Hello wonderful Guinea folk!
I have a single male Guinea (he showed up in my yard as a keet and will be three years old in June). He is in the same area as my chickens but is sectioned off because he chased them too much. I have been looking on and off for a girlfriend for him for the past few years and just found a local Guinea owner looking to sell off some birds - they will be a year old in June. I would like to go check them out with the hopes of getting one for my Vic Vic, but I have a few questions ...
1.) Vic Vic is pretty tame - I can gently corner him in his pen and pet him and pick him up sometimes. He struggles a little, but he's far from wild.
2.) His space is about 100 sq ft or more, so there should be plenty of space for a female Guinea in there as well.
3.) If I get him a girl, what would I need to do to introduce them? Will she need to be in a separate space next to him until they get used to each other, or would it be okay for her to join him right away (again, he is my first Guinea so I am not as familiar with their behavior as I am with chickens).
4.) I read somewhere that it's best to introduce Guineas that are close in color so they don't get picked on. Vic Vic is a pearl gray and the only variety the person selling his has left are the lavender (lighter gray). Will this matter since she's a girl and will be introduced to only one Guinea and not a flock, or is it possible Vic Vic might attack her?
5.) How can I tell if any of the females are already bonded to the males in the original flock? The last thing I want to do is split up an already bonded pair on accident (might one that seems to be ostracized be a good bet?).
Anyway, I think that's it. Vic Vic seems happy enough on his own, but I've read so much about Guineas needing mates that I sometimes worry he is lonely (although he can see all his chicken friends and I go into his space to pet him and give him love). I just want to do the best thing for him, short of giving him away (I love him too much and so far things are working out well enough. I just would like to know if I could make things better for him by getting him a girl). Thanks so much for any feedback!
I have a single male Guinea (he showed up in my yard as a keet and will be three years old in June). He is in the same area as my chickens but is sectioned off because he chased them too much. I have been looking on and off for a girlfriend for him for the past few years and just found a local Guinea owner looking to sell off some birds - they will be a year old in June. I would like to go check them out with the hopes of getting one for my Vic Vic, but I have a few questions ...
1.) Vic Vic is pretty tame - I can gently corner him in his pen and pet him and pick him up sometimes. He struggles a little, but he's far from wild.
2.) His space is about 100 sq ft or more, so there should be plenty of space for a female Guinea in there as well.
3.) If I get him a girl, what would I need to do to introduce them? Will she need to be in a separate space next to him until they get used to each other, or would it be okay for her to join him right away (again, he is my first Guinea so I am not as familiar with their behavior as I am with chickens).
4.) I read somewhere that it's best to introduce Guineas that are close in color so they don't get picked on. Vic Vic is a pearl gray and the only variety the person selling his has left are the lavender (lighter gray). Will this matter since she's a girl and will be introduced to only one Guinea and not a flock, or is it possible Vic Vic might attack her?
5.) How can I tell if any of the females are already bonded to the males in the original flock? The last thing I want to do is split up an already bonded pair on accident (might one that seems to be ostracized be a good bet?).
Anyway, I think that's it. Vic Vic seems happy enough on his own, but I've read so much about Guineas needing mates that I sometimes worry he is lonely (although he can see all his chicken friends and I go into his space to pet him and give him love). I just want to do the best thing for him, short of giving him away (I love him too much and so far things are working out well enough. I just would like to know if I could make things better for him by getting him a girl). Thanks so much for any feedback!
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