Keeping Guineas away from the Chickens

[scooby8863]

Hello,

I have a friend that has a bunch of free ranging chickens along with a few guineas, but has been having problems with the guineas being very mean to the chickens, even to the point where the chickens stay in constant hiding.

Is there any possible way other than just to coop them up, or the obvious "pick one or the other" options to let the poor chickens finally live in harmony?????

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!!!

 

[perchie.girl]

Hello,

I have a friend that has a bunch of free ranging chickens along with a few guineas, but has been having problems with the guineas being very mean to the chickens, even to the point where the chickens stay in constant hiding.

Is there any possible way other than just to coop them up, or the obvious "pick one or the other" options to let the poor chickens finally live in harmony?????

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!!!

They probably need to be separated. When I had Guineas and chickens together I fed in Two separate locations So that every one had a chance to take their turn. Same goes for water. Inside the coop I set perches up as high as i could get them for the guineas. So high that only the chickens who were good fliers could get up there. Of course when the guineas went to roost they shoved the chikens off. LOL. Its like having some line backer foot ball players in with the Chess club....

Another thought too is if there are only a few like three or four Guineas Adding more may let them create a flock of their own and give them their own kind to bully.

But separate runs and coops are what I am building for my next go round with poultry.

 

[Triplell]

I have been dealing with guinea bullies myself. I was feeling sorry for the guineas AGAIN and let them out with the chickens for like 5 minutes while I was right there and they attacked again. That was the very last straw!!! I put them on the north side of my barn and it isn't very draft resistant as the barn is over 100 yrs old but then my chicken hens are safe until spring. My husband wants to put them in the freezer but I want to try and save the more timid one or three. I would like to have a breeding trio for my freezer. My brother in law keeps telling me that they taste like pheasant. If they are still here at spring time then we will let mother nature take its course. My chickens mean more to me than the guinea's do unfortunately. I was hoping to keep them for the tick problem instead of chemical spraying.

 

[mkcolls]

We got 15 guineas last spring. One died, failure to thrive, on day 6. Nine were sent to a friend at age 6 wks, we agreed to be the brooders, they weren't equipped. The five that we kept are loud, obnoxious bullies. They terrorized our chickens from the day they could fly out of the brooder. The male's aggressive attempts to mate with our young chicken pullets caused us to move the guineas from the chicken coop to the turkey coop. That didn't stop the terror, they just started terrorizing the turkeys.

The guineas now have their own area, inside out large barn, they free range everyday, unless the winds are too strong, and if we catch them in the other bird's coops or runs they are removed and penned up. (They really hate that)

Our friends have offered to take them to give our chickens and turkeys peace, but like you, Tripell, we wanted them for tick control. So we will prevail for this winter and see what the spring brings.

Here's to peace for all of us.

 

[waltersfarm]

I think it depends on a few different factors. The type of chicken that is freeranging with the guineas is one. If the chicken is a larger breed then it's going to have trouble avoiding the guineas since they are smaller and much faster. I have 15 guineas that freerange with my 30 something bantams and the bantams are fast and can fly a little so it's easier for them to avoid the guineas. Also I've found that raising the guineas around chickens from a young age helps a lot. They learn that the chickens are the "bosses", especially if the chickens pick on them a little when they are young. My guineas seem to wander a lot more than the chickens and only get into fights when I put out feed or treats. But like I said, all animals are different.

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

Hmmm....My neighbor has guineas who I know are terrible moms. I think they are really cool birds and she would like more. So when I have broodies we will have her sit on guinea eggs in the spring. Is this a terrible idea? I will have about 20 large breed layers at that point.

 

[waltersfarm]

I never let my guinea hens raise their young. They are terrible mothers. They tend to drag the babies all over the place especially in the morning when the grass is wet from the dew. Once the babies get wet they usually don't last too long. Every now and then they'll show up with some babies that they've hatched out in a hidden nest somewhere. I always take the keets away and raise them myself. I've allowed the hen to keep a few a couple of times and they don't usually last long. Whenever I'm not hatching keets in an incubator I'll let a few of my broody bantams set on the eggs. They do a wonderful job with the babies. This helps a lot if you're planning on keeping the babies because they grow up with chickens and usually learn to get along better than the ones raised by themselves.

 

[perchie.girl]

Hmmm....My neighbor has guineas who I know are terrible moms. I think they are really cool birds and she would like more. So when I have broodies we will have her sit on guinea eggs in the spring. Is this a terrible idea? I will have about 20 large breed layers at that point.

broodie hens are an excellent choice for raising up guinea Keets. They seem to teach the guineas Chicken. LOL. I am planning on having broodies around for when My little flock starts laying.

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

Thats great news! I am reading the sticky thread right now. Im feeling pretty good about it at this point. I DO plan on building a second coop in the spring with an adjoining run that I can have open or closed. This might be the perfect opportunity for this experiment! My neighbors guineas are in my pasture all the time and once in awhile up by my house. I dont mind the noise and really enjoy watching them (sadly my dogs do too-time to build a kennel)

 

[jcatblum]

My free range guinea flock lives on one side of my property & my chickens live down @ the barn. For at least 6 months the guineas never knew about the barn, they had never made it onto that side of the property. Once they found the barn it is the first place they have gone every day since & they hang out at the barn almost all day! The chickens are doing better than they were at first. A few of my chickens try to bully the guineas, but the guineas are asking for it! They go in & eat the chickens feed, drink their water, get on their roost & even inside the nesting boxes! They dont' lay eggs in the boxes, they just like to play in them. I tried penning the guineas up for a wk & hoped they would forget about the barn, but no luck! I also tried giving the birds each their own days to free range. No help at all, the guineas stand outside the chicken coop screaming let me in all day long! In the begining I was scared the guineas were going to try & sleep @ the barn, but as of right now they begin heading to the other side of my property about an hour before dark. I do notice if the weather is bad they come up mid day. I give up on telling the guineas what they can do, they listen as well as children.