Guineas and bobcats

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had nine guineas, 8 female and one male. 4 females and the male formed a tight group with other four girls as fringe members. Male mates all females. They’ve been free ranging for 8 months, go into the coop at night, and have survived coyote and dog attacks. A week ago, I lost a duck to a bobcat in the afternoon. A few days later, one of the fringe guinea girls disappeared and I found a pile of her feathers. Guineas have been locked up since then, but I can’t lock them up for much longer. I’m wondering if any of you have had a guinea flock that became bobcat savvy, or is this a predator that will work through the whole flock?

 

[R2elk]

I had nine guineas, 8 female and one male. 4 females and the male formed a tight group with other four girls as fringe members. Male mates all females. They’ve been free ranging for 8 months, go into the coop at night, and have survived coyote and dog attacks. A week ago, I lost a duck to a bobcat in the afternoon. A few days later, one of the fringe guinea girls disappeared and I found a pile of her feathers. Guineas have been locked up since then, but I can’t lock them up for much longer. I’m wondering if any of you have had a guinea flock that became bobcat savvy, or is this a predator that will work through the whole flock?

A Bobcat will likely work through the whole flock unless it is eliminated.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

A Bobcat will likely work through the whole flock unless it is eliminated.

Hmmmmm. I cannot “like” that comment...

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

As much as I hate to say this, bobcats were here before you or the Guineas, so maybe add some other deterrents to your property that would scare off the bobcat without killing it?

Bobcats are pretty shy and wouldn’t be targeting your Guineas if they didn’t need to. Here’s a link I found on ways to keep them away from your property:

https://www.thecolonytx.gov/158/How-to-Discourage-Bobcats-from-Your-Yard

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

As much as I hate to say this, bobcats were here before you or the Guineas, so maybe add some other deterrents to your property that would scare off the bobcat without killing it?

Bobcats are pretty shy and wouldn’t be targeting your Guineas if they didn’t need to. Here’s a link I found on ways to keep them away from your property:

https://www.thecolonytx.gov/158/How-to-Discourage-Bobcats-from-Your-Yard

My brother suggested tripwires with shotgun blanks, but it seems like all of the deterrents I’ve seen would be set off by the guineas themselves, and not just a bobcat... I currently have a service that came out and set a trap and will relocate the bobcat if caught... I was really counting on the guineas to survive daytime predators without me, which they have done for 8 mo. From what I’ve been reading, it seems that bobcats may be the daytime Achilles heel of guineas...

 

[southwind00]

Hey Mixed, I've lost a couple of my guineas this spring and being in western NY I don't know if its grey or red fox or even possibly a bobcat. There is not a large population of bobcat around here but there is a trapping season and a few on trail cams. That being said I have a few observations. They mostly hunt at night but being spring and having kittens,depending on how long they wean, the bobcat is hunting for more than just her mouth. Same with foxes which have way more success in rearing so many more mouths to feed. After the young have left and found there own ranges, the mothers won't be so apt to hunt in the day and hunt as aggressively. And lastly, with what ever animal is killing your birds if you kill it another will more than likely just move in to its old territory. My theory is just fire up the incubator and get more guineas, free ranging is a hazardous business. The pic is one of my birds that made a noble escape while another bird was lost at the same time. This one seemed to get better than must have gotten an infection and died. Good luck

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hey Mixed, I've lost a couple of my guineas this spring and being in western NY I don't know if its grey or red fox or even possibly a bobcat. There is not a large population of bobcat around here but there is a trapping season and a few on trail cams. That being said I have a few observations. They mostly hunt at night but being spring and having kittens,depending on how long they wean, the bobcat is hunting for more than just her mouth. Same with foxes which have way more success in rearing so many more mouths to feed. After the young have left and found there own ranges, the mothers won't be so apt to hunt in the day and hunt as aggressively. And lastly, with what ever animal is killing your birds if you kill it another will more than likely just move in to its old territory. My theory is just fire up the incubator and get more guineas, free ranging is a hazardous business. The pic is one of my birds that made a noble escape while another bird was lost at the same time. This one seemed to get better than must have gotten an infection and died. Good luck

Sad that your guinea survived but later succumbed! I generally agree with your predator philosophy, which is why most of our birds are kept in secure runs. I’m worried about this bobcat in particular because it’s my first repeat predator and the first to take a guinea. In general our guineas need to be able to survive daylight predators in order for them to work on our property. I have now had them locked up for about a week, trying to catch the bobcat. So far I’ve caught... a raccoon. After much family debate, we let the raccoon go, as I think it’s unrealistic to think that we can empty these woods of predators, and we haven’t had a particular raccoon problem. I’m feeling like this bobcat trapping is rather a fools errand, and that I’m likely to trap everything but a wiley bobcat. If I catch a nursing mom, I’d feel terrible removing her and dooming her kits anyway. The acquaintance that I bought the original guinea eggs from kills many many bobcats per year on his property: if I have to do that, I’ll be saying goodbye to the guineas...

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Sad that your guinea survived but later succumbed! I generally agree with your predator philosophy, which is why most of our birds are kept in secure runs. I’m worried about this bobcat in particular because it’s my first repeat predator and the first to take a guinea. In general our guineas need to be able to survive daylight predators in order for them to work on our property. I have now had them locked up for about a week, trying to catch the bobcat. So far I’ve caught... a raccoon. After much family debate, we let the raccoon go, as I think it’s unrealistic to think that we can empty these woods of predators, and we haven’t had a particular raccoon problem. I’m feeling like this bobcat trapping is rather a fools errand, and that I’m likely to trap everything but a wiley bobcat. If I catch a nursing mom, I’d feel terrible removing her and dooming her kits anyway. The acquaintance that I bought the original guinea eggs from kills many many bobcats per year on his property: if I have to do that, I’ll be saying goodbye to the guineas...

It’s an unfortunate predicament you are in. Keep us updated what you ultimately end up doing.

 

[Unicornlife3316]

I’ve also lost several guineas to bobcats. Two in the pen, before we realized it was a bobcat issue, now my whole pen is covered in plywood and chicken wire so he can’t get his paws in.

The third was to a bobcat in broad daylight. I mean, 12:20 PM, he just came right out of the woods and grabbed my little lavender. We’ve seen it a couple times and the thing is NOT scared of us. My mom literally put herself between the guineas and the bobcat, she was less than 5 feet away from it and it wasn’t scared. I don’t want to kill it, but I have a 3 year old and since it’s not afraid of us, I want it dead for her safety.

They typically don’t hunt during the day, we’ve only seen it once during the day, but this one started coming in the morning when he knew we’d let the birds out.

I have no advice, keep your pen secure and hope for the best. I have 5 guineas left and just added 11 chickens, hopefully the bobcat stays away.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

I’ve also lost several guineas to bobcats. Two in the pen, before we realized it was a bobcat issue, now my whole pen is covered in plywood and chicken wire so he can’t get his paws in.

The third was to a bobcat in broad daylight. I mean, 12:20 PM, he just came right out of the woods and grabbed my little lavender. We’ve seen it a couple times and the thing is NOT scared of us. My mom literally put herself between the guineas and the bobcat, she was less than 5 feet away from it and it wasn’t scared. I don’t want to kill it, but I have a 3 year old and since it’s not afraid of us, I want it dead for her safety.

They typically don’t hunt during the day, we’ve only seen it once during the day, but this one started coming in the morning when he knew we’d let the birds out.

I have no advice, keep your pen secure and hope for the best. I have 5 guineas left and just added 11 chickens, hopefully the bobcat stays away.

Sounds like it’s usual food source is gone and it’s getting desperate.