Guinea voice? Hoarse? Respiratory Issue?

Unicornlife3316

Songster
Apr 21, 2018
467
945
216
Bryan, TX
One of my guinea hens sounds... hoarse? Do guineas fowl have respiratory issues? I thought it was a sneeze at first but it isn’t - it seems like she’s lonely? Sad? Her make doesn’t seem to care she’s not with him. I locked her in and watched her for a bit. She’s walking fine, feathers look fine, her voice just sounds off. Any advice?
 
One of my guinea hens sounds... hoarse? Do guineas fowl have respiratory issues? I thought it was a sneeze at first but it isn’t - it seems like she’s lonely? Sad? Her make doesn’t seem to care she’s not with him. I locked her in and watched her for a bit. She’s walking fine, feathers look fine, her voice just sounds off. Any advice?
This is something that @BennieAnTheJets has dealt with. I don't remember the end outcome. I think she was concerned about gapeworm. but I cannot remember for sure.

I have several hens whose voices have changed including making their calls almost inaudible. I have never attempted to do anything about it and they continue being otherwise healthy years later.
 
If it's respiratory illness, I *think* you would be seeing more symptoms by now, like runny nose, teary eyes, decreased appetite and activity. But the Vet Rx poultry remedy is for respiratory issues as well as other things. They *can* have issues, but they're far less susceptible to illness than chickens. When I've noticed sneezing, it's bc they've got dust packed in their nostrils. I use a qtip to clear that out for them at times.
You didn't mention flock dynamics, age, how many you have, etc., so I'll describe life here & you can see if it fits, bc this is when I notice the hoarseness in the girls voices:

it's mating season, so Mama Rose has gone from murmuring "cocoa" most of the time with occasional alerts to shrieking nonstop for her mate to "Comeback! Comeback!" (Most describe this as "buckwheat", but I swear they're jealous hennies afraid their mate has a wandering eye).
She does it in the coop, out of the coop. I don't let her roam free during mating season bc I learned my 1st yr that's a good way to lose 1/2 your flock. If the ladies are kept in the yard, the males stay in the yard.
But they do it so much they can become hoarse. After mating season is over, she'll go back to quietly mumbling abt cocoa.
When they are free to roam, they'll wander off to find a hiding place to nest. One male won't leave his mate's side, another won't stay at his mate's side.
The 1st time we went through this, I remember commenting that it was like they were playing house. We were in lockdown and I was fascinated by them, so I wld sit outside and watch them during the day.
It was their 1st yr, there weren't any eggs yet, but Mama Rose wandered off and made her nest on her own, then called out, & her mate came running. At dinner time, they both came in, slept in the coop, returned to the nest, stayed for the day, rinse & repeat.
Her sister's mate didn't stay w/her all day, so she would call out frequently.
When you spend that much time w/them, not only will you be able to identify which bird is calling, but also notice a difference in calls.
Usually it's a checking in signal: I'm here, all's good, you still out there?
Then there's the distress signal: something's wrong, come quick.
I'm pretty sure there's a 3rd one that's basically a complaint that she's bored and expects him to come be w/her, bc remember, I was watching, I could see where she was at,nothing was wrong, but it was a good way to make him come running.
Both Damsels had guards at the nest aside from their mates.I'm not sure if that's normal or just the dynamics of having a small flock.
They had ALL stayed w/the sister, she nested 1st, until Mama went off to build her own, and then they split, one mate,one guard,one hen, per nest. The guard settled in about 3-5' from the nest.
But I'm wandering away from your original question. Hope this helps.
 
If it's respiratory illness, I *think* you would be seeing more symptoms by now, like runny nose, teary eyes, decreased appetite and activity. But the Vet Rx poultry remedy is for respiratory issues as well as other things. They *can* have issues, but they're far less susceptible to illness than chickens. When I've noticed sneezing, it's bc they've got dust packed in their nostrils. I use a qtip to clear that out for them at times.
You didn't mention flock dynamics, age, how many you have, etc., so I'll describe life here & you can see if it fits, bc this is when I notice the hoarseness in the girls voices:

it's mating season, so Mama Rose has gone from murmuring "cocoa" most of the time with occasional alerts to shrieking nonstop for her mate to "Comeback! Comeback!" (Most describe this as "buckwheat", but I swear they're jealous hennies afraid their mate has a wandering eye).
She does it in the coop, out of the coop. I don't let her roam free during mating season bc I learned my 1st yr that's a good way to lose 1/2 your flock. If the ladies are kept in the yard, the males stay in the yard.
But they do it so much they can become hoarse. After mating season is over, she'll go back to quietly mumbling abt cocoa.
When they are free to roam, they'll wander off to find a hiding place to nest. One male won't leave his mate's side, another won't stay at his mate's side.
The 1st time we went through this, I remember commenting that it was like they were playing house. We were in lockdown and I was fascinated by them, so I wld sit outside and watch them during the day.
It was their 1st yr, there weren't any eggs yet, but Mama Rose wandered off and made her nest on her own, then called out, & her mate came running. At dinner time, they both came in, slept in the coop, returned to the nest, stayed for the day, rinse & repeat.
Her sister's mate didn't stay w/her all day, so she would call out frequently.
When you spend that much time w/them, not only will you be able to identify which bird is calling, but also notice a difference in calls.
Usually it's a checking in signal: I'm here, all's good, you still out there?
Then there's the distress signal: something's wrong, come quick.
I'm pretty sure there's a 3rd one that's basically a complaint that she's bored and expects him to come be w/her, bc remember, I was watching, I could see where she was at,nothing was wrong, but it was a good way to make him come running.
Both Damsels had guards at the nest aside from their mates.I'm not sure if that's normal or just the dynamics of having a small flock.
They had ALL stayed w/the sister, she nested 1st, until Mama went off to build her own, and then they split, one mate,one guard,one hen, per nest. The guard settled in about 3-5' from the nest.
But I'm wandering away from your original question. Hope this helps.

i should have given this information, I apologize!

I have 20 chickens and 14 guineas.

the guineas range in age between 3 years and a year. I have (I THINK) 9 hens and 5 cocks.

This guinea has decreased activity and her male doesn’t seem to even give a heck. I honest would almost say she’s depressed. Would a male leave her and find a new mate? It’s possible she was a fringe female and now doesn’t have her mate? Maybe he took a priority hen and isn’t letting her stay with them? I honestly don’t know. My guineas aren’t tame. They free range. I hunt for nests. But they coop every single night and I always know they’re safe. This particular hen I’m going to catch and isolate I think. I just want to make sure she’s ok and like you said, maybe I will check her nostrils for dust. But if I isolate her, will they reaccept her?

Thank you for your help <3
 
I isolated one once over night d/t injury. He didn't have any issue w/ going back in. You just want to make it for as short of time as possible. Overnight would give you a chance to see that she's laying eggs, eating and drinking ok as well as see what her breathing is like.
9 hens, 5 cocks, someone is on the outs for now. I haven't dealt w/this, but the more experienced in here have said that once a female goes broody, the male may very well pick up a second mate. I'd lay odds she's found herself mateless for the moment. Likewise, some have described depression when a mate dies, some could care less. The sister I mentioned reached the point where she refused to come off the nest one night and we lost her. The mate showed no sign of even noticing she was gone. Mama Rosie kept making a break to return to her sister's nest for days, frantically calling out. 🤷‍♀️
I don't recall anyone mentioning jilted mate depression, but loss is loss? I think @Mixed flock enthusiast has experienced the issues w/mate death..
Bring her in and spoil her a bit. Here are some herbs she might enjoy -https://www.heritageacresmarket.com/poultry-herbs-and-chickens/
 
I isolated one once over night d/t injury. He didn't have any issue w/ going back in. You just want to make it for as short of time as possible. Overnight would give you a chance to see that she's laying eggs, eating and drinking ok as well as see what her breathing is like.
9 hens, 5 cocks, someone is on the outs for now. I haven't dealt w/this, but the more experienced in here have said that once a female goes broody, the male may very well pick up a second mate. I'd lay odds she's found herself mateless for the moment. Likewise, some have described depression when a mate dies, some could care less. The sister I mentioned reached the point where she refused to come off the nest one night and we lost her. The mate showed no sign of even noticing she was gone. Mama Rosie kept making a break to return to her sister's nest for days, frantically calling out. 🤷‍♀️
I don't recall anyone mentioning jilted mate depression, but loss is loss? I think @Mixed flock enthusiast has experienced the issues w/mate death..
Bring her in and spoil her a bit. Here are some herbs she might enjoy -https://www.heritageacresmarket.com/poultry-herbs-and-chickens/
Yes, I have seen them call constantly for their lost mate, and act less enthusiastic than normal. Those were deaths however. My unpaired and jilted females don’t seem as affected by that.

Unicornlife, I would be concerned that she might be developing a health problem that is making her feel listless. I guess some basics are whether she is eating, drinking, and laying eggs normally. Do your guineas have oyster shell available?
 
Yes, I have seen them call constantly for their lost mate, and act less enthusiastic than normal. Those were deaths however. My unpaired and jilted females don’t seem as affected by that.

Unicornlife, I would be concerned that she might be developing a health problem that is making her feel listless. I guess some basics are whether she is eating, drinking, and laying eggs normally. Do your guineas have oyster shell available?

Sorry for late response my 5 year daughter has come down with an illness as well. We stay home and isolated for 16 months and the first time I see my in laws.. my daughter gets sick. 😡

anyways... she seems to have perked up overnight and is doing a bit better today. She was out and about but still alone. She’s not making her weird squeaky noise and doesn’t seem listless anymore. I have no idea. To be honest.. gotta focus on my human baby for now.
 
Sorry for late response my 5 year daughter has come down with an illness as well. We stay home and isolated for 16 months and the first time I see my in laws.. my daughter gets sick. 😡

anyways... she seems to have perked up overnight and is doing a bit better today. She was out and about but still alone. She’s not making her weird squeaky noise and doesn’t seem listless anymore. I have no idea. To be honest.. gotta focus on my human baby for now.
Well that sucks! My daughter was recently in a HS play. They wore masks for the first two months that they practiced, then took them off for the final week of dress rehearsal. Everyone got sick! Daughter tested negative for flu, COVID, strep so probably adenovirus. It’s like everyone is just waiting to pick up every bug again… Hope your little one feels better quickly! And glad that your guinea isn’t acting particularly sick.
 
Well that sucks! My daughter was recently in a HS play. They wore masks for the first two months that they practiced, then took them off for the final week of dress rehearsal. Everyone got sick! Daughter tested negative for flu, COVID, strep so probably adenovirus. It’s like everyone is just waiting to pick up every bug again… Hope your little one feels better quickly! And glad that your guinea isn’t acting particularly sick.

ugh. Isn’t that just how it goes. My daughter starts kinder this year and I am NOT looking forward to those germs. I also have a 6 month old we are trying to keep healthy 😖😖

I have checked the guinea several times today. She is eating/drinking and pecking about normally but still alone 😕 not sure why. None of the males are missing, but she is possibly one of the younger ones and maybe they’re still figuring flock order out. As far as laying, IDK. They hide nests and I do not know where there current one is. I will watch tonight to see the dynamics.
 
This is something that @BennieAnTheJets has dealt with. I don't remember the end outcome. I think she was concerned about gapeworm. but I cannot remember for sure.

I have several hens whose voices have changed including making their calls almost inaudible. I have never attempted to do anything about it and they continue being otherwise healthy years later.

Sorry, I didn't read all the posts just wnated to reply real quick - yes, I had a hoarse guinea and she was really sick - Pinchy - we threw all we could at her - gapeworm wormer was one thing, using the goat wormer (I forgot what it is called now but can look it up if you need me to - just did: Fenbendazole is the chemical, I used SafeGuard for Goats at a rate the vet prescribed, I think it was 50 mg/kg of body weight - I weighed my birds in a small dog kennel hung from a spring scale and subtracted the weight of the empty kennel to get their weight - my birds weighed 1.09 to 2.395 kg so that translated into 0.6 to 1.2 ml of the SafeGuard product, I think - sounds like too much dose for the birds now - you have to do your own research/vet consult - just sharing this for reference and I don't know if I am reading my notes correctly - it was a long time ago - good reference also is the Exotic Animal Formulary by Carpenter - it contains dose info for many chemicals and species - you have to figure in the concentration of the stuff you use, I think I used SafeGuard with a 10% suspension of fenbendazole and 100 mg/ml in the bottle)

You may be able to see gape worm if you can open the beak and look down their throat - look online - I search with Ecosia (search engine www.ecosia.com because they plant trees and don't track you) - I think the throat is red if it is gape worm and you may be able to see the worms?

Pinchy also got antibiotics - we did an x-ray and it showed her lungs being affected - she recovered once but died earlier than my other guys - at age 5 around, I wanna say - her voice recovered with other improvements but your situation may be different

Hope it is like R2elk's case where it does not affect your birds at all!

Best of Luck!!!

https://www.amazon.com/Merck-Goat-D...rds=safeguard+for+goats&qid=1621137956&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Exotic-Animal-Formulary-James-Carpenter/dp/0323444504/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NYKOYDGQHDKS&dchild=1&keywords=exotic+animal+formulary&qid=1621138446&sprefix=exotic+animal+f,aps,268&sr=8-1
 

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