You're going to love every minute you spend with them! We have opossums & raccoons, both are nocturnal.
Raccoons will kill if they gain access to your flock. Oppossums mainly want the eggs. We put out live traps when they come around & then euthanize per state law.
We have been very successful with our 1st coop. The only change I would make is going to smaller hardware cloth- as it is, only small/young mice have managed to get in, and those the guineas kill immediately.
They will notice coyotes, bobcats etc before you do. Atleast one will always be on look out- and they will let you know that there's "stranger danger" (mine hate it everytime my dtr brings a new interest over to meet us & send out alerts. It's fun telling the suitor that obviously they don't approve of him....come to think of it, they've been right so far...
)-so adds a level of protection for your chickens.
Have you spent any time around a group of teenage girls? That's what it would be like to have all guinea hens-they'd never be quiet, constantly whining for a male to come for them. Once they've grouped into couples, the rest of the summer is reasonably quiet.
As
@R2elk said, if you get keets, you won't know what you have for a few months.
I thought I had 3 females left out there; now I scratch my head bc they are so aggressive w/each other at times that if Mama hadn't already raised a brood, she'd be top contender as a male.
I agree that they are flock birds...I don't fit with max quantities. But I do feel that there needs to be both genders for homeostasis.
I don't have chickens, just goons. But I trust what the others have said regarding separate housing. Infact, I'm preparing a new coop for this spring's incoming keets, bc Mama is so territorial about her coop that it'll be safer for the newcomers to have separate housing.
My Doberman dreams of a Guinea fowl dinner. As far as a night time coop, yes I really think they are a great idea. We have farms near me that buy my keets every year, brood them and release the young adults outside, then buy another set the next year because those released guineas have all been eaten. A coop is a lot more work, but I am way too attached to just watch them all get picked off. I also live on a small acreage (10 acres) so I need a coop and run to limit their wandering and keep them on the property. Our Guineas are much less adventurous when they are only allowed out for half the day.
