Killing each other

[Sydney65]

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 upda
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! integrated flock, raging hormones (absolutes!).

Integration,Hierarchy and totem poles. The 1 year old is trying to bypass a few heads of that pole on his way to the top. See, THAT makes sense, 1st yr,
I believe @R2elk did say it could come to killing. It definitely becomes bloody, as I've had to do first aid on Nugget & Blue multiple times, last year and this, to their heads and wattles. Last year I was sure Blue was going to lose an eye from it, but it healed. The pulling of feathers, @Yep I Talk To Chickens is part of mating ritual, and they will do it to your chickens as well.
I haven't had one go cannabalistic or killing. From what I've read there's no going back from that. I've never eaten one, either, but they tell me they're tasty.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

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!

I think protein and vitamin feed like gamebird starter is particularly important for the keets. For the adults, I’m not sure that it matters so much if they get most nutrition from free ranging. I use 17% protein chick stater for adults but I see other posters here using all flock feeds, which I think are 20% protein. My thoughts about high protein were specific to the OP’s situation, since they are seeing cannibalism. Cannibalism and feather picking/ eating might start from being protein difficult.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

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!

Sorry hit post too fast! You and Sydney are both dealing with human aggressive Guinea cocks right now! I think her discussion started on page 3...

Post in thread 'Definitely guinea spring'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/definitely-guinea-spring.1448299/post-24131570

 

[Sydney65]

Sorry hit post too fast! You and Sydney are both dealing with human aggressive Guinea cocks right now! I think her discussion started on page 3...

Post in thread 'Definitely guinea spring'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/definitely-guinea-spring.1448299/post-24131570

Yep. There've been no more bites or charges- we're both learning. In his case, he's grounded to the coop or the kennel for now, mainly bc of the grans. But I do leave Rosie w/him.
I have a bamboo stick @ coop where I can grab it if needed, but I haven't.
As for me, I don't turn my back of him, but I don't shun him, either. Still talk to & pet him, pick him up when needed, hand feed him. But if he goes sideways & has his beak open, I raise my voice and tell him he'd better step off, and so far so good.
They do get a Flock Raiser w/20% protein. It would be ridiculous to get separate feeds for hens and cocks for only 6 birds, so I stayed as close to R2elk's references & provide Oscal grit for the girls. Ofcourse they'll eat less from the bin in the summer, but we're in the chilly & wet stage right now, so still having days they don't come out.

 

[My2butterflies]

I have a bamboo stick

That’s what I use for herding too So light weight and long. A lot better then just a regular stick. Haha.

I hope your boy will calm down for you. Hopefully the timeout kennel will cool his jets. I’m waiting to see if my boy Boss Man is going to single any males out this year. My husband said he is on a two strike policy. He’s killed once and one more time and he’s gone.
I hope the flock doubling in size will change his behavior this spring.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

That’s what I use for herding too So light weight and long. A lot better then just a regular stick. Haha.

I hope your boy will calm down for you. Hopefully the timeout kennel will cool his jets. I’m waiting to see if my boy Boss Man is going to single any males out this year. My husband said he is on a two strike policy. He’s killed once and one more time and he’s gone.
I hope the flock doubling in size will change his behavior this spring.

Oh yes, I removed Boss Man’s actions from last year! Did that happen in spring?

 

[My2butterflies]

Oh yes, I removed Boss Man’s actions from last year! Did that happen in spring?

I had to look up my old thread to see. It was mid July, well into their breeding season. It did have lots of build up to that point. #13 was choosing to sleep outside more and more. No matter how much I chased him around to coop him he’d run off. Even going as far as hiding in the woods to avoid me.
I feel so bad that I didn’t do more for him. Never thought he’d get killed by Boss Man. At the very least I know what to watch out for this year.

 

[Sydney65]

That’s what I use for herding too So light weight and long. A lot better then just a regular stick. Haha.

I hope your boy will calm down for you. Hopefully the timeout kennel will cool his jets. I’m waiting to see if my boy Boss Man is going to single any males out this year. My husband said he is on a two strike policy. He’s killed once and one more time and he’s gone.
I hope the flock doubling in size will change his behavior this spring.

Mb it shldnt seem odd, but Mrs Absolute notes - back when we had the national freeze out, someone asked about them laying eggs, bc hers were. R2 (I swear I'm going to slip up someday and type R2D2 - & forgive me for paraphrasing so much, but he's the real Guinea Whisperer) - anyway, he said it was too early for them to lay eggs, & though a few of us commented that we'd had a few eggs -Rosie had dropped one and no more, I went back and looked, and he confirmed, April is normal start for egg laying. I'm pretty sure that was Feb.
Likewise, it seems like they became twitterpated much earlier this year. Do you think this is my ocd issue w/absolutes, or do you think it seems off as well?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I had to look up my old thread to see. It was mid July, well into their breeding season. It did have lots of build up to that point. #13 was choosing to sleep outside more and more. No matter how much I chased him around to coop him he’d run off. Even going as far as hiding in the woods to avoid me.
I feel so bad that I didn’t do more for him. Never thought he’d get killed by Boss Man. At the very least I know what to watch out for this year.

I’ve had several guineas that were way low in the pecking order and didn’t want to go into the coop at night for that reason. It seems like at least one guinea is being shunned at any time... What other signs do you know to look for? What would you have done differently - locked Boss Man up for awhile or??? Just curious. I don’t have much of a game plan right now for dealing with aggression within the flock!

 

[My2butterflies]

Mb it shldnt seem odd, but Mrs Absolute notes - back when we had the national freeze out, someone asked about them laying eggs, bc hers were. R2 (I swear I'm going to slip up someday and type R2D2 - & forgive me for paraphrasing so much, but he's the real Guinea Whisperer) - anyway, he said it was too early for them to lay eggs, & though a few of us commented that we'd had a few eggs -Rosie had dropped one and no more, I went back and looked, and he confirmed, April is normal start for egg laying. I'm pretty sure that was Feb.
Likewise, it seems like they became twitterpated much earlier this year. Do you think this is my ocd issue w/absolutes, or do you think it seems off as well?

I can’t really say. This is my second breeding season(third year) with guineas. I only have last year to compare to and that’s not a fair comparison on my part. Last year I was giving supplemental light all winter. They took a break from laying only a couple months. (Feb- mid March) and started again in late March.
I didn’t know the light would keep them laying. I just figured they wouldn’t want to spend so much time in the dark. I was completely new to keeping poultry of any kind

I’ve had several guineas that were way low in the pecking order and didn’t want to go into the coop at night for that reason. It seems like at least one guinea is being shunned at any time... What other signs do you know to look for? What would you have done differently - locked Boss Man up for awhile or??? Just curious. I don’t have much of a game plan right now for dealing with aggression within the flock!

Besides being kept from the coop a few more things I observed were:
1 Chasing from flock hangout spots
2 No obvious female of his own despite there being enough girls for everyone.
3 Chasing became an Olympic sport. Boss would chase him relentlessly around the house and yard. I think I have a video somewhere....
4 A few times I saw him corner him in bushes. #13 was obviously exhausted. I’d chase Boss away to give him a break.
5 Boss once chased #13 right up to me and onto my 4wheeler! That was before the pearl guineas started coming closer to us. It was shocking that of all the space he could go he ran at me. Now looking back I feel it was a desperate plea for help.
It feels like an excuse saying it now, but I can never pick Boss Man out of the flock. It was one of the reasons I never penned him up. I didn’t know which one he was till he was in a chasing frenzy or blocking him somewhere else outside the coop.

If faced with the same problem this year I will get creative and find a way to mark the offending bird for capture at night. Then lock it up for a while. If temporary separation doesn’t work.... Then maybe I’ll have to take the advice I’ve been given before and try cooked guinea. The only other option would be finding a home for the shunned guinea. And that would be hard I’d imagine.
The only reason I’d use that as a solution over removing the aggressive one is because Boss calmed down after that. He didn’t single anyone else out, no more crazy chases, ect.
But... we will see this year.