Integrating New Guineas

[SimplyForties]

This is an idle question, as it hasn't actually happened to me yet but, when it comes time to refurbish a guinea flock reduced by predators, do you have to deal with the various integration issues common amongst chickens or are guineas more accepting of newcomers?

 

[shelleyd2008]

It depends. I had some new babies last fall and my guineas didn't like them at all. They would chase them every chance they got. This year I have some more new babies. Some free range with the other birds (original guineas pay no attention whatsoever to them), and some are still in a tractor, until they get a little bigger. Those two like to cry on occassion, and the older guineas go check them out, almost like they are trying to comfort them. So it is really a toss up. I would do the integration like you would with chickens though, just to be safe. Guineas can be pretty relentless when they want to be.

 

[sred98]

Mine did fine. I got 2 from a friend who's DH gave her the choice of having guineas or him!

So, I got the guineas! LOL! I basically just brought them over and turned them loose. I had planned on keeping them kenneled for several days and gradually introducing them, but when I sat the kennel under the tree, my other 3 guineas came running over and making such a racket, then those 2 started in, and started trying to run through the wire, that I just opened the door, and they all took off together!

They had a few skirmishes the first couple of days, but nothing serious. My pair is super-dominate, even over the chickens, so they had to make sure the newbies understood. The newbies decided to show they were dominate over my female's adopted baby, so Mama had to make sure they knew that was not acceptable.

It sounds much more violent than it was. It mostly consisted of screeching and charging. No one actually made contact. Now, everyone is happy.

I think it is much easier to integrate guineas than chickens!

Shelly