Killing each other

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

I got some colored guinea hens last year and introduced them to my flock before winter. Everything was going fine but recently my white guinea has been attacking and killing the other guinea hens. Then the others along with the white ones eat the dead ones. So what should I do? Should I get rid of them and start over? Will they start attacking my chickens? Anything will help thanks.

 

[R2elk]

I got some colored guinea hens last year and introduced them to my flock before winter. Everything was going fine but recently my white guinea has been attacking and killing the other guinea hens. Then the others along with the white ones eat the dead ones. So what should I do? Should I get rid of them and start over? Will they start attacking my chickens? Anything will help thanks.

I would eat the one that is doing the killing.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I got some colored guinea hens last year and introduced them to my flock before winter. Everything was going fine but recently my white guinea has been attacking and killing the other guinea hens. Then the others along with the white ones eat the dead ones. So what should I do? Should I get rid of them and start over? Will they start attacking my chickens? Anything will help thanks.

Wow! Sounds just awful!!! Can you give more details about your situation? Are the guineas all the same age? How many males and females do you have? How are they housed? How are your chickens kept - free range, penned, always with the guineas? Hope you are able to find a solution!

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

Wow! Sounds just awful!!! Can you give more details about your situation? Are the guineas all the same age? How many males and females do you have? How are they housed? How are your chickens kept - free range, penned, always with the guineas? Hope you are able to find a solution!

They are usually kept in a coop at night and a fenced ub area during the day. But since the snow we are letting them free range the chickens are cooped the same way. We two males eight females. We have 4 that are a year old and six that are three years old. All of the guenias are kept with the chickens and raised with chicks, we have never had a problem until now.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

They are usually kept in a coop at night and a fenced ub area during the day. But since the snow we are letting them free range the chickens are cooped the same way. We two males eight females. We have 4 that are a year old and six that are three years old. All of the guenias are kept with the chickens and raised with chicks, we have never had a problem until now.

And one set of guineas is attacking another? Is it older guineas attacking newer ones? Makes attacking males, etc? Are they chasing each other around a lot? Have they paired up? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to understand what seems like an unusual situation. Males will occasionally kill another male guinea and will often pull feathers and torment other poultry, especially roosters. However, one guinea attacking, killing and eating multiple (how many?) other guineas is unusual, especially if they are free ranging! What are you feeding them and how much are they able to find as forage free ranging? How big is their coop? Are attacks happening while roosting or while free ranging?

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

And one set of guineas is attacking another? Is it older guineas attacking newer ones? Makes attacking males, etc? Are they chasing each other around a lot? Have they paired up? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to understand what seems like an unusual situation. Males will occasionally kill another male guinea and will often pull feathers and torment other poultry, especially roosters. However, one guinea attacking, killing and eating multiple (how many?) other guineas is unusual, especially if they are free ranging! What are you feeding them and how much are they able to find as forage free ranging? How big is their coop? Are attacks happening while roosting or while free ranging?

The attacks are happening during the day. They get a mix of scratch and layer. The newer ones are the ones causing the problems. They arnt the usual pearl ones they are lavender and white. They are killing mostly just the other males. They get there regular layer along with what they scavenge. And they have started pulling my hens tail feathers. They chase eachother. The younger and older ones are in there own seperate "groups". The coop they are kept in at night (not at night) is 10x10. They only kill one at a time.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

The attacks are happening during the day. They get a mix of scratch and layer. The newer ones are the ones causing the problems. They arnt the usual pearl ones they are lavender and white. They are killing mostly just the other males. They get there regular layer along with what they scavenge. And they have started pulling my hens tail feathers. They chase eachother. The younger and older ones are in there own seperate "groups". The coop they are kept in at night (not at night) is 10x10. They only kill one at a time.

I’m on a couple of different guinea groups, here and Facebook. People keep their guineas all sorts of different ways, and sometimes it works great, right up until it doesn’t. Clearly you are in a “it’s not working” state right now. In this forum, most (but not all) posters agree that they see more peace in guinea flocks that are: 1) Brooded and housed separately from chickens and other poultry, 2) fed a high protein diet, 3) have at least as many females as male guineas, with maybe a few extra females. 4) have a larger flock of at least a dozen or so. It sounds like co-housing, low protein feed, and small flock size
(?) could be part of your problem, or part of what started your current disruption.

If it’s early spring in your area, then your guineas are just gearing up for breeding season, and their hormones are going haywire. It sounds like the younger guinea cocks might be more dominant and aggressive than your older cocks, so they’ve decided to challenge them and take over the flock. Cock challenges can be dramatic, but they don’t currently result in bloodshed (knock on wood!) in my flock. It likely doesn’t matter so much what color your newer birds are, but the genetic background of your younger birds will be different from your older ones. It’s likely they were bred from more dominant and aggressive birds.

I was in a similar situation where my guineas weren’t working out with the rest of my poultry, probably because I brooded them together. I ended up rehoming almost all of the males. Given their violent history, I’d be afraid that your cannabalistic younger birds have now learned some truly awful behaviors. I don’t know how attached to them you are, but I’d think about butchering your aggressive newer males and staring over with new keets raised and housed separately from your other poultry. High protein feed and separation from your chickens could help prevent problems next year. I hope you’ll keep updating us as to what’s happening in your flock!

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

I’m on a couple of different guinea groups, here and Facebook. People keep their guineas all sorts of different ways, and sometimes it works great, right up until it doesn’t. Clearly you are in a “it’s not working” state right now. In this forum, most (but not all) posters agree that they see more peace in guinea flocks that are: 1) Brooded and housed separately from chickens and other poultry, 2) fed a high protein diet, 3) have at least as many females as male guineas, with maybe a few extra females. 4) have a larger flock of at least a dozen or so. It sounds like co-housing, low protein feed, and small flock size
(?) could be part of your problem, or part of what started your current disruption.

If it’s early spring in your area, then your guineas are just gearing up for breeding season, and their hormones are going haywire. It sounds like the younger guinea cocks might be more dominant and aggressive than your older cocks, so they’ve decided to challenge them and take over the flock. Cock challenges can be dramatic, but they don’t currently result in bloodshed (knock on wood!) in my flock. It likely doesn’t matter so much what color your newer birds are, but the genetic background of your younger birds will be different from your older ones. It’s likely they were bred from more dominant and aggressive birds.

I was in a similar situation where my guineas weren’t working out with the rest of my poultry, probably because I brooded them together. I ended up rehoming almost all of the males. Given their violent history, I’d be afraid that your cannabalistic younger birds have now learned some truly awful behaviors. I don’t know how attached to them you are, but I’d think about butchering your aggressive newer males and staring over with new keets raised and housed separately from your other poultry. High protein feed and separation from your chickens could help prevent problems next year. I hope you’ll keep updating us as to what’s happening in your flock!

Okay thanks so much!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Okay thanks so much!

Best of luck with your flock!

 

[GuineaNana]

Best of luck with your flock!

Thank you as this thread is helpful for me as I have a guinea that has become (more) aggressive. At this point, he has not killed other guineas. I have a flock of eight, 4 males and 4 females that seem to be pairing off. However, this one male will chase the other males, even into the trees, and peck on them AND, this one has also started being aggressive toward me and my husband and visitors, to the point of flying into our faces. I can use a stick and keep him off, but at what point do I rehome or (heaven forbid) kill him? Also, when you say high-protein feed, what amount of protein should I be feeding? They have a 16% crumble in their feeders that they get in their 10x12 coop at night and during the day they forage and I put out some scratch feed. Any suggestions here? Thanks again!