Raising baby Guineas with baby chicks.

[jrheger1776]

I have heard many different opinions on raising guineas with chickens (babies). Is it a good idea or not? Thank you

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

I raise them together in the same brooder and they are okay as young juveniles. But when they near adulthood they get their own coop at night as they can be bullies to chickens if enclosed. Guineas have a totally different flock dynamics that chickens don't understand, and it can lead to disaster. Though as adults, they do get along together when free-ranging during the day, however they have acreage to spread out and get away from each other if needed, and are not enclosed.

 

[R2elk]

I have heard many different opinions on raising guineas with chickens (babies). Is it a good idea or not? Thank you

Keets raised with chicks become imprinted which causes them to lose the ability to understand that chickens are not guineas. Everything can seem fine until the first breeding season when the guineas start really exhibiting their instincts which no other poultry has or can understand. This can cause great stress to the other poultry.

The vast majority of people claiming it is a good thing to raise keets with chicks make those posts before their guineas reach their first breeding season. Once they reach their first breeding season, those people either stop posting about it or they come back asking why their guineas are attacking their chickens.

I brood keets only with keets, raise them only with other guineas and house them only with other guineas. When they free range with the other poultry in the same area at the same time, each keeps to themselves.

I first started brooding them with the other poultry and witnessed first hand what it caused once they were mature and will not brood guineas with any other poultry.

The other issue is that guineas need a high protein game bird or turkey starter which chicks don't need. It won't hurt the chicks to have the same high protein feed that the keets need but it will hurt the keets if you give them the same low protein feed that chicks can get by on.