guineas, why are they so mean?

[Riocotesei]

I have 2 guineas and go them from dayolds with 8 other chicks. They are 5 months old are picking on the chickens real bad now. I plan on getting rid of them. They really hurt my ears too....

 

[mylittlehof]

Thanks for the info about the eggs.

I will say that for the first year the Guineas were LOUD - that is actually why we went down in numbers for a while - we took out the loudest ones - but after that first year they don't alarm as much and are quieter. But they can still put up a ruckus when they feel threatened - you know by me walking with a shiney bucket, kids on bikes, that kind of awful thing.

 

[rufus]

My two cents; guineas are a self inflicted wound.

Rufus

 

[crtrlovr]

ok that may be true, but I guess I enjoy pain... I do love my guineas! Right now I have one adult female who sticks like GLUE to my alpha roo RIR Sarge since her other 2 companions disappeared (raccoon got one that REFUSED to go into the pen, and the other one disappeared just at dusk (fearing an owl got her). I got some young keets recently (2 pearls, 1 pearl /white breasted, 1 lavender, 2 white) and hope they'll all be happy together when they grow up; if not the young ones will have each other's company & the older one can still hang out with her chicken buddies. My guineas' eggs were ALWAYS speckled too; I never got one without brown flecks, and the shells are MUCH harder than chicken eggs. They tasted great! My guinea hen hasn't laid a single egg (and yes, I know she is indeed a hen) since she lost her sisters.

poor traumatized girl...

 

[rooster0209]

The original rooster guinea chases the chickens sometimes, the hen is not really interested. I have threatened him with Thanksgiving dinner, not that it helped. Since they have 7 acreas to wander on, I think that helps. He is mostly bossy when they are around "his" coop.

I have three guineas that were raised with the chickens and they follow them everywhere. The guinea's all raise alarm when a big bird is over head and the chickens run for cover. I also have 16 youngsters and two silkies that are being raised together and will be added to the crew when they are big enough. The silkies will be kept apart I think.

 

[joycehatcher]

HELP !!!

I have over 40 chickens 9 guineas, they were raised together. The guineas started pulling the feathers off the chicken, they also​

don"t allow the roosters to eat or get near the hens. With plenty of feeded available they continue to eat the chickens eggs, but not thier own. One quinea ran another quinea for hours around outside the pen...fight it until death...They killed two hens and one baby chick...I separated the guineas from the chickens but, they started fight each other. Why are they so mean ? What should I do ? They are about one years old.....Excellent watch-out aminals...

 

[Kevin565]

Sounds like you have to keep them separated for good or get rid of the guineas. Many people have success having mixed flocks with them however many people including myself did not have such luck. It all just depends on the individuals. Are certain ones the main aggressor?

 

[joycehatcher]

I did notice one or two are more aggressive...I will try separating them from the chicken permanently... outside the pen the guineas seems not to fight each other as much...if this continue I will get rid of them...thks U 4 the info...........

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Our guineas were hatched July 4th by an orpington hen. They are still following her around in a flock dynamic 10+ weeks later. Those that do fly out of the fencing ( 6 ft) go around constantly trying to get back in. When they free range, the guinea flock pretty much stays together with mama orp. Not all of the guineas will fly out-- only those that happen to roost outside a particular nite. They don't seem to want to leave mama inside the fence.
At what age shoudl we expect to see some bossiness start with the chickens? We have 12 guineas and about 20 hens and 2 roos. Chicken flock is marans, orps and EEs.

 

[poultrypalacewhidbey]

I raise guineas and have found that as with chickens if mean, or aggressive guineas are bred their offspring will also have poor temperment. As with chickens the solution is to cull. Figure out which is the most aggressive and cull it. If the problem persists just keep culling the most aggressive one until you dont have any left or the flock dynamic neutralizes and they calm down. It should be expected that male chickens and male guineas will fight. They can interbreed and the male guineas will see male chickens as a threat. The main problem seems to be irresponsible breeding ont he part of the large hatcheries. As with certain chicken breeds guineas seem to have fallen victim to the numbers game. Hatcheries are hatching from anything and everything with the only goal being to produce as many keets as possible for the lowest price possible so they keep their profit margin up. The result unfortunitly is that they pay absolutely no attention to characteristics such as temperment when they are breeding the birds. If properly bred guineas can be very good companion animals and pets. As with chickens they can be hand tamed and unlike chickens multiple males can be housed together (even if they are of different ages/not raised together) without much fighting. As for egg eating this can be induced by lack of proper nutrition. Guineas need a higher protein food than your run of the mill layer hen. While they can survive on most standard low protein layer feeds they generally will not thrive on them and will search for additional sources of protein and high quality food (such as your chickens eggs). Due to the fact that guinea eggshells are very hard the chicken eggs being easier to break are the natural solution. With egg eating the first thing to do is always look at nutrition. Dont rule out that the feed may be bad. Ask your feed dealer if they have changed mills or if the feed company has changed its feed formula.
As for noise, well guineas are guineas. if you want a quite bird dont raise guineas.