So am I right? Can I put guinea hens in with my chickens [hens]??

[perchie.girl]

especially when you do something different like come out of the house with your bathrobe or a new hat on Oh the screeming and the hollering OMG we are going to die hollering....

all that being said I have had mine escort coyotes off the property screaming the whole time.

The best thing about them is their entertainment value.... next the bug control.... next alarm to forwarn the chickens of hawk fly overs.

deb

from Ohio!

Guineas do not understand "behave".

They understand "do your own thing" or "go your own way".

Yes, they can be housed with chickens. Actually our guinea hens lay their eggs in the barn and both hens and cocks are out forage for the entire day, rain or shine. They have a different area of the barn with high roosts, but like to freak out the chickens by taking one of their roosting spots every once and a while.

They forage all day, come in for scratch treat, but don't like to come in early - they want every bit of daylight outside. Scratch time is another time that they mess with the chickens. But the chickens and a couple of our roosters give it right back - no blood shed.

Be prepared for the noise. They can be loud, anytime, all the time, for any reason.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I inherited a stray male guinea exactly one year ago. He spent 2 months sleeping under the over hang of my bantam tractor. In June I bought 6 adults, 3 of each and penned them in until August. Gilbert continued to sleep on the bantam coop, which was by then the guinea coop. During their 2 months of confinement, I went down daily right before sunset & blew a whistle, threw them millet & wheat & yelled "guines treats". Gilbert never ventured far from them. After a few days of letting them out, Gilbert chased off one male. He then would not let a second male go in the pen one night. That male lasted a week in a pine tree & then was eaten by an owl. I got a kennel to put outside the enclose tractor pen in September. Took all of an hour to let Gilbert walk in & close the gate. I then left the others out of the inner pen and after a little squabbling, Gilbert became head guinea. They were penned until January to get Gilbert used to sleeping inside & I kept up the blowing the whistle & throwing the treat daily. They free range now about 4-5 hours a day & come running or flying, most times when I blow the whistle. Adult guineas can be trained in my experience.