New Here - Have a question about guinea fowl and chickens

[dannochick]

Hi Everyone,

I am new here, and also new to chickens. I am going to be getting 6 hens soon - they are being raised by a friend, and the coop isn't finished yet. I was thinking about getting a guinea fowl as well. As far as drawbacks to having them, I have heard that they are really loud, that they can bully other fowl that you have, and that they are dumb. The good things I have heard about them are that they are good "watch dogs" and will alert you to predators or strangers, and they eat lots of bugs and ticks (I was going to let them into my garden to help with pest control). I am curious if anyone can help me out with some information. Is it possible to just get one and put it with the chickens? Do I have to do that when both the chickens and the guinea fowl are young? If I just get one, will it be as loud? Is it likely to bully the chickens if there is just one? Do any of the "negative" things about guineas have to do with their gender? Is it better to get a male or female? Is it bad to have just one? Will there be a problem with having them all roost together? Will it be possible to let it out sometimes and put it in the coop at night (rather than just having it be free range all the time?

I know those are lots of questions, but if anyone has any insight and can help me out that would be really great! Thanks a lot!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. I don't know much about guineas except that they can be loud. You should post your question under the Guinea Fowl section on the index page. You should get more help there. Not everyone checks the new member page. Good luck.

 

[NWChicks]

Don't have a clue!

But I wanted to say

 

[dannochick]

Thank you! I will post my guinea questions in a different section!