Hurt Guinea

[scramblingsours]

Hi. New to this, but here goes. I have 13 guineas, all but 2 are males. They have tried to kill 2 of the neighbors roosters that have showed up on our property. I figured that was because the roosters were where they didn't belong. Then today,we came up short on one of the guineas...we went looking for him, found him at the neighbors. He has a hurt foot, but is getting around okay. We got him home and the rest of the guineas attacked and tried to kill him.(maybe because he's hurt?) I have him separated from them, but don't know what to do with him now. (he's in a small dog kennel) I don't think its a good idea to turn him loose, but he is going crazy in the crate. Any suggestions?

 

[rhoda_bruce]

oh yes. I most certainly do.
But before I say what I would do, I would like to know if I understand correctly. You said, all but 2 are males......so you do have 11 males and 2 females, correct? I must confess that I am wondering how this occurred.
Assuming that is correct I would pick out one single male and put the rest on deathrow and then slaughter 10 of them. I might take 2 days to do it. They are supposed to be delicious. I think the safety of your neighbors roosters plus the safety of the chosen male would greatly improve with less males; not to mention the possible harrassment of the hens. Save a bit of money on feed.

 

[scramblingsours]

I appreciate the feedback.
The way we ordered the guineas, they sent us a mix and this is what we ended up with. They was 2 days old. They are 6 months old now. We let them free roam because of the bug population. Will they ever except this hurt guinea back in the flock? Also would it help any to get more females to go with the males? Thanks again.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

No. I don't think they will accept the injured male. I think he may have established himself low on the pecking order. I would have thought the hens were already with the males, but they will be harassed. Too many males of any species are not a good thing. It would be good if you could get more females, but unless you could get some mature enough for now, the problem would still exists and even if you would get some immediately, there are other problems that could arise relating to that. They would need a lot of time cooped before being allowed out or they would just run away.
I don't know how much of a bug problem exists, but your ratio of males to females is way off. Getting something straight run from a hatchery.....one would think you would have at least 6 or 7 hens. So you really only have 2 hens that say 'buck-wheat, buck-wheat'?
Is there a problem with slaughtering a few? If you don't want to kill so many, can you kill half that amount and see if that improves things? Right now, I wouldn't think you would have so very many bugs to worry about, and in the spring your hens will start laying eggs, which you can incubate or give to a broody.......you won't want them to set. They won't be such great moms. But I'm getting slightly off topic. Really I wouldn't keep so many males with so few females. I would make use of them in the kitchen and be satisfied with the bug eating that the 3 remaining guineas provide for me.
Actually I wouldn't mind coming out like you did, because all I want guineas for is help with bugs and help in the garden and a little wild meal every now and then. So for me a trio would be fine.

 

[Aj1911]

yes they will allow the hurt one back into the flock once it is healed i would put him in something a bit bigger tho

keep the wound clean with iodine (half iodine and water works well)

once its healed over put him back with the others.

yes your ratio is way off it should be 1-1 not 2-1 or 1-2 but 1-1

i would take out any males that are to mean (pecking and ramming the others all the time and being overly aggressive) then keep the rest and add more females asap

after all that it should be ok

the hurt guinea was prolly hurt from a trouble maker among your guinea flock (put the one that makes trouble in the freezer if you know what i mean) as i have never had a guinea loose to a rooster (i have 3 big roosters and all of them know guineas rule)

you can tell the overly mean ones as they will chase the others tell they fly to get away and fight the others tell they bleed.

 

[cw]

Quote:
i agree 100 %, we ate are 2 guinea males and they was a delicacy

 

[ziggywiggy]

Six months is the perfect age to butcher them. I skin mine(skinning is so much less work than plucking) and marinade them in Italian dressing for a few hours. Then I bake them at 325 for 1 hour on top of wild rice. They are so good. Yum.