Guineas attacking young chickens

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I’m looking for insight from someone familiar with flock dynamics/behavior of guinea fowl. I wanted a mixed flock of chickens (7), ducks (6), and guineas (15) to use a common coop, so I hatched all three sets of eggs together and brooded together. Later, all were added to a coop and run with five older, point of lay pullets and a cockerel. This arrangement worked until a few weeks ago. At about 3.5 months of age, the guineas began attacking the six young pullets and a young cockerel. They attack en masse and with what looks like serious deathly intent. The gunieas are now separated with their own separated portion of coop and free range, so no access to the chickens and ducks, who have the larger portion of the coop and all of the run. When I tried letting chickens and ducks out for supervised free range, guineas immediately attacked young chickens again, but are leaving older chickens and ducks alone. Any insight into why they attack the young chickens, and whether this will change with time or they can never be with each other, even supervised? Will they start attacking the older roosters and hens that seem to have the upper hand right now?

 

[R2elk]

I’m looking for insight from someone familiar with flock dynamics/behavior of guinea fowl. I wanted a mixed flock of chickens (7), ducks (6), and guineas (15) to use a common coop, so I hatched all three sets of eggs together and brooded together. Later, all were added to a coop and run with five older, point of lay pullets and a cockerel. This arrangement worked until a few weeks ago. At about 3.5 months of age, the guineas began attacking the six young pullets and a young cockerel. They attack en masse and with what looks like serious deathly intent. The guineas are now separated with their own separated portion of coop and free range, so no access to the chickens and ducks, who have the larger portion of the coop and all of the run. When I tried letting chickens and ducks out for supervised free range, guineas immediately attacked young chickens again, but are leaving older chickens and ducks alone. Any insight into why they attack the young chickens, and whether this will change with time or they can never be with each other, even supervised? Will they start attacking the older roosters and hens that seem to have the upper hand right now?

Your problems started by brooding your keets with your other poultry. They have been imprinted and now do not recognize that there is a difference between them and the other poultry. Other poultry do not understand guinea ways and it can cause a lot of stress to the rest of the flock. These particular guineas will never be able to be trusted with other poultry. When they reach their first breeding season it is going to get even worse.

If you want guineas that can get along with your other poultry, start over. Do not brood the keets with any other poultry. If you have lots of coop room you might be able to get by with housing them together but it has to have lots of free space. Guineas need much more personal space than do chickens.

I brood my guinea keets separately from other poultry. I house my guineas separately. I can free range my guineas, chickens and turkeys in the same are at the same time and there will not be any interaction between the guineas and the rest of the poultry. My guineas will keep to their own groups and never attack the chickens or turkeys.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hello, R2elk, thanks for replying. I believe that I’ve read your posts on other threads and agree now that I did this backwards. At the time decisions were made, I’d read several articles recommending that the keets be brooded with chickens so that keets would be tamer and come to the coop. This is indeed the case. I don’t really want to depopulate the guineas if I can help it, both because I’ve invested a lot into these guys and because I’m attached to them! The guineas can’t get to the chickens in the coop; they have their own, sufficient space. They can only get to chickens when chickens free range, which isn’t often or for very long, due to predators (also why I split guineas from chickens later than intended, after a coyote took a hen). If I have to, I can lock up guineas for the small amount of supervised free range that I do with chickens. Why are guineas currently ok with ducks and older chickens, but not broodmate chickens? Any ideas on whether this will change when young chickens mature? I’m wondering if they view young chickens as “weak guineas”? Interestingly, guineas self-separated into their own group in large brooder, as did ducks and chickens, so they all seem to have known from the start that they were their own kind...

Your problems started by brooding your keets with your other poultry. They have been imprinted and now do not recognize that there is a difference between them and the other poultry. Other poultry do not understand guinea ways and it can cause a lot of stress to the rest of the flock. These particular guineas will never be able to be trusted with other poultry. When they reach their first breeding season it is going to get even worse.

If you want guineas that can get along with your other poultry, start over. Do not brood the keets with any other poultry. If you have lots of coop room you might be able to get by with housing them together but it has to have lots of free space. Guineas need much more personal space than do chickens.

I brood my guinea keets separately from other poultry. I house my guineas separately. I can free range my guineas, chickens and turkeys in the same are at the same time and there will not be any interaction between the guineas and the rest of the poultry. My guineas will keep to their own groups and never attack the chickens or turkeys.

 

[R2elk]

Hello, R2elk, thanks for replying. I believe that I’ve read your posts on other threads and agree now that I did this backwards. At the time decisions were made, I’d read several articles recommending that the keets be brooded with chickens so that keets would be tamer and come to the coop. This I should indeed the case. I don’t really want to depopulate if I can help it, both because I’ve invested a lot into these guys and because I’m attached to them! The guineas can’t get to the chickens in the coop; they have their own, sufficient space. They can only get to chickens when chickens free range, which isn’t often or for very long, due to predators (also why I split guineas later than intended, after a coyote took a hen). If I have to, I can lock up guineas for the small amount of supervised free range that I do with chickens. Why are guineas currently ok with ducks and older chickens, but not broodmate chickens? Any ideas on whether this will change when young chickens mature? I’m wondering if they view young chickens as “weak guineas”? Interestingly, guineas self-separated into their own group in large brooder, as did ducks and chickens, so they all seem to have known from the start that they were their own kind...

When the guineas start their breeding season they will get worse. Right now they are having fun by attacking the younger chickens. There attitude toward the younger chickens is set and is not likely to ever improve. When they become adults they will challenge the older chickens too and may or may not include the ducks in their terrorist activities.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Ok, well thank you for the input.

When the guineas start their breeding season they will get worse. Right now they are having fun by attacking the younger chickens. There attitude toward the younger chickens is set and is not likely to ever improve. When they become adults they will challenge the older chickens too and may or may not include the ducks in their terrorist activities.

 

[50-45-1]

I dont think you are responsible for the guineas aggression.
I think it is there age combined with learned behavior from a couple most likely male individual youngsters.
I have had guineas for many years and have very little trouble with them being housed together. Mostly any trouble happens in the winter when they cant get out.
When i have encountered a guinea being overly routh with my chickens, it was usually a male that was the most aggressive.
Most of my guineas are hatched here by a chicken broody hen. Chicken broodys are much better moms than guinea moms.
My guineas get along fine with the chickens.
I hope your problem will ease up as the young chickens and guineas mature. I think it is a teenage thing.
Good luck!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thanks for the encouragement! I doubt that this would have happened if I had had split them at 3 months as I had intended; the guineas were fine with everyone then! I don’t do much free range of the chickens so will keep the young chickens separate from the guineas for a few months and see what happens. I’m wondering if I should try something to help? I’ve tried one or two guineas (supervised) in the run with young chickens. In that scenario, the guineas are so desperate to rejoin their flock that they ignore young chickens. If I leave the run door open, a stream of guineas runs in to chase the young chickens. A few chicken cockerels did grab guineas and pullets by the neck earlier (Two cockerels, one a month ago and one 3 months ago, quickly removed each when noticed). I can see why they might have gone after the cockerel, but can’t understand why they are after the pullets that they roosted right next to a few weeks ago!

I dont think you are responsible for the guineas aggression.
I think it is there age combined with learned behavior from a couple most likely male individual youngsters.
I have had guineas for many years and have very little trouble with them being housed together. Mostly any trouble happens in the winter when they cant get out.
When i have encountered a guinea being overly routh with my chickens, it was usually a male that was the most aggressive.
Most of my guineas are hatched here by a chicken broody hen. Chicken broodys are much better moms than guinea moms.
My guineas get along fine with the chickens.
I hope your problem will ease up as the young chickens and guineas mature. I think it is a teenage thing.
Good luck!

 

[Flockandfowl46]

If you don't free range it probably will continue...guinea are a wild natured game fowl and stress out if they do not have space to work off their high energy...your best bet is to do like I do and free range them all day then they generally have no problems going up with the chickens at night,there are a few mild squabbles here and there but nothing serious so it can be done you just need to cater to the requirements of you guinea or any fowl for that matter...hope this helps hun

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thanks, Flockandfowl. I’ve been letting the guineas, chickens and ducks out for a few hours at a time for several months, but stopped for a few weeks when we had a coyote kill a chicken one month ago. For the past few weeks, I’ve been letting only the guineas out for longer and longer, and just went to all day free range a few days ago. The guineas hang around the outside of the coop and run all day as has been their preference all along; I might remove their food from their part of the coop in the AM if they don’t range further in the next few weeks? I was a little surprised that they still wanted into the run to chase the young chickens a few days ago, despite the greater time ranging. Fingers crossed that they settle down about them, at least outside of breeding season!

If you don't free range it probably will continue...guinea are a wild natured game fowl and stress out if they do not have space to work off their high energy...your best bet is to do like I do and free range them all day then they generally have no problems going up with the chickens at night,there are a few mild squabbles here and there but nothing serious so it can be done you just need to cater to the requirements of you guinea or any fowl for that matter...hope this helps hun