Hawks and guineas

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

No advice in guinea forum so cross posting here...
I feel like a hand-wringer to keep posting about my guineas, but I really appreciate everyone’s help! So, I removed six guineas, leaving a flock of 9 with probably only one, lavender male. After the traumatic capture of the six rehomed guineas, I left the nine remaining penned up (12x14 ft run and 8x6 ft coop) so that they would use the coop a few times to offset any perception that it is dangerous, and so they could rework their new flock dynamics in safety. Planned to start free range again tomorrow AM, after two nights penned. However, came home to a Cooper’s hawk stationed over the coop yesterday. Now I’m afraid to let the guineas out tomorrow. However, keeping them penned with chickens after another predator attack may have contributed to their behavior problems with chickens and ducks. Chickens and ducks are separated from guineas now by wire. So far, guineas have stuck very close to coop when free ranging; coop is at border of forest in one side, prairie on the other, with entry on prairie side. So... how long should I keep guineas penned? Release tomorrow and hope they will be hawk savvy? Or pen for a few weeks and hope the hawk leaves? Note that I’m in Oklahoma, where Coopers and red-tailed hawks are abundant in winter...

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Guineas are hawk savvy. All that means is that when a guinea sees a hawk they can recognise a hawk for what it really is. In the deep dark past of free ranging, guineas were kept around to alert the house wife or the farm husband of a threat to their flock of free range chickens.

The way it worked was when the guineas raised the alarm either the husband or wife would grab the 12 gauge scattergun hanging over the mantle and then run out into the yard and blast any cheeky hawk into raptor Valhalla. Too a very large extent that is how people in the past were able to free range their poultry. It also didn't hurt that there could be 10 to 15 children hanging around the house to help guard the flock.

Go forth and do ye likewise, that is if you want to be a successful free ranger.
In a previous life I attended trade days and First Mondays in Middle Tennessee, NW Mississippi, and North Alabama in order to purchase guineas for a fox hunting club I was a member of. The purpose of these guineas were to feed the club's foxes.

The demise of wooden rail fences and chestnut blight, IMO brought about the decline of guinea fowl in my part of the world.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Guineas are hawk savvy. All that means is that when a guinea sees a hawk they can recognise a hawk for what it really is. In the deep dark past of free ranging, guineas were kept around to alert the house wife or the farm husband of a threat to their flock of free range chickens.

The way it worked was when the guineas raised the alarm either the husband or wife would grab the 12 gauge scattergun hanging over the mantle and then run out into the yard and blast any cheeky hawk into raptor Valhalla. Too a very large extent that is how people in the past were able to free range their poultry. It also didn't hurt that there could be 10 to 15 children hanging around the house to help guard the flock.

Go forth and do ye likewise, that is if you want to be a successful free ranger.
In a previous life I attended trade days and First Mondays in Middle Tennessee, NW Mississippi, and North Alabama in order to purchase guineas for a fox hunting club I was a member of. The purpose of these guineas were to feed the club's foxes.

The demise of wooden rail fences and chestnut blight, IMO brought about the decline of guinea fowl in my part of the world.

Interesting history - I had no idea that guineas had been around for so long! These guineas are free range or bust - permanent coop/run life isn’t an option for them. I was impressed that the 15 member guineas flock had no losses in the three weeks that they free ranged. Problem is that I just rehomed six of them, so I’m worried that my smaller flock won’t be as good at predator avoidance. I think I’ll give it one more day so I can let them back out on a day when I’m home to watch out for them.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Interesting history - I had no idea that guineas had been around for so long! These guineas are free range or bust - permanent coop/run life isn’t an option for them. I was impressed that the 15 member guineas flock had no losses in the three weeks that they free ranged...

Guineas are native to Africa. In the African bush there are a multitude of toothed and fanged animals that would love to snack on guineas, but somehow the African bush still has a large guinea population, this despite the widespread snairing of guineas for human food.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

My Granny told me of her finding PILES of guinea eggs in the angles formed by a split rail fence. Furthermore as a boy I spent several nights during the Summer at a friend's house. In the morning we went to the field in the river bottom to hoe corn. We carried some well water and a clean steel 5 gallon can that axle grease came in. When we went by the root cellar we got ourselves some taters and when we went by the old decrepit split rail fence we got ourselves as many guinea eggs as we thought that we could eat, then we pulled roasting ears of corn to go into the bucket. Finally we built a fire and retrieved a bucket of river water to boil our dinner in. Then when we broke at midday we had boiled tatters, eggs, and boiled sweet corn roasting-ears for dinner. Any parent who would treat their own flesh and blood that way today would be thrown in jail.

 

[aart]

Any parent who would treat their own flesh and blood that way today would be thrown in jail.

Only because of the axle grease.

 

[MissChick@dee]

It would be nice if you constructed a few hawk hideouts for them so they know where a “safe” place to run to is.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Only because of the axle grease.

Axle grease is organic, don't you know?

It also keeps you regular.

 

[Biddybot]

I'm surprised to hear that you're having hawk problems with your guineas. Mine used to gather together in a tight little flock whenever they spotted a hawk sitting anywhere near the yard and scream their heads off at him. This invariably startled the hawk into moving along. I also once witnessed a hawk drop down to the ground to try and scare a couple of guinea moms and their keets into scattering, no doubt similar to what they do when going after ruffed grouse families. Unfortunately for the hawk, all that happened was that the guinea moms crouched down in place and screeched an alarm that sent the keets into hiding in the long grass nearby and the single male that was with them came forward to confront the hawk and began making those ax-like hacking motions with his beak at it, signaling that he was willing to fight. I've never seen a hawk look so befuddled. You could tell he was at a loss at what to do next with 'grouse' that weren't behaving as he was accustomed to seeing them behave. At this point, I'd begun walking down to break up the confrontation and the hawk spotted me and flew off and the crisis was over. I dunno...maybe I just have wussy hawks, but they never could stand up to the guineas.

The flock even saw off a bald eagle once that was just innocently sitting in a big spruce at the back of the fenced part of the yard, gazing off over the tidal basin nearby, NOT at my poultry. They just screamed and carried on en masse until he left. I imagine being yelled at by guinea fowl must be about as annoying from a raptor's point of view as being harassed by crows or grackles. Some of the bigger, slower hawks and the eagles even get it from the red-winged blackbirds when they dare fly over the marsh at the end of my property...that's embarrassing...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I'm surprised to hear that you're having hawk problems with your guineas. Mine used to gather together in a tight little flock whenever they spotted a hawk sitting anywhere near the yard and scream their heads off at him. This invariably startled the hawk into moving along. I also once witnessed a hawk drop down to the ground to try and scare a couple of guinea moms and their keets into scattering, no doubt similar to what they do when going after ruffed grouse families. Unfortunately for the hawk, all that happened was that the guinea moms crouched down in place and screeched an alarm that sent the keets into hiding in the long grass nearby and the single male that was with them came forward to confront the hawk and began making those ax-like hacking motions with his beak at it, signaling that he was willing to fight. I've never seen a hawk look so befuddled. You could tell he was at a loss at what to do next with 'grouse' that weren't behaving as he was accustomed to seeing them behave. At this point, I'd begun walking down to break up the confrontation and the hawk spotted me and flew off and the crisis was over. I dunno...maybe I just have wussy hawks, but they never could stand up to the guineas.

The flock even saw off a bald eagle once that was just innocently sitting in a big spruce at the back of the fenced part of the yard, gazing off over the tidal basin nearby, NOT at my poultry. They just screamed and carried on en masse until he left. I imagine being yelled at by guinea fowl must be about as annoying from a raptor's point of view as being harassed by crows or grackles. Some of the bigger, slower hawks and the eagles even get it from the red-winged blackbirds when they dare fly over the marsh at the end of my property...that's embarrassing...

Hi BiddyBot, long story short, I rehomed six guineas from our 15 guinea flock as they were attacking other poultry, leave only 1 male with 8 females. So, remaining guineas have been moping around, and I was worried that between this big change and the loss of the males, they wouldn’t do well with the many hawks migrating overhead right now. Ended up making them a hawk shelter...