The guinea is a jerk

[InTheField]

Hello,
I am relatively new to the BYC community and have really enjoyed the site so far. I do have a question that I was hoping for help with. When we founded our little flock of laying chickens we decided to get guineas for protection. Our girls free range for a majority of the day and are cooped at night. We started with three guineas, two hens and one cock, but due to opportunistic coyotes we are down to only the male and he is officially a big jerk. Originally the guineas worked as advertised but with only the one, he spends most of his time chasing the chickens and pulling their feathers. This morning as soon as the coop was open he took a run at Astrid, a barred rock hen roughly in the middle of the chicken hierarchy around these parts. He grabbed one of her wing feathers and latched on so tightly that Astrid actually pulled him off of his feet before he let her go. As mentioned above, Astrid is really not a small girl. She will bowl over smaller hens when it is time for treats. However, none of the chickens are spared his jerkery. So…
Should we try to get a couple more female guineas for the male to chase around so that he leaves the chickens alone and goes back to being a fairly functional defense system?
Can he even be broken of his chicken molesting ways now that he has started picking on them?
Should we get rid of the guinea all together?
If we do get rid of him should we try to get a rooster instead?
Would the hens only pick on a new rooster?
I apologize for the barrage of questions but I am really at my wits end. I appreciate any advice.

InTheField

 

[Wisher1000]

That is typical behavior for a lone male guinea. The only thing worse is three males guineas (I got rid of all of them.) You can either get rid of him, or get him a guinea hen. If you don't do one of those, he will continue to harass the girls until he hurts one or more of them. If you get a rooster now, they will fight.

Once he is gone, or has a wife, I would advise you to get one or two roosters. I like to keep two roosters for 10 or so hens. They are a natural part of a flock and the hens are happier with a rooster on site.

 

[Blammmo]

I put all of my guineas in the crock pot because of this type of behavior. I believe it is easier on your chickens to house them separately and keep some distance between the two types of birds. I've seen gangs of 6+ guineas gang up on a single bird so getting more may make it worse...
Being they are very wild birds they will also usually be able to beat up on most roosters you are able to raise and place with your hens. (Although there are some pretty tough ones out there that could hold their own)
But I recommend keeping them separate in the end as the best solution or not raising guineas with your chickens.