I have guineas!!!!! :)

[homesteadinmama]

Okay so I wanted a couple turkeys but couldn't resist the little guinea hens too. But now I have no clue about them. The blueish one is VERY loud and "fiesty" running all over the place to keep away from you. The white one doesn't make a sound. Any ideas of what type they are and how old they have to be to sex them? Thanks.

 

[livenwpeeps]

They are Helmeted Guinea Fowl. The blue one looks like it might be a lavender in color. How old are they? One way to sex them is when they start talking. The females say a two syllibal sound that sounds like "Buck Wheat". The males can only make a one syllibal sound but the females can make the one syllibal sound too. Others can tell what sex by the wattles, body type, etc but more so on older guineas.

 

[PeepsCA]

Try putting a mirror in their brooder, it will make them think/feel like there are more of them in there with them and can help quiet down noisy keets. When taken away from their hatch-mates they cry for them for a while.

5-6wks old is usually when my little Hens start "buck-wheating", the 2-syllable call. It can be a little squeaky and off-key at first, but only the Hens will make that call. By 8wks if you haven't heard any "buck-wheating" you might have 2 males.

 

[homesteadinmama]

I don't know how old they are, maybe 4 weeks?

Will they make that sound if I startle them or will they randomly do it?

 

[Mama duck 8]

You got some Helmeted Guinea Fowl, The blue one looks like it might be a lavender in color they are about 4-6 weeks old

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
Guessing their age depends on what they were fed before you got them... keets develop/grow and feather out fast on high protein starter like a turkey, pheasant or game bird starter and much slower on lower protein start like chick starter. They look very similar in size and feather growth to my batch of 3wk olds right now tho. So 3-4wks old is my best guess. My 6wk old always have a much longer neck by that age and they usually start loosing some of their head and neck fuzz by then too.

Startling them doesn't usually make them do much more than sound the alarm or just peep/cry loudly. Separating them will usually trigger the little Hens to "buck-wheat" and call out to the other (or others)... but if they aren't old enough yet to make that call all you're going to do is stress them out