Yeah he’s really quite impressive! It would be no big deal for a rooster to take care of his 7 ladies, but guineas naturally pair bond, so forming a larger harem like this for non-confined birds is a little unusual, I think!
It’s really funny to watch their breeding behavior, which is pretty different from roosters. When Ghost is “in the mood”, he lets the ladies know by sitting on the ground in what looks to me like a sleepy, droopy headed posture. The guineas are normally so energetic and active, so this is an unusual position for them. The first time he did this, I thought he was sick, and I was quite concerned about my only male! If there are no takers, he gets up and follows the hens to their next foraging location and tries again. He sits like this until a hen suddenly runs full speed at him, veering away from him at the last instant. If he’s interested, he will immediately spring up and chase her for 6-12 feet, then breed, very quickly. Sometimes he gives chase but stops short, for no reason that I can see. It’s really very funny, and I like that there are no aggressive rooster antics since it seems that both need to be in agreement. I haven’t seen missing feathers either, overall much more pleasant! Many people report that they’ve never seen their guineas breed, so I count myself fortunate that they trust me enough not to alter their behavior so much when I’m around.
