Hurt guinea attacked and killed by other guineas. Why?

[Vonnie7]

I had one guinea that had a bum leg from birth. I couldn't find a vet that would see a guinea. He got around ok (hopping or flying) and didn't seem to be in any pain. But as the birds got older, he seemed smaller than the others. And because he could not keep up, he did not hunt with the other birds. Though they didn't seem to mind him, they never included him. He roosted right beside them at night with no problem. Yesterday, he got his good leg caught in some wire. And it seems the other guineas took the opportunity to peck his head violently. He died. I don't understand why they did this. And now two of the birds are acting crazy -- flying around and calling for him. (We buried him.) Do you have any idea why the birds would gang up and peck one of their own to death? Hoppy was my favorite guinea. I always kept an eye on him to ensure he had enough food (taking him some when the others were off hunting). Any insight would be helpful. Also, why do vets not see guineas?

 

[Sydney65]

A flock perceives a weak/sick/injured bird as a threat to the whole, bc it might attract predators. Their logic,remove the threat, protect the whole. Also, if his injury produced blood or raw flesh, that attracts the flock's attention on its own. From what I've read (been through similar) a little curiosity can lead to overzealous pecking & even cannibalism.
For future reference, whenever you have an injured or weakened bird, it's important to provide a place for it to rest & recover, but not be excluded from the flock for too long. Mb an over night or two inside but then move it back to the coop asap in a dog cage or some other arrangement where it can be seen and interact but no touch.
I'm sorry for your loss. I know every loss hurts - and they, too, mourn their flock members, esp their mates, calling out and even looking for the fallen.
Re vets- few have avian training; that's a specialized area. Mine do not. In mine, the younger vet has told me minor issues, injuries, he can deal with. The senior vet does more with farm animals and thus a little more experience. But if it's a major issue, they'd send me to a specialist in Indy. This is why you'll find so many in this site have learned about illnesses & how to do a lot of things on their own, including surgery, necropsies, etc. There are many here who can figure out what's going on w/our birds with enough detailed info & help out. My personal "I never thought I'd do that" was amputating a bad toe. -and that seemed miniscule when I actually had to remove a stuck egg (egg bound). But I'm finding there's very little I won't do for them.

 

[Vonnie7]

A flock perceives a weak/sick/injured bird as a threat to the whole, bc it might attract predators. Their logic,remove the threat, protect the whole. Also, if his injury produced blood or raw flesh, that attracts the flock's attention on its own. From what I've read (been through similar) a little curiosity can lead to overzealous pecking & even cannibalism.
For future reference, whenever you have an injured or weakened bird, it's important to provide a place for it to rest & recover, but not be excluded from the flock for too long. Mb an over night or two inside but then move it back to the coop asap in a dog cage or some other arrangement where it can be seen and interact but no touch.
I'm sorry for your loss. I know every loss hurts - and they, too, mourn their flock members, esp their mates, calling out and even looking for the fallen.

Thank you so much for this reply. I now better understand. Though it does break my heart. Little Hoppy was my favorite guinea. I'm sad that I wasn't outside at the time to protect him. If there is a place for animals in heaven, I hope Hoppy is now fully healed, happy, and knows he was loved.

Wild ducks often instinctively try to drown a "weak" or injured duck. It's apparently to keep the flock strong . . . and it actually can shorten suffering. Maybe it was the same with the guineas. Nature is not kind to the weak or abnormal.

Thanks for sharing. I am still learning about these beloved and somewhat crazy birds. I could watch them all day!

 

[GeeseMama]

That's sad. I'm sorry. The reality is he was probably flipping and flapping around. It's natural instinct because a wounded bird jittering around can attract predators quickly. So the flock usually "offs" them. This is what I have experienced every time. They will keep them on the fringes of the flock but if there is an issue(ie can't move as well as usual, gets caught in something or stuck somewhere) they will attack. I actual just lost a female that we called Auti. She was hatched by one of our other hens, not incubated. She has issues from the very beginning but was so sweet that I decided to raise her. She was partially blind and deaf and didn't eat right. She lived for about two and half years, a good life. I had to hand feed her several times a day but she was a snuggle bug and it was worth it. Fortunately for her, she was our Royal Palm Turkey's gal and he protected her. She always came running for love and food LOL so I know how it sucks to lose them. In other instances what I have done is have a cage next to the main cage for these types of Guineas. Alot of times it's an extension of the main cage with just chicken wire between. That way they stay in the flock so to speak but are safer when penned up. Mine free range all day and go in at night. My Guineas are trained to come to call and are rewarded with mealworms so it makes it a lot easier to monitor situations and intervene when they are free ranging. Whether it be them fighting amongst themselves or predators. Guineas are.rewarding many ways and can be very affectionate if you put the time in with them. Hope this helps.

 

[Vonnie7]

That's sad. I'm sorry. The reality is he was probably flipping and flapping around. It's natural instinct because a wounded bird jittering around can attract predators quickly. So the flock usually "offs" them. This is what I have experienced every time. They will keep them on the fringes of the flock but if there is an issue(ie can't move as well as usual, gets caught in something or stuck somewhere) they will attack. I actual just lost a female that we called Auti. She was hatched by one of our other hens, not incubated. She has issues from the very beginning but was so sweet that I decided to raise her. She was partially blind and deaf and didn't eat right. She lived for about two and half years, a good life. I had to hand feed her several times a day but she was a snuggle bug and it was worth it. Fortunately for her, she was our Royal Palm Turkey's gal and he protected her. She always came running for love and food LOL so I know how it sucks to lose them. In other instances what I have done is have a cage next to the main cage for these types of Guineas. Alot of times it's an extension of the main cage with just chicken wire between. That way they stay in the flock so to speak but are safer when penned up. Mine free range all day and go in at night. My Guineas are trained to come to call and are rewarded with mealworms so it makes it a lot easier to monitor situations and intervene when they are free ranging. Whether it be them fighting amongst themselves or predators. Guineas are.rewarding many ways and can be very affectionate if you put the time in with them. Hope this helps.

This helps a lot. Thank you. Now I have a plan for next time! I love having guineas!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had one guinea that had a bum leg from birth. I couldn't find a vet that would see a guinea. He got around ok (hopping or flying) and didn't seem to be in any pain. But as the birds got older, he seemed smaller than the others. And because he could not keep up, he did not hunt with the other birds. Though they didn't seem to mind him, they never included him. He roosted right beside them at night with no problem. Yesterday, he got his good leg caught in some wire. And it seems the other guineas took the opportunity to peck his head violently. He died. I don't understand why they did this. And now two of the birds are acting crazy -- flying around and calling for him. (We buried him.) Do you have any idea why the birds would gang up and peck one of their own to death? Hoppy was my favorite guinea. I always kept an eye on him to ensure he had enough food (taking him some when the others were off hunting). Any insight would be helpful. Also, why do vets not see guineas?

I’m so sorry - it would be just awful to find a bird like that! I don’t know that I would read too much into how the flock acted with a trapped birds. Poultry do weird things when one is trapped, and any visible blood encourages pecking behavior. I keep four roosters in an electrified fence that’s made of electric mesh. One day I saw the guineas make a commotion at the edge of the fence so I went to investigate. I found one rooster (BB) with its foot tangled in the electric mesh. BB was alternately getting shocked and getting attacked by my head roo, GL. I would guess that the head roo didn’t know how to handle his flockmate being tangled and the resulting panic and unusual behavior, so he decided that attacking was his best response (roosters aren’t so bright…). I freed BB and gave him some recovery time. GL went after him when I first put BB back in then was okay with him after a few minutes. So, I think poultry can react in odd ways to one of their flockmates being tangled. That is just the way that poultry are, but it still sounds very painful to find your bird that way.

 

[GranderTheGander]

Wild ducks often instinctively try to drown a "weak" or injured duck. It's apparently to keep the flock strong . . . and it actually can shorten suffering. Maybe it was the same with the guineas. Nature is not kind to the weak or abnormal.

 

[Vonnie7]

I’m only on year 1 plus with guineas. So thank you for this. I did think about separating the lame Guinea but was worried to do so as I had heard they die if isolated from their herd. In the future if this were to happen (a disabled or weak Guinea), how did you keep it separate and happy and make more like a pet? I wanted to do that but didn’t know how and didn’t want him to die from not being in his herd. And yes, they did isolate him (always on the outskirts) but they had never hurt him until he got caught in the wire.

 

[GeeseMama]

I’m only on year 1 plus with guineas. So thank you for this. I did think about separating the lame Guinea but was worried to do so as I had heard they die if isolated from their herd. In the future if this were to happen (a disabled or weak Guinea), how did you keep it separate and happy and make more like a pet? I wanted to do that but didn’t know how and didn’t want him to die from not being in his herd. And yes, they did isolate him (always on the outskirts) but they had never hurt him until he got caught in the wire.

Here's Auti as a young keet and then with the Royal Palm Tom we have

 

[Vonnie7]

I’m so sorry - it would be just awful to find a bird like that! I don’t know that I would read too much into how the flock acted with a trapped birds. Poultry do weird things when one is trapped, and any visible blood encourages pecking behavior. I keep four roosters in an electrified fence that’s made of electric mesh. One day I saw the guineas make a commotion at the edge of the fence so I went to investigate. I found one rooster (BB) with its foot tangled in the electric mesh. BB was alternately getting shocked and getting attacked by my head roo, GL. I would guess that the head roo didn’t know how to handle his flockmate being tangled and the resulting panic and unusual behavior, so he decided that attacking was his best response (roosters aren’t so bright…). I freed BB and gave him some recovery time. GL went after him when I first put BB back in then was okay with him after a few minutes. So, I think poultry can react in odd ways to one of their flockmates being tangled. That is just the way that poultry are, but it still sounds very painful to find your bird that way.

Thank you for sharing your experience. It does help to know this is something they can do. I am heartbroken but maybe my bird is now free from pain, flying happily wherever birds go when they die.