Need help with a guinea hen

[jumpingJax]

We got 2 baby guinea hens about 2 weeks old and one about 1 month. The 1 month is quite large the other is tiny. We kept them alone for a few weeks then put them in a large chicken pen within our coop with 7 baby chickens . the little one is scared and wont hang out or sleep with any of them except the other guinea that is larger. That one runs around with the other chicks while she hides. 2 of the other chicks are young and tiny and she will interact with them a bit. But when they sleep she stays in a corner by herself. one of the baby chicks is bigger than the others and tries to pick on her but she is quite fast and jumps high too... I take the little one and the other guinea and the 2 smaller chicks out at around 5 and put them in the large area we kept them in before trying to integrate them for the night. How can i get her to interact with the others and the larger chick to leave her alone. Should i keep her separated till she is bigger? thanks

 

[R2elk]

We got 2 baby guinea hens about 2 weeks old and one about 1 month. The 1 month is quite large the other is tiny. We kept them alone for a few weeks then put them in a large chicken pen within our coop with 7 baby chickens . the little one is scared and wont hang out or sleep with any of them except the other guinea that is larger. That one runs around with the other chicks while she hides. 2 of the other chicks are young and tiny and she will interact with them a bit. But when they sleep she stays in a corner by herself. one of the baby chicks is bigger than the others and tries to pick on her but she is quite fast and jumps high too... I take the little one and the other guinea and the 2 smaller chicks out at around 5 and put them in the large area we kept them in before trying to integrate them for the night. How can i get her to interact with the others and the larger chick to leave her alone. Should i keep her separated till she is bigger? thanks

My recommendation is that you separate the guineas from the chickens and keep them separate. Guineas are a flock bird and do best in large groups. They have unique behaviors that other poultry will not understand. I never recommend having fewer than 10 guineas.

 

[jumpingJax]

Thanks for answering..... 10 hmm We dont have the acreage for 10 and I would consider giving away the larger one, he seems well adjusted and likes the chickens and they like him but the other one is so tiny I cant give her away. Are they ok alone, could I raise the tiny one alone in the house? When I say tiny, I mean tiny. She was a big as a frog with deformed feet when I got her. We put little band aid splints on her feet for 3 days and now she runs around and jumps up and down and is ok but still about the size of a 3 day old chick and she is now 2 weeks old., the bigger one is 10 days older. We got all the chicks at the same time thinking they would be the same size and ok together, but she is so tiny a few of the baby chicks( you know how fast they grow!) are so much bigger and dont hurt her, but they do chase her or peck at her and she is scared so I end up in the coop all day monitoring chicks. What should I do at this point?

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I would create a separate pen for the guineas. I would also get maybe four more guineas.

 

[jumpingJax]

Thanks... I really didnt want to get more, and dont have another pen, I guess I should have learned more before agreeing to take these 2.

 

[R2elk]

Thanks... I really didnt want to get more, and dont have another pen, I guess I should have learned more before agreeing to take these 2.

If you don't want more guineas, I recommend that you rehome these two so that they can be with more of their own kind.

 

[jumpingJax]

Thank you. I appreciate your knowledge and answering me.