I can't tell male from female have these 2 paired off

[sawilliams]

I have 3 guinea fowl. One seems to have gotten a larger crest? (Head piece) and that one and one of the others will travel together. Always side by side. With the third wandering on its own.

Prior to them separating all 3 followed my rooster like lost puppies. I got them in November they where suppose to be about 3 months though i think closer to 2, I'm really not sure but they seemed smaller and less developed then other pictures for thier age. Regardless I was only told they where lavender keets about 3 months old.

They should be about 7-8 months now and over the past few weeks have been separating from the rooster. Which is good for him becuase they are sort of cock blockers if you get my piont. So the 2 now wander together the prettier 2 of the 3 with the third on it's own. And one of the pair has started laying eggs as wellnn the second of the pair will wonder around the run area while the first does her thing before they go back out to free range together. I know enough the guineas are monogamous, I'm just have never been sure if u had male or female. I have known there was deffinalty at least 2 females though the 2 pretties look so much a like I couldn't always tell who made the calls or if they both where meaning i really didn't know if there where 2 girls or 3 girls

So anyways here's the picture of the 2 I think have paired off.

 

[red horse ranch]

It sounds like the 2 that have paired off are a male and female. It looks like one of the pair has larger wattles. Their behavior is typical this time of year. Sometimes if the 3rd one is female too he will breed both of them. But the pair will stay together thru breeding season. There is almost always an outcast no matter what the sex is.

 

[sawilliams]

Yes his crest and (I was just noticing as i was restarting my phone and the pair walked by) his waddles are slightly bigger then the female. He also tend to stand more alert like a rooster does. And I don't know if it makes a difference but he is the only one of the 3 with neck feathers that go up instead of down, almost like a mane.

 

[R2elk]

Yes his crest and (I was just noticing as i was restarting my phone and the pair walked by) his waddles are slightly bigger then the female. He also tend to stand more alert like a rooster does. And I don't know if it makes a difference but he is the only one of the 3 with neck feathers that go up instead of down, almost like a mane.

It looks like you have Pied Lavender guineas. The "crest" you refer to is the casque or helmet. Except when the hen stands upright to "buckwheat" the cock normally stands and walks more erect than the hen. The hen tends to walk with her back more parallel to the ground. In a mated pair, the cock will lay on the ground while the hen will feed and casually wander around in a circular pattern with the cock in the center.

Both the hen and cock have the neck feathers you refer to.

 

[sawilliams]

thank you. I knew there was another word for their head piece, I couldn't even think of helmet. Not sure where crest came from but I knew what i ment

 

[JasperMoon]

you should listen to there calls a femal will make a buck weat call and chi calls but males can only make chi calls

 

[sawilliams]

you should listen to there calls a femal will make a buck weat call and chi calls but males can only make chi calls

But see that is where part of the issue had been. I knew at least 2 have been making the buck weat call ( the ugly and one of the pretties) but the 2 pretties are so similar I can't tell which is making the call. So i have never been able to detirmine if just 1 of them was or both are just a different times. There have been at least a few times I thought all 3 where female. The one pretty only recently started looking different then the other 2 (slightly bigger helmet and waddles).