Really necessary to house with chickens?

[chickenmadness7]

I'm new to keeping guineas with week old Keets and am wondering how necessary it is to house them with a few chickens. I keep hearing it's necessary in order to keep them coming back to the coop.

 

[CarnyCat]

Hello, Its my understanding that you should keep the keets in their coop for at least six weeks and they should return every night. You do not have to keep chickens at all with them. Good Luck from a fellow newbie!

 

[Trefoil]

I've had guineas for years, only because I never let them all free range. This is the first year ever that I have had them return to the coop, these were brooded and live with chickens. Always before they would sometimes return to the coop and sometimes not, eventually I would lose them to predators.

 

[R2elk]

I'm new to keeping guineas with week old Keets and am wondering how necessary it is to house them with a few chickens. I keep hearing it's necessary in order to keep them coming back to the coop.

As CarnyCat said it is best to keep the new keets confined to their new home for the first 6 weeks. If you start training them with treats (white millet is a preferred treat) and a signal (ringing bell, calling a specific phrase, etc.) they will associate the signal with the treats and come running. You can also herd them using a long stick in each hand to get them back to the coop.

It is actually preferable to not house guineas with chickens. While they are growing up they can and do get along very well with chickens and other poultry. However once the first breeding season happens they can and do turn into little terrorists. One of their preferred methods of attack is feather pulling. They can quickly turn a flock of beautifully feathered chickens into a bedraggled mess. Other types of poultry do not respond well to having their feathers pulled.

Guineas are a flock bird which is why it is recommended to keep at least 10 together. In the larger numbered flocks they tend to keep their attacks focused on each other rather than terrorizing the other poultry.

 

[chickenmadness7]

Thank you for all of your thoughtful replies.