Outcast female

[CassandraDandridge]

Hello

Im new to having guinea fowls. I have 5 females and 5 males.

Im Looking for some answers ...

I have 1 female that keeps getting attacked numerous males.

They peak her face and pull/hold/drag on the skin of her face and neck.

She has seperated herself from the female and makes sure she stays away from the males.

She was out and about so I brought her back in and tagged her so I could keep an eye on her. I put her back with the flock, 1 male attacked her, I got her again put her in their coop and a different make went in and attacked her. I grabbed her again, put her back with the flock, another male went after her but she fly up into the tree.

She seems to be very timid of the males, not of the females, and Seperates her self from the whole flock.

any ideas?
is she an outcast?
it seems pretty aggressive if it's mating

thanks

 

[Hei 20]

Hello

Im new to having guinea fowls. I have 5 females and 5 males.

Im Looking for some answers ...

I have 1 female that keeps getting attacked numerous males.

They peak her face and pull/hold/drag on the skin of her face and neck.

She has seperated herself from the female and makes sure she stays away from the males.

She was out and about so I brought her back in and tagged her so I could keep an eye on her. I put her back with the flock, 1 male attacked her, I got her again put her in their coop and a different make went in and attacked her. I grabbed her again, put her back with the flock, another male went after her but she fly up into the tree.

She seems to be very timid of the males, not of the females, and Seperates her self from the whole flock.

any ideas?
is she an outcast?
it seems pretty aggressive if it's mating

thanks

 

[Jabebee13]

I had 6 adult guineas before and this hasn't happened to me. Now I have 12 baby guineas in a brooder. I think you're right. She's an outcast. Maybe it takes time for the flock to get along. Birds of a feather flock together.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hi Cassandra, welcome to BackYard Chickens!!!

Guinea fowl aggression certainly happens, they are pretty cantankerous birds. Where are you located? How old are your guineas? Were they all brooded and raised together? How are they housed? Are they free ranging or penned?

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Hi Cassandra, welcome to BackYard Chickens!!!

Guinea fowl aggression certainly happens, they are pretty cantankerous birds. Where are you located? How old are your guineas? Were they all brooded and raised together? How are they housed? Are they free ranging or penned?

Hi
We are located in western Australia, in the great Southen

I've got them from a poultry breeder, I should see if my partner still has their number, I believe they would of come in contact with each other, on her farm their have sperate coops together, but they are free range. There were many divided flocks. Unsure if these guys were originally a complete flock.

I have had them locked up together for 2 weeks in their coop. I haven't seen such activity inside the coop. When I first let then out, at a week's marks for a trail, they were they were fine. Keep them in for another week, now they are free range, we have a large grassed back yard, a few dirt patches in the back yard, but they are free to roam over the other side of the fence aswell, which they have already. Locked up at night.

We also have a super big chicken area and coop, currently empty, which is where, officially named 'Outcast' has been hanging out.

Not 100% on their age. Definitely adults

Thanks

 

[Sydney65]

You're into your summer, aren't you? Guineas are aggressive during mating season.
We're going into winter here. I've since added 2 new female keets. But I've noticed my adults-last year as keets, they stayed together. But now that they've been through their 1st mating season, my surviving female prefers to be at a distance from others. The keets aren't hers, but she seems to be taking a 1/2 hearted interest in making sure they're safe lately. But she doesn't want to eat w/the others, she and the keets have been starting the night off sleeping in the (enclosed) run rather than in the coop (I think they sneak in later).
I haven't seen anyone pick on her, and I spend a lot of time around them. She went quiet after she stopped laying eggs-September, I think? Instead of shrieking come back she just murmured coco all the time. But in the past few days. She's back to shrieking full throated.
But - I have a male who has been the outcast since they were keets. Everyone picked on him, male & female. They still chase him at times. Other times they tolerate him, as long as he doesn't get in an individual's personal space. The only logical reason I can come up w/is that he is lavender where as the rest are dark feathered. Only one actually fights him, but both chase him from the females.

 

[CassandraDandridge]

Yes we are in summer.

There is someone who's been laying a few random eggs here and there, I wonder if that's her

Outcast is very quiet and doesn't go anywhere near the others. And stays in the longer grass. She's sussed out the large Chicken shed as her new home. But I'll just let her do her own thing, see if they will accept her later on.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yes we are in summer.

There is someone who's been laying a few random eggs here and there, I wonder if that's her

Outcast is very quiet and doesn't go anywhere near the others. And stays in the longer grass. She's sussed out the large Chicken shed as her new home. But I'll just let her do her own thing, see if they will accept her later on.

I have found it very difficult to impact their group dynamics. I’ve had several become “fringe” and several “outcast”. In my flock, the fringe are all girls and are part of the flock, but made to keep their distance, maybe 20-40 ft. I think that the flock designates fringe girls to be sentries that look for predators. They are very vocal. True outcasts are rare for us, and I don’t know what sets it off. We have a fringe girls that hatched eggs and raised keets, which seemed to raise her status. Then one day when the keets were 3 mo old, she suddenly became an outcast. The flock was terrible to her, even the fringe girls were terrible. She still followed the flock, but stayed several hundred feet away. I would sneak food to her separately. After about a week, the flock started letting her get closer, and she very slowly reintegrated with her flock. After about a month, she is now a regular member again.

For your outcast: are you sure she’s female? I wouldn’t expect her to be kicked out during breeding season if you have an even number of male:female... If she was my bird, I’d try to feed her separately and let her stay apart from them, as guineas can injure or kill flockmates that can’t get away from them. Hopefully this is temporary and they will resolve things as they pair up for breeding. Usual behavior in mating season is for paired birds (or harems of you have a lot of hens) to spend time together during the day, nesting and foraging and breeding together. That’s why I was wondering if your outcast might be an extra, unpaired cock who is getting chased away from the hens...

 

[CassandraDandridge]

I have found it very difficult to impact their group dynamics. I’ve had several become “fringe” and several “outcast”. In my flock, the fringe are all girls and are part of the flock, but made to keep their distance, maybe 20-40 ft. I think that the flock designates fringe girls to be sentries that look for predators. They are very vocal. True outcasts are rare for us, and I don’t know what sets it off. We have a fringe girls that hatched eggs and raised keets, which seemed to raise her status. Then one day when the keets were 3 mo old, she suddenly became an outcast. The flock was terrible to her, even the fringe girls were terrible. She still followed the flock, but stayed several hundred feet away. I would sneak food to her separately. After about a week, the flock started letting her get closer, and she very slowly reintegrated with her flock. After about a month, she is now a regular member again.

For your outcast: are you sure she’s female? I wouldn’t expect her to be kicked out during breeding season if you have an even number of male:female... If she was my bird, I’d try to feed her separately and let her stay apart from them, as guineas can injure or kill flockmates that can’t get away from them. Hopefully this is temporary and they will resolve things as they pair up for breeding. Usual behavior in mating season is for paired birds (or harems of you have a lot of hens) to spend time together during the day, nesting and foraging and breeding together. That’s why I was wondering if your outcast might be an extra, unpaired cock who is getting chased away from the hens...

Funny, U mentioned that, I was pretty sure she was a female, now I'm not so sure. I had a look today and the wattles looked like male. It's usually flat along the head . Today it was sticking out to the side.

I'm letting it do its own thing, its have out food and water in the large chicken shed. It's been eating it. She is free range, so I have put another bowl of water where is usually hands out. She does still communicate with the flock. Someone's gets close but the males try to attack again through the fence. The bloody things know they can fly over it

Next time I Catch it. I'll look closer at its wattles.

Thanks for ur help

 

[Sydney65]

Funny, U mentioned that, I was pretty sure she was a female, now I'm not so sure. I had a look today and the wattles looked like male. It's usually flat along the head . Today it was sticking out to the side.

I'm letting it do its own thing, its have out food and water in the large chicken shed. It's been eating it. She is free range, so I have put another bowl of water where is usually hands out. She does still communicate with the flock. Someone's gets close but the males try to attack again through the fence. The bloody things know they can fly over it

Next time I Catch it. I'll look closer at its wattles.

Thanks for ur help

Forget the wattles. If it'stalking to the others. Is it saying something like buckwheat, come back, piquoo, coco, in repetition? Some 2 syllable noise? Or is it a singular que, chi, quack,? 2 syllable female, 1 syllable male. As discussed in another thread, the helmets of males will generally be larger, more upright and triangular than a females. If she's a he, it wld make a lot of sense in breeding season. -and it doesn't guarantee that it will or won't always be this way.
My lavender male ,as I said, remains the outcast. He has his own feeding area,stays on the fringes,doesn't huddle w/others even when sleeping.
But, I see a change btwn the other two males that suggests a shift in dominance in the upcoming season.
Last season, the non dominants acted as guards around the nests. When there was only one nest, they encircled it. When there was more than one, they split up so all were monitored. Despite being an outcast, the lavender actually mated, but when she refused to come off the nest she & the eggs were taken.