Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[BlindLemonChicken]

I am getting guineas in a couple days. I am getting four which is not enough I realize but I can only fit so many birds in my vehicle and I’m picking up chickens the same day so I will have to take what I can get! I am planning on keeping them in a barn stall for a few weeks—I don’t mind if they sleep in trees but we do have a bobcat that I’ve lost chickens to so I’m a little nervous about that. The barn stall is plenty big for four but if I like them I will get more or let a broody hen hatch some for me. If I keep them in the barn for a couple weeks and feed them in the evening will they stay near the barn or should I do the full six weeks and keep them in the barn at night forever?

 

[R2elk]

I am getting guineas in a couple days. I am getting four which is not enough I realize but I can only fit so many birds in my vehicle and I’m picking up chickens the same day so I will have to take what I can get! I am planning on keeping them in a barn stall for a few weeks—I don’t mind if they sleep in trees but we do have a bobcat that I’ve lost chickens to so I’m a little nervous about that. The barn stall is plenty big for four but if I like them I will get more or let a broody hen hatch some for me. If I keep them in the barn for a couple weeks and feed them in the evening will they stay near the barn or should I do the full six weeks and keep them in the barn at night forever?

Guineas need a lot more room than chickens need. If your barn stall is big enough for 4 chickens, it is most likely not big enough for the guineas.

There is nothing wrong with letting a chicken hatch guinea eggs but it is not a good idea to let a chicken raise guiinea keets. The imprinting that happens prevents the guineas from understanding that chickens are not guineas once they grow up.

Guiineas have entirely different instincts than any other poultry. While raising them with chickens may seem like everythinmg is fine, the problems normally kick in once the first breeding system kicks in. The chickens do not understand the races and chases or the attacks from behind with the feather pulling and feather breaking. They also do not know how to show submission in a manner that guineas understand so the attacks keep up.

If you have a bobcat around, letting the guineas sleep in trees will be a death sentence. They are extremely vulneerable to predators at night especially if they are on hidden nests.

If you want to keep the guineas alive, you will have to have a secure coop for them and have them iin the coop at night. Guiineas can be trained to go in the coop in the evening by using treats or by first training them to be herded. I trained my guineas to be herded and would herd them into the coop every evening.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If your barn stall is big enough for 4 chickens, it is most likely not big enough for the guineas.

The barn stall is probably 8’x12’. I’m estimating though. It’s at least 10’ from floor to ceiling and there are two roosts running the length of it.

There is nothing wrong with letting a chicken hatch guinea eggs but it is not a good idea to let a chicken raise guiinea keets. The imprinting that happens prevents the guineas from understanding that chickens are not guineas once they grow up.

Ok this helps. If I get more adult guineas later do I need to integrate them slowly like chickens? I’m sure all this info is in this thread somewhere but I am in a time crunch

If you have a bobcat around, letting the guineas sleep in trees will be a death sentence.

That’s what I’m thinking because I’ve lost two game hens and a rooster to it. My husband seems to think we can just get guineas, throw them out in the yard and they will be fine.

I guess I will keep them in the barn the full six weeks before I let any of them out to explore. Hopefully that will get them to come back along with some snacks at night.

I read somewhere having a light on will help them roost up at night. My chickens roost up before sunset. Do guineas not do the same?

 

[R2elk]

If I get more adult guineas later do I need to integrate them slowly like chickens?

Guineas need to be introduced via the see but no touch method. Once the attacks at the wire stop, you can allow the guineas to be together. There will be pecking order squabbles.

It is best to not do the introductions during breediing season.

Getting adult guineas is the only way to get guineas that you know the sex.

It is better now with numerous sites offering DNA sexing from either blood or feather samples. The downfall is the cost.

I read somewhere having a light on will help them roost up at night.

The light helps if you are late getting them put up for the night. If you wait too late to put them in for the night they are really bad about entering a dark space. I always put mine up while there was still plenty of light available.

On their own, they tend to got to "roost" later than chickens.

When dealing with guineas it is best to think of them as guineas and not what you would expect from chickens. They really do have entirely different instincts than any other poultry.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Guineas need to be introduced via the see but no touch method. Once the attacks at the wire stop, you can allow the guineas to be together. There will be pecking order squabbles.

It is best to not do the introductions during breediing season.

Getting adult guineas is the only way to get guineas that you know the sex.

It is better now with numerous sites offering DNA sexing from either blood or feather samples. The downfall is the cost.

The light helps if you are late getting them put up for the night. If you wait too late to put them in for the night they are really bad about entering a dark space. I always put mine up while there was still plenty of light available.

On their own, they tend to got to "roost" later than chickens.

When dealing with guineas it is best to think of them as guineas and not what you would expect from chickens. They really do have entirely different instincts than any other poultry.

Thank you! This helps a lot! I am getting adults—2 male and 2 female. I will start with these and if I get more I will wait until fall. I have a big chicken tractor (10x3) that works well for introductions so I can get some juvenile guineas in the fall and house them there until they are ready to go in with the big ones. I will hopefully have a better handle on guineas by then because it is hard to think of them as not chickens right now Everything I learned raising chickens I had to learn the hard way so I imagine this will be a similar learning curve but hopefully a fun one! I will be back with more questions in the coming weeks I’m sure because this thread has been more helpful than anything else I found online.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you! This helps a lot! I am getting adults—2 male and 2 female. I will start with these and if I get more I will wait until fall. I have a big chicken tractor (10x3) that works well for introductions so I can get some juvenile guineas in the fall and house them there until they are ready to go in with the big ones. I will hopefully have a better handle on guineas by then because it is hard to think of them as not chickens right now Everything I learned raising chickens I had to learn the hard way so I imagine this will be a similar learning curve but hopefully a fun one! I will be back with more questions in the coming weeks I’m sure because this thread has been more helpful than anything else I found online.

It is easier to introduce additional guineas to a small group than to a large group.

It is helpful to have obstacles and hiding places since guineas can be really nasty to each other.

It does require a large group of guineas to have proper flock dynamics.

 

[Sydney65]

When we first got guineas, my husband thought like yours. After the trauma of losing a lot of birds in a matter of minutes, they now have the Fort Knox of runs/coop. So let's back up..
Most chickens & keets are sold at hatch. Not sure what your arrangement is, but that means a whole lot of babies in basically a shoe box. Have you special arrangements that you're getting birds >4 wks old? Otherwise, you'll
a. Have plenty of room in your car, and
b. Need to have them in a heated brooder for 4-6 weeks,depending on your, them, the temp outside, etc.
After that, yes, they need to be shut in their coop to learn this is home & to return there every evening. I'm a bit more hands on & home with them, so mine get to come out during the day with me while I'm out, and hustled back in when I'm done being out with them regardless of the time. But they have to learn to be inside before sundown.
They will not know to stay near the barn,nor have anyway to defend themselves from your bobcat, a raccoon, a hawk, an owl, a passing car,a dog, etc etc etc.
Guinea fowl have mono vision (see out of ine eye at a time), & can't see in the dark. They are easy prey in trees at night, bc they can't see, so can't fly.. An owl's flight is silent & deadly. If a raccoon is in the tree, the most a guinea can do is side step on the branch before being attacked.
Watch a few videos of guineas chasing & fighting-that's how they "play". Chickens will never understand that, & end up hurt, dead or neurotic if housed together.
Try to get more now..,so much easier than trying to integrate with older guineas later.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Have you special arrangements that you're getting birds >4 wks old?

Yes I am getting 1 year olds. I am terrified of raising keets—they seem very fragile and brooding stresses me out enough already
I would like to get more but I don’t think I can fit 8 (which is all the seller has available right now) full grown guineas in my car with three full grown chickens or I would probably try. We are driving two hours to get these so hopefully when it comes time to get more I can find them locally.

 

[Sydney65]

Yes I am getting 1 year olds. I am terrified of raising keets—they seem very fragile and brooding stresses me out enough already
I would like to get more but I don’t think I can fit 8 (which is all the seller has available right now) full grown guineas in my car with three full grown chickens or I would probably try. We are driving two hours to get these so hopefully when it comes time to get more I can find them locally.

Fragile, yes. Your challenge will be bonding with adults. When the time comes, if it comes, check out the guinea farm-they ship with great care & color selections are amazing. I've had success with Rural King keets out of the store bin, not so much TSC shipped ones. But unless you want different colors, that shouldn't be an issue. You'll have plenty of eggs this spring..if you can find them.
I would most definitely keep them penned for the alotted time so they can learn this is now home.
I was never good at easter egg hunts, so my hens are restricted during breeding season. No one gets to free range unless I am out with them, & during season, the hens have a daytime covered pen I carry them out to so they get the space to wander but not go off to build a nest somewhere. Later in the season, most will march straight into it, but they have to be reminded every year. We actually started that today. The boys won't wander off if the hens are penned in, & gives them time to blow off steam chasing each other. I've had too many hit by cars, disappeared, and one who had a nest in the coop but escaped one day,went out in the field to meditate on a quickly devised nest, oblivious to the bush hog that came through chopping down weeds.
I have thoroughly enjoyed raising keets by hand (once R2 & others taught me how to keep them alive). Even the oldest ones now still seem to know I'm "mom", so I can pick them up, hold them, carry them, clip their nails, tend to wounds, separate fighters, etc. All bets are off during mating season, but out of season, they stay on my one acre of property, walking the same route I walked them on when introducing them to the great outdoors.
Recently I told Himself I'd like to have a parrot ...and he brought home 2 chickens. These I have never had before, so learning all over again. They are nothing like guineas. They're quiet they're calm, & imo, stinkier. Lol. But they are pretty, and have settled into their own new coop outside. I haven't turned them loose yet...they watch from the safety of their run in horror as the guineas run by.
I did get that parrot....I adore her, feel bad when I leave her to go to the I others. Basically, I spend a lot of time scooping.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Your challenge will be bonding with adults.

I am not sure I want to bond with them? Do I need to for them to eat my bugs more than they eat the neighbors’? It would be cool if they ate bugs near the house and kept the chickens from getting into things in that regard. I’m not harboring any illusions that guineas will do anything I want them to though.

I am going to have to do a little work on their stall today and I will post pictures later so you guys can tell me what I miss. Right now there are some places a raccoon or possum could easily wiggle through (it’s an old barn that held cows, never birds) and I need to get some bedding for the floor. The chickens use the old feed troughs as nesting boxes but I don’t think the guineas will so I am just going to make them a nesting box on the ground.