Male Guinea Fowl attacking chicken hen

[The Birb King]

That is why you shouldn't keep guineas and chickens together. Guineas can be pretty nasty birds, I used to have 3 with my chickens and they would chase and attack them all the time. They even killed my smallest hen. Either separate the guinea and get some more guineas for him, or just get rid of him.

 

[SamLockwood]

I'm about a year into my mixed-flock "experiment" and so far it's gone pretty well.

I managed to get them to live together in about as much harmony as poultry do, get the guineas to go into the coop every night, and get the guineas to (mostly) lay eggs in the nesting boxes.

One caveat: I am not an expert on guineas, so none of this should be taken as "advice." It's just some observations about my own mixed-flock experience, and how I got where I am now, which may or may not be of use to you:

1) Guineas are very "flock minded." If one gets isolated for even a minute or two they panic and literally lose their minds: they'll forget where they door they've used their whole lives is and pace back & forth trying to walk through the barrier between them and the rest of the flock.

Opinions vary on the exact number, but you need at least 5 to 10 guineas for them to behave normally. Otherwise they get stressed out and over-aggressive.

2) I read in several places that guineas don't like going into dark places, and I've observed on average their night vision is bad even for poultry. I have two that are completely blind after dark. I designed my coops with white interiors & exteriors (in part to help reflect the heat of a Georgia summer) and the coops & runs have motion-activated lights to help them find their way in at night.

3) Guineas are semi-feral and need to be "trained" that the coop is "home." Otherwise they prefer to roost in trees, which makes them easy targets for owls. In my case I moved them out to the coop at 2 weeks old. I kept them "cooped up" for at least 4 weeks, and when I did start free-ranging them it was only for an hour or two before sunset and only a part of the flock at a time.

4) I had some issues even then, mostly the two males that chase each other constantly. One would chase the other on top of the run. The solution was I'd wait until the "aggressive" bird went to roost, then I pushed the other one off the top of the run and he'd walk right inside. Earlier I put some plastic grid over a muddy area in front of the run entrance, and about a third of the guineas hated it so much they wouldn't even jump over it and instead tried to roost on the coops & run. Removing the offending ground cover stopped that.

5) I'm of the opinion guineas need to be free-ranged. The times I've had to put them on "flockdown" (most recently after a string of bobcat attacks last month) are when they've behaved their worst.

6) Getting them to use the nesting boxes was a combination of patience and luck. Initially the guineas were total chaos about laying eggs: half the time it looked like they'd just squat whenever they got the urge and dropped the egg wherever. I'd find them randomly in the woods, the middle of the lawn, just outside a nesting box, etc.

Then they started finding nesting spots in the woods, which either I'd find and remove all the eggs, or I'd find the remains of an egg buffet some forest creature enjoyed. Sometimes they'd follow a chicken into a nesting box and lay with them (sometimes literally, as in sitting in the same box with the chicken).

When some of the chickens went broody, I used them to hatch some fertilized guinea eggs. This got the guineas much more curious about the nesting boxes. I also started using fake eggs as a way to trick the guineas into thinking I wasn't taking the eggs away (they don't seem to really be able to count).

I also make it a point not to disturb a nesting guinea. My chickens I can stick my hand under them to take or inspect the eggs and all they'll usually do is make those weird cat-growl noises they make. A guinea will shoot out of there the minute the door is wide open, often not to return that day. So I let laying guineas alone.

 

[Wild Chickens]

My guineas are free ranged. To "herd" them into the cage at dusk, I use a 10 ft long piece of white PVC pipe, 3/4 inch in diameter. I hold it horizontally in front of me and walk toward the cage. The guineas avoid the pipe and go right toward the cage door.

 

[tnctx]

It really helps to keep them in a secure coop of their own at night and to not let the hens go broody on hidden nests.

How do you keep them from building hidden nests and going broody? We gots these when they were already adults and we had no experience with guineas. We did find a nest shortly after we got them (late April) with 17 eggs which we gathered. She started laying eggs in random places like in the open yard or flower beds. Several weeks ago when she came up missing for a few days we assumed she had ran away or gotten killed but then we found her hidden nest. Eggs started hatching today but we can’t get the keets from her. We have six “teenage” keets but they won’t go into their coop any more; they stay on top of the coop with the adult male.

 

[R2elk]

How do you keep them from building hidden nests and going broody? We gots these when they were already adults and we had no experience with guineas. We did find a nest shortly after we got them (late April) with 17 eggs which we gathered. She started laying eggs in random places like in the open yard or flower beds. Several weeks ago when she came up missing for a few days we assumed she had ran away or gotten killed but then we found her hidden nest. Eggs started hatching today but we can’t get the keets from her. We have six “teenage” keets but they won’t go into their coop any more; they stay on top of the coop with the adult male.

Some people keep them locked in the coop until afternoon to get them in the habit of laying in the coop.

I let mine make their hidden nests which I would then search for. I would put fake eggs in the nests and remove any real eggs on a daily basis. Some would go broody but I would herd them into the coop every evening.

 

[tnctx]

I'm about a year into my mixed-flock "experiment" and so far it's gone pretty well.

I managed to get them to live together in about as much harmony as poultry do, get the guineas to go into the coop every night, and get the guineas to (mostly) lay eggs in the nesting boxes.

One caveat: I am not an expert on guineas, so none of this should be taken as "advice." It's just some observations about my own mixed-flock experience, and how I got where I am now, which may or may not be of use to you:

1) Guineas are very "flock minded." If one gets isolated for even a minute or two they panic and literally lose their minds: they'll forget where they door they've used their whole lives is and pace back & forth trying to walk through the barrier between them and the rest of the flock.

Opinions vary on the exact number, but you need at least 5 to 10 guineas for them to behave normally. Otherwise they get stressed out and over-aggressive.

2) I read in several places that guineas don't like going into dark places, and I've observed on average their night vision is bad even for poultry. I have two that are completely blind after dark. I designed my coops with white interiors & exteriors (in part to help reflect the heat of a Georgia summer) and the coops & runs have motion-activated lights to help them find their way in at night.

3) Guineas are semi-feral and need to be "trained" that the coop is "home." Otherwise they prefer to roost in trees, which makes them easy targets for owls. In my case I moved them out to the coop at 2 weeks old. I kept them "cooped up" for at least 4 weeks, and when I did start free-ranging them it was only for an hour or two before sunset and only a part of the flock at a time.

4) I had some issues even then, mostly the two males that chase each other constantly. One would chase the other on top of the run. The solution was I'd wait until the "aggressive" bird went to roost, then I pushed the other one off the top of the run and he'd walk right inside. Earlier I put some plastic grid over a muddy area in front of the run entrance, and about a third of the guineas hated it so much they wouldn't even jump over it and instead tried to roost on the coops & run. Removing the offending ground cover stopped that.

5) I'm of the opinion guineas need to be free-ranged. The times I've had to put them on "flockdown" (most recently after a string of bobcat attacks last month) are when they've behaved their worst.

6) Getting them to use the nesting boxes was a combination of patience and luck. Initially the guineas were total chaos about laying eggs: half the time it looked like they'd just squat whenever they got the urge and dropped the egg wherever. I'd find them randomly in the woods, the middle of the lawn, just outside a nesting box, etc.

Then they started finding nesting spots in the woods, which either I'd find and remove all the eggs, or I'd find the remains of an egg buffet some forest creature enjoyed. Sometimes they'd follow a chicken into a nesting box and lay with them (sometimes literally, as in sitting in the same box with the chicken).

When some of the chickens went broody, I used them to hatch some fertilized guinea eggs. This got the guineas much more curious about the nesting boxes. I also started using fake eggs as a way to trick the guineas into thinking I wasn't taking the eggs away (they don't seem to really be able to count).

I also make it a point not to disturb a nesting guinea. My chickens I can stick my hand under them to take or inspect the eggs and all they'll usually do is make those weird cat-growl noises they make. A guinea will shoot out of there the minute the door is wide open, often not to return that day. So I let laying guineas alone.

Good info! Thanks. My Guinea hen hisses and attacks me when I get close to her nest!

 

[cvamoca]

Oh lord, I am raising Guinea and while I'm an expert on most other poultry, guinea aren't my wheelhouse. So, a chicken hen hatched and raised 4, in my big barn. They are tame and chicken like in every way except sound. Then my husband brought home 5 more of their younger siblings, so I have 4 tame and 5 who are wild-as-march-hares. The wild ones have not been out yet as they are only 3 weeks old and it's rained all summer. They are making friends though so I expect they will all team up.
I keep roosters in the barn, free with no fights, and have for 20 odd years. All ages and sizes. But are guineas going to be rotten? The barn's big, there is plenty of space and hiding places and they free range daily. I chose carefully I thought- picking my nice new tall barn so they would roost there instead of outside- so far, that's no problem-they are chickens in their minds. The chickens know guineas because the neighbours come daily for the last 2 years and eat in my barn, so I figured, may as well feed some of my own. Am I stupid?

 

[R2elk]

Oh lord, I am raising Guinea and while I'm an expert on most other poultry, guinea aren't my wheelhouse. So, a chicken hen hatched and raised 4, in my big barn. They are tame and chicken like in every way except sound. Then my husband brought home 5 more of their younger siblings, so I have 4 tame and 5 who are wild-as-march-hares. The wild ones have not been out yet as they are only 3 weeks old and it's rained all summer. They are making friends though so I expect they will all team up.
I keep roosters in the barn, free with no fights, and have for 20 odd years. All ages and sizes. But are guineas going to be rotten? The barn's big, there is plenty of space and hiding places and they free range daily. I chose carefully I thought- picking my nice new tall barn so they would roost there instead of outside- so far, that's no problem-they are chickens in their minds. The chickens know guineas because the neighbours come daily for the last 2 years and eat in my barn, so I figured, may as well feed some of my own. Am I stupid?

You will find out when their first breeding season starts. That's when the guinea's instinctive habits kick in. Their races and chases along with attacks from behind with feather pulling and breaking occur then.

 

[cvamoca]

You will find out when their first breeding season starts. That's when the guinea's instinctive habits kick in. Their races and chases along with attacks from behind with feather pulling and breaking occur then.

Thank you, apparently I didn't research enough- I figured we've got through 9 and 11 years of the same geese, and raised goslings- they are still imprinted and follow us and are reasonably kind to chickens- so guinea? Oh, we'll be fine, the neighbours don't look after theirs at all, and they come meekly to my barn for food but I'm also sure they had only one male, he got killed and the others are females, so not aggressive at all. I didn't even own them and knew to differentiate by their call- the neighbours had the same 4 for 3 years, didn't know what they had or notice when they went missing. (they nest here, where it's safer, no predators when you have 2 sky quarding German Shepherds- who chase anything that flies over bigger than their"pet" wild ducks). Lol.

 

[cvamoca]

You will find out when their first breeding season starts. That's when the guinea's instinctive habits kick in. Their races and chases along with attacks from behind with feather pulling and breaking occur then.

R2elk, a question from this newbie.
Of my 4 older keets (Born in June) two have quite a bit more wattles than the others, all the same age within a day, one is quite small in comparison and only hangs out with the chicken chick (a cockerel) and I'm pretty sure the second littlest one is a female (not shown), the largest porcelaine (I think that's her colour) not the yawning chicken beside also possibly female, the other 2, I sort of think they are male, one is here. Can you tell this early? They hatched June...24th.
Here they are eating dogfood with the chickens.