Guineas and Chickens

[MIChickandGuinea]

I have heard so much conflicting info about keeping both chickens and guineas. We have 10 "pet chickens" - egg-layers who live in a coop/pen near the house and spend their evenings tootling loose around our yard. We also have a flock of 11-1/2 guineas (11-1/2 because the 12th one is sick/injured and stays at their shelter day and night) who were keets this spring, who were raised in a remote part of the yard, and who have just recently been released to free range. The thing that keeps surprising me is how much the time the guineas spend up here at the house checking out what the people are doing, and very particularly right on top of the chicken coop/pen when the chickens are confined, or mingling with the chickens in the evening when they are loose.

The chickens and guineas do not "interact" ... chickens and guineas alike act as if they can't even SEE the other type of bird, yet they are very often kind of close together. The guineas are very adventuresome and explore parts of the property that the chickens had never ventured into ... and now, we'll find chickens in those areas too, like they saw the guineas go there, and thought they'd check it out too. And the guineas spend probably 1/3 to 1/2 of their day roosting on top of the chicken pen when the chickens are confined ... why?

I keep reading about problems where guineas harass and bully chickens, so I was expecting at least SOME tension in the yard. Does that come later? Or is that just a thing that happens with some flocks and not with others, based on individual bird behavior?

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

I should mention, the guineas were hatched May 28, so that makes them 3 months old.

 

[guineapeeps]

I have heard so much conflicting info about keeping both chickens and guineas. We have 10 "pet chickens" - egg-layers who live in a coop/pen near the house and spend their evenings tootling loose around our yard. We also have a flock of 11-1/2 guineas (11-1/2 because the 12th one is sick/injured and stays at their shelter day and night) who were keets this spring, who were raised in a remote part of the yard, and who have just recently been released to free range. The thing that keeps surprising me is how much the time the guineas spend up here at the house checking out what the people are doing, and very particularly right on top of the chicken coop/pen when the chickens are confined, or mingling with the chickens in the evening when they are loose.

The chickens and guineas do not "interact" ... chickens and guineas alike act as if they can't even SEE the other type of bird, yet they are very often kind of close together. The guineas are very adventuresome and explore parts of the property that the chickens had never ventured into ... and now, we'll find chickens in those areas too, like they saw the guineas go there, and thought they'd check it out too. And the guineas spend probably 1/3 to 1/2 of their day roosting on top of the chicken pen when the chickens are confined ... why?

I keep reading about problems where guineas harass and bully chickens, so I was expecting at least SOME tension in the yard. Does that come later? Or is that just a thing that happens with some flocks and not with others, based on individual bird behavior?

I got a kick out of your description of the guineas acting like the don't see the chickens! Guineas are such goofy birds...but I just love them!
I've only had guineas, no chickens, so I can't speak as to raising a mixed flock; however, I know a lot of people on the "guinea talk" thread that keep both together without a lot of problems. I'm sure if you tried reposting your question on that thread, you'd get some good feedback. Here's the link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/guinea-talk.1105889/page-164#post-18930423

Good luck!

 

[R2elk]

I have heard so much conflicting info about keeping both chickens and guineas. We have 10 "pet chickens" - egg-layers who live in a coop/pen near the house and spend their evenings tootling loose around our yard. We also have a flock of 11-1/2 guineas (11-1/2 because the 12th one is sick/injured and stays at their shelter day and night) who were keets this spring, who were raised in a remote part of the yard, and who have just recently been released to free range. The thing that keeps surprising me is how much the time the guineas spend up here at the house checking out what the people are doing, and very particularly right on top of the chicken coop/pen when the chickens are confined, or mingling with the chickens in the evening when they are loose.

The chickens and guineas do not "interact" ... chickens and guineas alike act as if they can't even SEE the other type of bird, yet they are very often kind of close together. The guineas are very adventuresome and explore parts of the property that the chickens had never ventured into ... and now, we'll find chickens in those areas too, like they saw the guineas go there, and thought they'd check it out too. And the guineas spend probably 1/3 to 1/2 of their day roosting on top of the chicken pen when the chickens are confined ... why?

I keep reading about problems where guineas harass and bully chickens, so I was expecting at least SOME tension in the yard. Does that come later? Or is that just a thing that happens with some flocks and not with others, based on individual bird behavior?

Because you did not imprint your guineas with chickens the guineas should not think of your chickens as being strange looking guineas and have a good chance of not harassing your chickens.

You will not know how your guineas are really going to treat your chickens until your guineas reach their first breeding season next spring.

Many people raise guineas and chickens together and say how good they get along with each other and then breeding season comes and the guineas turn into terrorists. You have done the first step right by starting your guineas separate. The separate step is to always make sure they have lots of room so they do not feel crowded. You should not have any problems until breeding season and your guineas even then might leave your chickens alone.

Good luck.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

Because you did not imprint your guineas with chickens the guineas should not think of your chickens as being strange looking guineas and have a good chance of not harassing your chickens.

You will not know how your guineas are really going to treat your chickens until your guineas reach their first breeding season next spring.

Many people raise guineas and chickens together and say how good they get along with each other and then breeding season comes and the guineas turn into terrorists. You have done the first step right by starting your guineas separate. The separate step is to always make sure they have lots of room so they do not feel crowded. You should not have any problems until breeding season and your guineas even then might leave your chickens alone.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply! I hope our initial good luck continues. Space shouldn't be a problem, as we live on 80 acres of mixed yards, hay fields, corn fields, small clumps of trees, and large spans of forest (hardwood and evergreens). The guineas have their own fenced territory and shelter down at our vegetable garden, 200 yards from the house and chicken territory, and the chickens never venture as far away from home as the guinea house. Heaven help those noisy, silly birds if they can't find some space to call their own!! It has been really interesting to watch where their curious explorations take them. I had expected, based on lots of reading, to see them roosting in trees, and we sure have a lot of trees to choose from - big, old, spreading maples and oaks with huge sideways branches, dense junipers with low branches ... just about anything you can think of! But nope. Not one attempt at tree roosting that we have seen.

 

[R2elk]

Thanks for the reply! I hope our initial good luck continues. Space shouldn't be a problem, as we live on 80 acres of mixed yards, hay fields, corn fields, small clumps of trees, and large spans of forest (hardwood and evergreens). The guineas have their own fenced territory and shelter down at our vegetable garden, 200 yards from the house and chicken territory, and the chickens never venture as far away from home as the guinea house. Heaven help those noisy, silly birds if they can't find some space to call their own!! It has been really interesting to watch where their curious explorations take them. I had expected, based on lots of reading, to see them roosting in trees, and we sure have a lot of trees to choose from - big, old, spreading maples and oaks with huge sideways branches, dense junipers with low branches ... just about anything you can think of! But nope. Not one attempt at tree roosting that we have seen.

Based on your conditions, I don't expect you to have problems between your guineas and chickens. I house my guineas separate from my chickens and turkeys. When they free range in the same area, each group ignores the other group.

I have trained my guineas to get put in the coop at night where they have roosts at staggered levels which they use to work their way up into the rafters where they roost for the night. If I was to allow my guineas to roost in the trees, I soon would not have any guineas. I allowed my first flock of guineas to roost outside at night and lost the entire flock to Big Horned Owls.

 

[MIChickandGuinea]

We are till trying to tweak the perching setup in our guinea shelter. We built it with a basic understanding that guineas like to be up high and don't like to be in dark, low, confined spaces. So ours is tall, open-front, and has a clear polycarbonate roof, with lots of very high perches up near the rafters. But watching how our actual flock behaves, I can see that we need to install perches like you described, stepped and staggered so they can hop and flap their way up into the rafters. For now, they don't choose to go inside except for food and water. I don worry about predators, but a neighbor of ours has been keeping guineas completely free-range, no coop or shelter, for several years with no predator issues... we do have raccoons and owls around here, and an occasional fox, but so far, so good... and I will keep working on getting the shelter fitted out so that it appeals to them.

 

[Shannon Clifford]

I have heard so much conflicting info about keeping both chickens and guineas. We have 10 "pet chickens" - egg-layers who live in a coop/pen near the house and spend their evenings tootling loose around our yard. We also have a flock of 11-1/2 guineas (11-1/2 because the 12th one is sick/injured and stays at their shelter day and night) who were keets this spring, who were raised in a remote part of the yard, and who have just recently been released to free range. The thing that keeps surprising me is how much the time the guineas spend up here at the house checking out what the people are doing, and very particularly right on top of the chicken coop/pen when the chickens are confined, or mingling with the chickens in the evening when they are loose.

The chickens and guineas do not "interact" ... chickens and guineas alike act as if they can't even SEE the other type of bird, yet they are very often kind of close together. The guineas are very adventuresome and explore parts of the property that the chickens had never ventured into ... and now, we'll find chickens in those areas too, like they saw the guineas go there, and thought they'd check it out too. And the guineas spend probably 1/3 to 1/2 of their day roosting on top of the chicken pen when the chickens are confined ... why?

I keep reading about problems where guineas harass and bully chickens, so I was expecting at least SOME tension in the yard. Does that come later? Or is that just a thing that happens with some flocks and not with others, based on individual bird behavior?

I raised my 11 chicks & 5 keets together from day olds. They were all fine until the guinea cock discovered he was a male and went after my rooster. He chased him to the point of exhaustion, then got him stuck between a wall & our hot tub (they have the run of our large back yard). I had to isolate my rooster for a few days to heal up & for his own protection. I then rehomed all of the guineas. I think had I not had one or the other of the males, or if they had more acerage to divide into two flocks, they would have been fine. Incidentally, my chickens are much calmer without the bad influence of those guineas.

 

[tbcorum]

I got a kick out of your description of the guineas acting like the don't see the chickens! Guineas are such goofy birds...but I just love them!
I've only had guineas, no chickens, so I can't speak as to raising a mixed flock; however, I know a lot of people on the "guinea talk" thread that keep both together without a lot of problems. I'm sure if you tried reposting your question on that thread, you'd get some good feedback. Here's the link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/guinea-talk.1105889/page-164#post-18930423

Good luck!

Hello , I have chickens, guineas, bantams & suddenly this past late winter a beautiful brilliantly colored small pigeon appeared with these incredibly long white outer wing feathers & with its left toes crossed over each other!! My heart melted when I reached down on the cold ground & picked it up & it was shaking as I prepared it a cage to stay in for a few days bc I knew absolutely nothing about pigeons !! Now this pigeon is free range with the chickens and guineas, it eats from my hand and loves to play games at meal time! The chickens & guineas have separate food areas but still share each other’s food ! When it comes to special snacks the guineas like to be dominate but I spread the snacks out so all can get them!! Guineas play by poking and pinching each other and chickens don’t do that and when guineas play poke or pinch they will take off running and the other will chase them!! I call it the road runner race !! I could sit and watch them for hours !! They are so funny!! Mine are trained to come to my whistle!! I love my guineas and wish I had 100’s of them running around!! I love to hear them and I talk to them and the chickens!! All is peace and harmony but it all depends on how much time u spend with ur birds, how much time u spend training them to ur voice and what u give is what u get back!! I adore my chickens and guineas and want to fence in my entire yard up to several acres of the farm with electric fencing & put in 2 Donkeys and hundreds of guineas and chickens and let them all free range and have a blast! The electric fence is to protect them from getting into the highway and to protect them from coyotes, dogs , etc , and the donkeys will deter them as well!! That is how much I enjoy my guineas and chickens and if u raise them up tog they will be fine together!! Enjoy ur babies !!