Raising guinea hens and complications.

[natyvidal]

Hi!

Problem: I raised 4 guinea babies with my pullets. I ended with 2 boys & 2 girls. Although they all seemed to get along the G males keep attacking my rosters. And they were very dictatorial with the ladies in general. Once I saw a male mount one of the hens. The reason to acquiring the guinea hens was for raptor warning and also so they mate within their breed. The babies from these two pairs would be for food purposes. They were also all Roosting at night together in the hen coop. Since it didn’t seem to be going according to my plans decided to separate the guinea hens, the two pairs, and place them in a separate cage. I figured they would give time for them to mate and bond as pairs and also give time for the roosters to take control of the flock, which it’s happening. Now guinea hens are laying eggs but they don’t seem to be interested in sitting on them. I have hay at the bottom of the cage.

Questions: Do guinea hens prefer a box with pine shavings? Is it a good idea to keep them in that cage? Or should I just scoot them out of the coop each night and let them roost outside at night? Or can I place the guinea hens eggs with a hen that is brooding and let her hatch them? Will the hen raise the babies from a guinea hen? In this case I would then leave the guinea hens in their cage and just remove the eggs they lay and let my hen hatch them?

Well there are all my questions. All suggestions and advice are welcome. Thank you ahead of them. . Newby at this.

 

[Shadowfire]

In the breeding season, male guineas can and usually will attack chickens, with most cases resulting in death or serious injury. they should never be kept together! females would probably be ok with the chooks but not males. best of luck!

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Either get more guineas or separate them from your chickens Your guinea cocks May very well end up killing your chickens if their isn’t any other guinea cocks around to distract them during the breeding season. Guineas do best in large flocks, The minimum recommended number of guineas to obtain is 10.

 

[R2elk]

Hi!

Problem: I raised 4 guinea babies with my pullets. I ended with 2 boys & 2 girls. Although they all seemed to get along the G males keep attacking my rosters. And they were very dictatorial with the ladies in general. Once I saw a male mount one of the hens. The reason to acquiring the guinea hens was for raptor warning and also so they mate within their breed. The babies from these two pairs would be for food purposes. They were also all Roosting at night together in the hen coop. Since it didn’t seem to be going according to my plans decided to separate the guinea hens, the two pairs, and place them in a separate cage. I figured they would give time for them to mate and bond as pairs and also give time for the roosters to take control of the flock, which it’s happening. Now guinea hens are laying eggs but they don’t seem to be interested in sitting on them. I have hay at the bottom of the cage.

Questions: Do guinea hens prefer a box with pine shavings? Is it a good idea to keep them in that cage? Or should I just scoot them out of the coop each night and let them roost outside at night? Or can I place the guinea hens eggs with a hen that is brooding and let her hatch them? Will the hen raise the babies from a guinea hen? In this case I would then leave the guinea hens in their cage and just remove the eggs they lay and let my hen hatch them?

Well there are all my questions. All suggestions and advice are welcome. Thank you ahead of them. . Newby at this.

You are experiencing what happens to most people that allow their guinea keets to be imprinted by chickens. Everything seems fine until the first breeding season when guineas go nuts. If they are imprinted by chickens they lose the ability to understand that chickens are not guineas. They treat the chickens the same way they treat each other. The chickens are not capable of understanding guinea behavior and can become severely distressed.

Guineas can successfully cross breed with chickens.

Guineas prefer a ground level hidden nest area. They typically share communal nests and can lay very large clutches of eggs before going broody.

Caging guineas goes against their very nature and may severely affect their fertility.

Having the guineas roost outside at night is a very good way to get rid of the guineas. They are very susceptible to nighttime predators.

You can hatch the eggs under a broody chicken but if you let the chicken raise them you will be continuing to raise guineas that will attack your chickens once they are mature and come into breeding season. I have used broody hens to hatch guinea eggs but I remove the keets as soon as they hatch and put them in a separate brooder.

 

[natyvidal]

A: You are experiencing what happens to most people that allow their guinea keets to be imprinted by chickens. Everything seems fine until the first breeding season when guineas go nuts. If they are imprinted by chickens they lose the ability to understand that chickens are not guineas. They treat the chickens the same way they treat each other. The chickens are not capable of understanding guinea behavior and can become severely distressed.”

My reply: Wish I had read about this possibility before putting them toguether. I can see now that is what happening with the guineas. I will keep them separate for a bit longer and then set them free in the chicken run but not allow them to be in the chicken coop at night. The few times one stayed outside he/she flew to the roof of the coop for the night. So I think they will be ok. Or maybe, the first time I let them out it should be outside the run so them can explore far and wide through the yard.
Thank you.

 

[natyvidal]

Guineas can successfully cross breed with chickens. AND WHAT IS THIS CROSS CALLED?

Guineas prefer a ground level hidden nest area. They typically share communal nests and can lay very large clutches of eggs before going broody. I HAVE THE PERFECT PLACE FOR THEM TO LAY THEIR EGGS.

Caging guineas goes against their very nature and may severely affect their fertility. THIS I WAS AWARE OF I WAS TRYING TO SEPARATE THEM BUT THEY KEPT GOING TO THE COOP! TEREFORE THE CAGING IS TEMPORARY.

Having the guineas roost outside at night is a very good way to get rid of the guineas. They are very susceptible to nighttime predators. WHAT IF THEY ROOST UP ON THE TREES?

You can hatch the eggs under a broody chicken but if you let the chicken raise them you will be continuing to raise guineas that will attack your chickens once they are mature and come into breeding season. I have used broody hens to hatch guinea eggs but I remove the keets as soon as they hatch and put them in a separate brooder. I AM PLANNING TO EAT THE OFFSPRING OF THE GUINEA HENS. JUST LET THEM GROW OLD ENOUGH. THE HEN WILL ONLY BE USED FOR THE HATCHING PURPOSE. THEY WILL BE KEPT IN SEPARATE PENS.

 

[HelenAbim]

So sorry about this. Kindly separate the guineas from your chickens. As to brooding, guineas happen to be one of the most useless birds when it comes to brooding. I usually just pick the eggs and set in my incubator. I don't bother about them brooding because they won't. They might have an initial interest in brooding but abandon the eggs halfway through the incubation.

 

[R2elk]

So sorry about this. Kindly separate the guineas from your chickens. As to brooding, guineas happen to be one of the most useless birds when it comes to brooding. I usually just pick the eggs and set in my incubator. I don't bother about them brooding because they won't. They might have an initial interest in brooding but abandon the eggs halfway through the incubation.

While you may not have good success with your guineas hatching their own eggs, others do have success. I have had my own guineas hatch their own eggs as well as a friend who has had many guineas hatch their own eggs.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

I’ve had success with a guinea hen hatching 9 little keets. But when I interfered to move them all to a safer location after they hatched she turned on them and killed 2. The other seven were then raised in a brooder and their mother took them back when I reintroduced them at 6 weeks.

 

[50-45-1]

My guineas must not have read this thread. I have kept my guineas in the same coop as the chickens for years. Also I hatch keets under my chicken broody hens many many times, and allowed her to raise them. At a certain age they leave the broody and wander as a group with the older guineas. I have never had cross breeding. I currently have 6 guineas and a dozen chickens. I have guineas for preditor alarm and tick control and free range during the day. It sounds like a separate coop for your guineas would be your best answer.