Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[GerbilsOnToast]

My two are only a few weeks older than yours. One M, one F. They are pretty quiet. They think they are chickens, I think.

They do line up on the retaining wall outside my back door and sing to me at least once a day, but they don't get treats until it is time to be cooped, so normally the singing goes away pretty quickly.

You said they are following you around. Are you feeding them millet when this is going on?

I could see mine protesting for millet if they weren't trained that the coop means treats.

PS Your post really made me chuckle...loved the laundry list of how good your guineas are. I could tell you had read the whole thread.

Nope, no millet at all. They get fed the same cracked peas/wheat/oat/sunflower mix the turkeys get,and in the same place (in the barn). Every once in a while, they get some tossed out in an area I want them to dig in... maybe they're waiting for that handout?

 

[leslea]

Nope, no millet at all. They get fed the same cracked peas/wheat/oat/sunflower mix the turkeys get,and in the same place (in the barn). Every once in a while, they get some tossed out in an area I want them to dig in... maybe they're waiting for that handout?

They might be!

Here's hoping they grow out of it before they drive you batty.

 

[kaestark]

the one thing you mainly wanna remember is that these critters are alarms meaning THEY ARE LOUD!!!!! you should always be ready because when they soun the alarm you will know simething is going on. we yse them for protection purposes to know if something is in the barn that shouldnt be there. also to mention, they spook easily. not all alarm sounds will be for predators but may be for say a mouse or something falling or one of themselves scaring another one. they are usually good about keeping you on your toes. just make sure if you have nieghbors that they know you have fowl like these and that they make tons of noise!

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

the one thing you mainly wanna remember is that these critters are alarms meaning THEY ARE LOUD!!!!! you should always be ready because when they soun the alarm you will know simething is going on. we yse them for protection purposes to know if something is in the barn that shouldnt be there. also to mention, they spook easily. not all alarm sounds will be for predators but may be for say a mouse or something falling or one of themselves scaring another one. they are usually good about keeping you on your toes. just make sure if you have nieghbors that they know you have fowl like these and that they make tons of noise!

Oh, we've heard the 'alarm' - it's one of the reasons I kept them. The noise they've been making to excess is not the alarm sound. It's actually been quieter the last few days - they've been hanging out at the barn a lot more. They mostly seem to 'honk' when they're following me, or they know I'm in a building and can't get to where I am.
Barn is in the middle of 250 acres, if the neighbors have a problem with it... well, we know whose problem it is, don;t we?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Noticing a change between the older adult flock and the babies from this year. They have comingled this week! My 5 adults left their coop, and joined the young adults in my main chicken "egg coop". Surprised me a lot! My extra hen started it, she picked a young fella from the oldest keets. She has not had a mate this year so I expected it. I went to lock them up the last 2 days.. no adults! So I looked in the main coop, they are all snuggled in the rafters. This was a huge event! The adults were not accepting the babies since they were incubated instead of brooded.

I was contemplating how to put the groups together before spring. They did it on their own

I will be housing the Guinea flock separately again next year during breeding season. (no egg hunting, and the cocks wont go after my roosters). It almost eliminates hidden nests, they get limited afternoon free range. Really helps me too, opened a large coop up I can paint and renovate, and house them next spring with new "digs". I will be building new coops this spring so it could not have worked out better.

 

[MelissaZeno]

Thank you for all this great information!

 

[poultry bro]

This was great info the only thing I really hate about guinea fowl is there attitude I have heard and witnessed lots of incidents involving chickens and guineas although it seems to go both ways my 2 guineas lived with my rooster for most of there life but once they joined a flock of about 30 chickens they bullied the crap out of them but my neighbors 3 guineas are lower in the pecking order than her about 14 chickens the only real difference was mine where 2 females and hers where 2 males and 1 female but yes I love guinea fowl

.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Guinea cocks are pretty aggressive. I have had several, different colors, breeders, lines... They will be as bold as to challenge a tom turkey. I do keep a lot here, and they are watchdogs, alarms for my other poultry. Guinea hens usually are not an issue with the chicken flock. Winter months, everything's fine. The cocks get very aggressive when the hens start to lay. Fortunately, they also go further out from the other birds during breeding season, and I don't see many issues here since they free range. When I kept them all penned they terrorized the roosters nonstop.

 

[kyexotics]

We have 2 guineas and one seems slugish...Are their waddles any indicator of their health, the slugish one has one that no longer sticks out at all, lays flat to face...We'll continue to monitor the bird but wanted to know if the waddle was telling us he was ill, for future reference...

sidenote, we love the birds, their so unique and what "I" think are the closest living relative to the dinosaur...I can imagine some dinosaurs had those same colors...

 

[poultry bro]

Hi kyexotics I am responding to your question and no even though one of its wattles is flat does not mean its in ill condition ,although it may be the wattle is not a sign. Guinea fowl are probably the most hardy type of poultry so unless its picked up a serious disease but it could also be bullied by another guinea and feel very submissive right now I have seen that before but I would not worry to much about him/her its probably nothing but I would get a second opinion.