Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[wilmothfarms]

Well - Here is what ended up happening! Total change in plans! Maybe good - maybe bad! LOL The breeder NEVER showed up again!

I was soooo upset! So I was resigned on no Guineas until spring. In the meantime I had a hen go broody, and ordered my French Black Copper Maran Eggs as I had planned and they hatched out 4 weeks ago! SO happy! They have been living in the brooder/coop. I have tried to let momma out with her small brood a few times last week and she wasnt ready - calling them all under their little coop away from the door. But looks like now she is interested in the gate, so thinking I'll try it today. Worried about my Jersey Giant Roo and the small babies - only cause he is SO big, at only 7 mo old with a yr left to grow! He is a friendly boy and respectful of me, but hoping he will be of the chicks too. Of course he and the hens have seen them for 4 weeks in their enclosure and could care less at this point. Cross your fingers guys! So yesterday - I'm called outside - and here are 5 young Guinea - almost the size of a football brought home from my sweetie, whom btw, didnt even want them, but knew I really did. OH BOY! First of all, major shocker he even did that for me!!!!! Then a little bit of freak out - WHERE DO I PUT THESE BIRDS AND WHAT THE HECK DO I DO ABOUT THIS SITUATION NOW with the other little coop occupied?????? I've got them in a XL dog kennel with makeshift roost and in the garage until the quarantine period is over (assuming they can give diseases to chickens ????????? no clue on that one!) and guess that I will just put them in the coop, Lock the chickens up in the run, and let them have at it! They are old enough at this point to fend for themselves and get away from any chicken from what I've read, right? sigh. SO happy for the gift, so confused! Gotta love him, so unprepared! Have to say, the little guy/girls were so happy to have some good feed! And a few treats and grass appears they hadnt either had that for awhile or never! VERY healthy appearance, but could tell was in with a lot of birds, one had some feathers missing from over crowding, but only one, so could tell it was in a diff pen. But other than that, very healthy, active, ate great, active and want out to forage! LOL

 

[wilmothfarms]

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Bump!!

 

[PeepsCA]

Congrats on your Guinea Gift

I'd put them on a high protein diet (at least 20%, preferably 24%) and keep them on that until you can integrate everybody. All my Guineas LOVE greens, be it garden greens or just handfuls of weeds/grass... so keep up the treats, they will love you for it and begin to think of you as the Treat Goddess (which is definitely what you want when it comes to Guineas!).

I don't own any chickens, I have around 200 Guineas, 2 Peahens and 1 Wild turkey, so integrating different types of poultry is not my forte'. But IMO, if you want to integrate your 5 Guineas into your flock of chickens (after quarantine), then it's best to house them side by side as long as possible, at least 4-6 weeks. That way everyone can get to know each other but not get to each other. IMO, turning them loose and letting them "have at it", usually does not turn out well. (And once one bird is wounded and bloody, it's a beacon for continued pecking/cannibalism, even to the point of death of the bird over night).

After integration, you may or may not have aggression issues from the Guineas come next breeding season, it all depends how big your coop is, and the temperament if all birds involved. 2 feeders, 2 waterers and PLENTY of coop and roosting space AND plenty of free range time always works to your/their/everybody's advantage, but even then there can still be issues, it really just depends on the dynamics of each flock. Some have nothing but issues, some have no issues at all, ever.

Guineas can give chickens diseases, and vice-a-versa, but if everyone appears healthy, you should be ok. No guarantees there tho, since neither are my flocks, lol. I would worm everyone with valbazen or at least safeguard (twice, 10-14 days apart), possibly even dust for mites just in case, and have a handful of different antibiotics on hand if needed. (JMO tho). You may have no health issues at all after integrating, especially if no one is showing any outward signs of being sick in some way.

If you have specific questions about specific issues, post them as a new post... someone that knows and keeps Guineas and chickens together will surely see the post and be able to offer more help than I can

Good luck, and congrats again!

 

[fuzidragonbunnie]

Will Guineas tear up a garden like chickens will? we had thought about building a really large greenhouse and have a guinea or two reside there.

 

[PeepsCA]

My Guineas don't typically scratch in the soil around plants as deeply as chickens supposedly do (I don't own chickens), but they do like to scratch out big holes and dust-bathe in the soil they've churned up, creating some pretty good sized deep holes or area of holes. Sometimes they stick with one favorite spot, other times they make a new spot (or several new spots) daily... and make a mess in the process. So if the floor of the green house is dirt this may be a problem, and if they don't have anywhere to dust-bathe that could also be a problem.

Happy Guineas are free ranging Guineas, and browsing for greens is a huge part of their daytime activity while they are out and about roaming/ranging. IMO, if a Guinea's free ranging time outside is very limited or not at all part of it's daily routine and the only choice of greens it has is the garden plants in the green house... then more than likely you will see a lot of damage/destruction, especially to the young tender starts and the blooms/blossoms.

You would also have to be very careful when using any pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals and make sure not to plant anything that could be toxic to the Guineas.

Another thing to consider is that in the wild Guineas come from a very low humidity environment, so I'm not sure how well they would deal with high humidity of a green house, they could be more prone to fungal issues.

If the Guineas are not completely confined to the green house 24/7 but it is incorporated into their "territory", it could be a feasible plan. Most Guineas when given the choice will prefer to be outside all day tho...

 

[GuineaLady93]

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Our guineas will eat the beans sometimes, but they leave it alone for the most part.

 

[mamaKate]

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You definitely want a top on the run. She will need to be penned for several weeks before you try letting her free range. I have one male who is relatively tame and raised with chickens and I never let him out when I'm gone. They give a whole new meaning to ditzy. If she bonds with the chickens through the wire, she might stay. They REALLY hate to be alone. Do you plan to protect her from the dogs?

 

[GuineaLady93]

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I have one peacock and he is in the pen with all my guineas. The babies really like him and the older adults peck him and boss him around. I think he thinks he is a guinea.

 

[SQContrary]

awesome post! thanks!

 

[72elizabeth]

peepsCA, I went to your site and saw all your critters. My goodness, how much is your feed bill? Do you free feed your guineas, or do you put out just so much. I have 3 chickens, 36 guineas, 3 horses, 1 dog and 4 cats. I'm going thru a lot of feed. I put feed down in the morning and evening for the birds and it's gone in 10 mins. I live in No. Fl and it is cold in the winter (no snow). I don't think there are any bugs out now. They are getting 8-9 lbs of feed a day. They attack the feed! Like I said it's gone in 10 mins. I'm just concerned that their not getting enough. I don't want to over feed and create any health problems. Hope you or anyone else can tell me if I'm doing right. I hatched these eggs myself last spring, something I've never done before. I had 10 guineas, which flew the coop. One came back and was very lonely. I went to the farmers market and bought her 2 guinea pals. One was a lavender female and one was a pearl male. Something got the lavender when she was sitting on her eggs. The dark royal purple was sitting on eggs too, but I wouldn't let her. Did want another bird to be carried off. So, I put 38 eggs in the bator, after putting them in the refrig., then decided to get a bator off Craigs List and hatch them. Never thought any would hatch. If I only got 2-3 out of the hatch, I would be thrilled. There were cold nights where the bator dropped down to 70 degrees, back up to 103. It's a long storey, but I thought of throwing them out and then said to myself, what the heck. Make this short, 36 hatched, one was an empty egg and one never hatched. I didn't open it 'cause I didn't want to see. A few of them couldn't break out of the shell. They sure did try, but couldn't make it. So, I took a eyebrow tweezer and very gently chipped away the shell. They came out in my hand. Strong and so happy to be out. I've never seen a bird hatch before. Quite an experience.