Today my guineas decided that all of my roosters must die.

[TexasAggieOfc]

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Gangsta guineas! Classic!

 

[joedie]

I have 3 male guineas free ranging with my 30 hens and 4 roosters. They do get kind of pushy with the chickens but the turkeys can put them in their place and fast! I love to watch the guineas get their come uppance from the turkeys.

 

[Copper Kettle Farm]

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Oh, my! I must apologize for this- but your description of the horror story is hysterical! But the story itself is very sad. The guineas I had a few years ago were abusive towards my chickens also and had to be separated. Actually, they were horrible to anything that got in their way, my cats included!

 

[Cadillac Jill]

Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate the advice and encouragement. It was a rather comical scene, I'm sure. The neighbors must think we're nuts.

If getting more guineas will alleviate the situation, we're willing to do that. The approach reminds me of the "hair of the dog that bit ya" cure for a hangover, so I'm cautious, but optimistic. I really do love our guineas, especially when they're relaxing on their roosts, making those whistling chortle noises.

Guineas are hard to come by around here, but I finally located a seller with a sufficient quantity of grown birds. If you could help me out once more, I have a couple of questions.

Obviuosly if I'm getting more guineas as an emergency measure to form a society and restore peace to the barnyard, I can't enforce a 30 day quarantine. (I feel bad enough confining our existing guineas to their new coop by the garden and a small run for accilimation.) Is disease as big a problem with guineas as it is with chickens? I am really nervous about bringing foreign poultry onto our property, as we had a horrible experience with our first flock of chickens.

I'm concerned about integration. I have very limited means of keeping birds separated, and I'm not sure how long we could pull it off. What would you say is the absolute minimum timeframe of exposure with a degree of separation? I'm hoping that I might be able to fudge on this, since it will be fairly even numbers--four raised together in one group, six raised together in another.

Finally, for the new guys, do you have any idea how long it will take them to figure out that the guinea coop is "home"--the source of food, water, and roosts. I think our current guineas get it, but I'd hate to see my new investment go flying off the property.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[joedie]

I was advised on here it would take 2-4 weeks to keep them locked up before they would know it is home. I didn't heed the advise and let them out after one week, the females immediately took off. Next time I'll give it at least 3-4 weeks.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

Wow, I had no idea that guineas paired off. I have 5, and it turns out only one is male. He has recently started chasing my one rooster. Never bothers the hens. The poor rooster is not chased if he kind of stays away (like on the other side of the barn, out of sight). I dare not get more guineas as my neighbor has started complaining (another thread...) We do have a separate guinea coop, but after just a few weeks in there, they decided to move in with the chickens next door. So they have lived together all winter.
What will happen if I leave it as it is? The male guinea does chase one female guinea, and has for some time. She has become somewhat of a loner, or follows behind the rest at a distance. I have also noticed more recently that one or two of the females go off alone, and sit and call for long periods. This may be why my neighbor is complaining (though they told me the guineas are tearing up their yard).

 

[GlitterBug]

Oh my...I do not know anything about this problem...but you are a very good writer and had me laughing! I really do hope all works out well in the end though & I wish I had some suggestions other than you should write for a poultry magazine maybe? Best wishes!

 

[joedie]

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Tearing up their yard??? I think that sounds like an excuse. I don't know about others experiences with them, but they don't tear anything up here.

 

[robin416]

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Tearing up their yard??? I think that sounds like an excuse. I don't know about others experiences with them, but they don't tear anything up here.

I have several very deep holes in my yard from my Guineas. They choose a good dusting spot so as a group they will make holes for themselves in close proximity. Then they use the holes over and over again and they keep getting deeper and deeper.

 

[joedie]

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Tearing up their yard??? I think that sounds like an excuse. I don't know about others experiences with them, but they don't tear anything up here.

I have several very deep holes in my yard from my Guineas. They choose a good dusting spot so as a group they will make holes for themselves in close proximity. Then they use the holes over and over again and they keep getting deeper and deeper.

My chickens make nice holes for dust bathing but I've never seen the guineas doing it. Maybe because I have only three?