

I love guineas but I don't keep them anymore, as a nightshift person I couldn't sleep for their "alarms" which they seemed determined to make right outside my window, guess they knew where I was, lol. Guineas don't seem to do well in confinement esp with chickens, they like to be in a group in my experience they always hid their nests , never in the barn, we always kept a hen to hatch and raise the keets, as a hen had better success at raising the most keets, the guinea mom's wanted to wander about the place dragging keets along. As keets they could be quite bullying too, in our experience the lighter colored ones got picked on as well as anytime we tried to keep a chick with them. All this said I still love them and if I didn't have to order so many from a hatchery I'd probably be tempted. This has just been my experience with guineas in the past I am by no means claiming any guinea expert knowledge.

 

[Must Be Losing It]

Chikaroo,

We hatched a few keats and adopted older guineas from someone who could not keep them. And after a week in the pen and coop they came back every night to roost for the evening. They're not the brightest bulbs but know where its safe to sleep. My neighbor also adopted an adult male and he is his best friend. Rides the Kubota with him, follows him all over the yard, etc.

As for mixing w/ chickens, I cannot answer that one. I also belong to the Guineafowl message board and have received mixed reviews, but honestly the majority are positive on the social skills with chickens. The only issue I have is with the males fighting during mating season.

Julie

 

[Chickaroo!]

It's very confusing to make a decision now! I'd be very worried about them fighting. I guess if I did get them and they started to behave badly, I could always let my jack russell out to put them in their place!!! JUST JOKING!!

 

[Must Be Losing It]

I have a fat pug and I thought for sure she'd help me keep the guineas off the deck. But nope, she's not remotely interested in chasing anything unless it smells like pizza.

Jack Russells might be more interested in them though. My sister has one and she's nuts.

J

 

[QuackHead]

We have 6 females and 1 cock and they do Very well with the chickens, they seem not to mind them unless its feeding time then the male guinea gets teritorial and runs the chickens off.. we also have them in with the ducks most the time they keep to themselves but they like to lay there eggs in the ducks nests which is fine because the eggs are kept warm untill i find them and put em in the incubator. The only problem we have with em is they wont stay in any yard unless we clip wings.
I think your chicks and guineas will be fine together.

 

[Heather J]

I actually had someone say guineas were not as loud as geese (he raised geese and his neighbor had guineas). My geese are pretty loud, so if the guinneas aren't nearly as loud as they are, I wouldn't worry about the noise factor unless your closest neighbors were either 1) really close or 2) really sensitive to noise.

The main reason I decided against guineas was because they don't respect boundaries and i was concerned about them getting into my neighbor's garden (which borders my birds' free-range area). They say it's not as big of a problem if you don't feed them produce, but I didn't want to take any chances. I'm still interested and may approach my neighbors about it next year, if I can build/buy/barter/steal another coop.