Guineas holding chicks hostage?!!! An update.

[kkm]

Have any of you ever heard of such a thing? I have two 10 week old guineas outside and I introduced my 6 week old chicks to the coop. I watched them for a while and of course they pecked at them a little, but pretty soon they were walking past them and I thought everything was OK. Later I looked out the window and I could see the guineas standing in the corner, but no chicks. I kept noticing this for about an hour so I went out to check it out. The chicks were all huddled down under the brace of the coop and the guineas were standing in front of them. If one of the chicks tried to get out, the guineas pecked them! I shooed the guineas back w/ a broom handle then watched. Sure enough, when the chicks started coming out, those guineas came and herded them back into the corner and stood in front of them not letting them out!

 

[speckledhen]

Guineas can be bullies. It's why I dont have them at the present time. It was the chickens or the guineas and since I like eggs in winter, the guineas were rehomed. Yes, they are unlike chickens in almost every way. I love guineas, but....and you aren't even into the terrible teens yet!

 

[hatchcrazzzy]

i would raise them separate

 

[swampducks]

My guineas and chickens are the same age and get along fine. Perhaps it's a matter of growing up together?

 

[dangerouschicken]

They can get along, and they can fight. Even if they are raised together, sometimes guineas will just "turn" one day and start attacking chickens. They are sort of wild card birds.

You have to remember with guineas, they are more like wild birds than chickens, in so many ways. The domestication of them is not as far along as with chickens, and they are African birds used to roosting in trees in hot weather and eating bugs, not living in a coop in cold weather and eating game bird food. It is like they only "tolerate" our owning them

I would separate the guineas from the chicks if that was going on. My guineas are housed with chickens right now, but it is only temporary, and if I saw them being bullies, I would change it QUICKLY. Guineas can get nasty.

 

[speckledhen]

She's right-they cannot be compared to chickens at all. They are not quite the domesticated farm animal a chicken is. Here is a photo of my alpha male, Dodger, attacking my rooster. Dodger and the other three lived with the chickens since they were four weeks old. Didnt help.

 

[cgjsmith]

My guineas are bullies as well even to eachother. One thing I have noticed though is that the more room they have the less likely they will be to fight. Noone takes on the guineas except the daddy goose in egg laying time and the tom turkey. I've even seen a guinea go after our goat when it got too close to the baby. Crystal

 

[speckledhen]

Our guineas had a landing bar so they could fly out of the pen if the chickens were locked in. They also had several acres of woods to roam. I think one of my problems was at the time, I had four guineas and eleven chickens, so the guineas were not outnumbered by much. Now, I have 50+ chickens with several roosters, so one day I may try guineas again. Nothing like 'em for bug control and entertainment.

 

[MissPrissy]

My guineas are left to be semi-wild. They must forage for the greater part of their food. They roost in the barn rafters in the area with the goats after they refused to return to their coop.

They can be rather aggressive. I keep all of my fowl separate.

 

[speckledhen]

MissP, I so wish I had a real barn! I'd definitely get guineas again then and allow them to roost in there.