Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[Susiederkins]

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
My dumb guineas went into the coop,
staying warm one and all

 

[Granny Hatchet]

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
My dumb guineas went into the coop,
staying warm one and all

lol

 

[Clare Hamo]

My experience with guinea fowl is very different to this! perhaps because I live in NSW Australia, with a very different climate to that you describe and more similar to their native African climate. 3 months ago I inherited a breeding trio of guineas. I would guess they were a few years old and had been kept in very confined conditions - unable to fly and with not a lot of room to roam. After keeping them in my much larger chook pen for 3 weeks they were released (we live on a 3000 acre farm). They have stayed around our garden, complete with 3 working dogs and a cat, usually returning home in the evenings, if not to the chook pen to the trees above it. I have never locked them up since their release. They started laying in a nest in the chook pen a few weeks after being released and when one became broody we stopped collecting the eggs. After about 4 weeks on the nest (with frequent visits from the male) she successfully hatched 11 of the 12 eggs. Unfortunately she lost 3 keets in the nest. Two in the first couple of days and 1 towards the end of the 4 day hatching. The 9 surviving keets have been lovingly cared for and tended by all three adults (male and 2 females) beautifully. I would say they are excellent parents and incredibly protective, to my 11 year old daughter's horror - she was attacked by one of the females when she approached a keet that we though had been left behind on the first day they were taken out of the nest. After 1 week out of the nest, the adults and keets wander the garden and paddocks, coming very close to the house and dogs and generally feeding and pecking their way around. The adults and keets range a surprisingly long way from the pen, but always return at night. I still don't lock them in, but do leave out food and water which I think feeds the sparrows more than the guineas. They are lovely birds and I marvel at their natural instinct and ability to adapt so well to the domestic situation. They will never be as domesticated as a chicken, but they provide much enjoyment and aesthetic to my garden!

 

[gwydiana]

I live in North San Diego in the suburbs. Roosters are strictly forbidden here. I've lost one of my girls to a hawk and am afraid for the rest of my flock. I was considering getting a pair of girl guinea hens for their alarm system against hawks. If roosters aren't allowed due to their noise, would the guinea hens pose a problem?

 

[Tikkijane]

I live in North San Diego in the suburbs. Roosters are strictly forbidden here.  I've lost one of my girls to a hawk and am afraid for the rest of my flock.  I was considering getting a pair of girl guinea hens for their alarm system against hawks. If roosters aren't allowed due to their noise, would the guinea hens pose a problem?

YES. Guineas are LOUD. LOUD, LOUD, LOUD. I sure love them, but would never have them in town.

 

[gwydiana]

bummers

 

[Clare Hamo]

I would not imagine you would be allowed guinea fowl if roosters are forbidden. They are loud all the time - not just when alerting you to danger!

 

[Nickeyo]

Do both guinea parents do the brooding or are they like chickens

 

[Clare Hamo]

Only the one hen sat on the eggs, but the male was very attentive and would regularly check on her and sound the alarm when someone approached. The other female kept a very low profile, but once they all hatched and moved off the nest all 3 adults looked after the keets equally.

 

[Nickeyo]

O. Because I was trying to work out if I were to get guinea fowl whether I would be able to fence the broody fowl of from the other guineas until the eggs hatched