What Chicken Breeds do you Dislike & Why?

[Trimurtisan]

how about guineas? what are they like?

Well that's a loaded question!
I was not a fan of raising guinea keets. My first go with baby birds was 5 keets, and 8 ducklings, raised together.

I don't have any real complaints, or warnings to speak of... Okay I guess I do. They are very fast. That might not be a problem for some, but I didn't know that at the time. They can also fly from an early age. If you've never tried to catch a guinea keet, it's nothing like trying to catch a duckling.

Now that our guinea is older, I doubt I could EVER catch it, but I do like them. They are loud when spooked, but that is one of the main reason I got them. They can be very funny, but are surely not a bird for everyone.

If you want to get some, I would suggest visiting a farm with adult guineas and watch them for a bit. The farm I got my keets from, had some very awesome adults. They would come when called, their running motion is cute to watch, and they are very different looking.

Although they are "great" at preventing hawk attacks, that does not go for the keets/juveniles. I had 2 get pulled out of a parrot cage at the same time. There was only 1 hawk though! I can understand 1 getting being a victim, but this hawk got 2, in 5 minutes... Predator savvy in the open? Sure. Dumb as a box of rocks in a cage? I think so! I mean, they had to be right next to the cage wall for the hawk (it was a juvenile also, smaller head) to even be able to touch them.

That being said, if you are interested in guinea fowl, I would suggest educating yourself on them. I do like them, just not raising them from day old keets.

Oh yeah, they are super strong. Ours are about the size of a nerf football, and can be difficult to hold on to. The typical scoop and cradle motion I use on my chickens does not work on them. They tuck their legs up pretty high, and get them in my hand and can almost break my grip. I ended up just doing like a side scoop, and holding them against my chest if I need to move them with one hand "petting" them in case those wings come out that are also very strong. If they feel secure, it's not that bad/hard, but they do spook pretty easily...

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on them.

 

[Milkshakeroo]

I tried to raise some of these giant long neck silkies one time

View attachment 1855135

.... they were kinda mean, ate too much, and out grew the coop... never again

Someone told me they’re actually called ah’streges, but I don’t care what you call em, they were the worst chickens

They look like baby ostriches

 

[Duck_life]

Well that's a loaded question!
I was not a fan of raising guinea keets. My first go with baby birds was 5 keets, and 8 ducklings, raised together.

I don't have any real complaints, or warnings to speak of... Okay I guess I do. They are very fast. That might not be a problem for some, but I didn't know that at the time. They can also fly from an early age. If you've never tried to catch a guinea keet, it's nothing like trying to catch a duckling.

Now that our guinea is older, I doubt I could EVER catch it, but I do like them. They are loud when spooked, but that is one of the main reason I got them. They can be very funny, but are surely not a bird for everyone.

If you want to get some, I would suggest visiting a farm with adult guineas and watch them for a bit. The farm I got my keets from, had some very awesome adults. They would come when called, their running motion is cute to watch, and they are very different looking.

Although they are "great" at preventing hawk attacks, that does not go for the keets/juveniles. I had 2 get pulled out of a parrot cage at the same time. There was only 1 hawk though! I can understand 1 getting being a victim, but this hawk got 2, in 5 minutes... Predator savvy in the open? Sure. Dumb as a box of rocks in a cage? I think so! I mean, they had to be right next to the cage wall for the hawk (it was a juvenile also, smaller head) to even be able to touch them.

That being said, if you are interested in guinea fowl, I would suggest educating yourself on them. I do like them, just not raising them from day old keets.

Oh yeah, they are super strong. Ours are about the size of a nerf football, and can be difficult to hold on to. The typical scoop and cradle motion I use on my chickens does not work on them. They tuck their legs up pretty high, and get them in my hand and can almost break my grip. I ended up just doing like a side scoop, and holding them against my chest if I need to move them with one hand "petting" them in case those wings come out that are also very strong. If they feel secure, it's not that bad/hard, but they do spook pretty easily...

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on them.

Im getting 2 5 week olds most likely tomorrow after i get my old chicken coop cleaned (starting that today) any problems with chicks and guineas being together? they are the same age and are kept together in my breeders coop but her coop is also bigger, im also not planning on free ranging them for about 2 weeks after getting them so they'll come back to the coop, would that work on guineas? thanks.

 

[Trimurtisan]

Im getting 1-2 5 week olds most likely tomorrow after i get my old chicken coop cleaned (starting that today) any problems with chicks and guineas being together? they are the same age and are kept together in my breeders coop but her coop is also bigger, im also not planning on free ranging them for about 2 weeks after getting them so they'll come back to the coop, would that work on guineas? thanks.

Somebody with more experience may be able to answer your questions more accurately, but this is from my observation. The guineas will be on the bottom of the pecking order. I tried housing mine with a bantam hen and her babies. At the time my guineas were about the same size as the babies, and they were picked on them relentlessly. I currently have my guinea with my Serama chickens, and even then the rooster every once in awhile chases the guinea. The roo is considerably smaller too.

In regards to coop training in 2 weeks, you're going to need more time than that. I would suggest probably more along the lines of six weeks.

You may also consider getting more than just one or two. They have a very strong flock mentality, and do not do good in a low numbers. We started with 5, and are down to one right now. Myself, I'm considering rehoming the one we have just because it's not fair to the bird, and it likes to call out to the rest of her flock, which is non-existent. It did incorporate with the Serama chicken very well, but it's still constantly looking for the other guineas.

This happened about 5 minutes after my above post... Catching it was a chore. You can see from the sock in the picture, it's still pretty young.

This is an example of how I hold her. My second hand is normally right below the neck petting it to try and keep it calm, and to keep it secure in case it does try to jump and fly away. Had that guinea got out in my front yard, I would have never caught it.

If I was you, between now and the time you're supposed to go byy them, I would read and watch every video you possibly can to make sure this is a good purchase for you. They are fun, and funny to watch, but in my experience they're quite a bit more work then the average chicken or duck. At least raising them. The farm I got mine from, her adults are pretty self-sufficient.

If I was to do guineas again, I would still get the youngest birds I could. I don't remember offhand how old are guinea is, but building a trust bond with them takes time. The one we have, I raised from 4 days old and when I had to catch it this morning it required me getting on my hands and knees, talking in a very low tone slowly, and reassuring it that I was not trying to eat it. Even then, it was not the easiest thing to catch.

I don't want to discourage you from getting them, just want to make you aware that, in my experience it's going to take more work then an average chicken

 

[Duck_life]

Somebody with more experience may be able to answer your questions more accurately, but this is from my observation. The guineas will be on the bottom of the pecking order. I tried housing mine with a bantam hen and her babies. At the time my guineas were about the same size as the babies, and they were picked on them relentlessly. I currently have my guinea with my Serama chickens, and even then the rooster every once in awhile chases the guinea. The roo is considerably smaller too.

In regards to coop training in 2 weeks, you're going to need more time than that. I would suggest probably more along the lines of six weeks.

You may also consider getting more than just one or two. They have a very strong flock mentality, and do not do good in a low numbers. We started with 5, and are down to one right now. Myself, I'm considering rehoming the one we have just because it's not fair to the bird, and it likes to call out to the rest of her flock, which is non-existent. It did incorporate with the Serama chicken very well, but it's still constantly looking for the other guineas.

This happened about 5 minutes after my above post... Catching it was a chore. You can see from the sock in the picture, it's still pretty young.
View attachment 1858138
Thanks for the advice!
This is an example of how I hold her. My second hand is normally right below the neck petting it to try and keep it calm, and to keep it secure in case it does try to jump and fly away. Had that guinea got out in my front yard, I would have never caught it.
View attachment 1858139

If I were you, between now and the time you're supposed to go by then, I would read and watch every video you possibly can to make sure this is a good purchase for you. They are fun, and funny to watch, but in my experience they're quite a bit more work then the average chicken or duck. At least raising them. The farm I got mine from, her adults we're pretty self-sufficient.

If I were to do guineas again, I would still get the youngest Birds I could. I don't remember offhand how old are guinea is, but building a trust bond with them takes time. The one we have, I raised from 4 days old and when I had to catch it this morning it required me getting on my hands and knees, walking in a very low tone slowly, and reassuring it that I was not trying to eat it. Even then, it was not the easiest thing to catch.

I don't want to discourage you from getting them, just want to make you aware that, in my experience it's going to take more work then an average chicken

 

[Trimurtisan]

@Duck_life
Your message didn't come through.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

Nice tattoo. I expect to want them some Time, but not now.

 

[Trimurtisan]

Nice tattoo. I expect to want them some Time, but not now.

Hehe you talking about my pastie? I wasn't sure how everybody would feel looking at man nips. However if you are talking about the actual tattoo, this is what it looks like. Its my great-grandmother and the only woman's name will ever be on my body.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Wow, really? I love their calm, confident temperament. After the recent passing of my alpha, my barred rock stepped in abd the whole flock seems more at peace.

My first 3 flocks were Barred Rocks & I had great experiences with them all. Never had an egg eater in the bunch. Lots of lap chickens, tattle tellers and delightful personalities. Even got a Barred Rock Roo once (by accident) & he was drop dead gorgeous, had a fantastic temperament and was the perfect bird!

So, the moral of the story is that if you have a Barred Rock Biddy, you should re-home her to my house, lol! *THUD* (The sound of my husband passing out from shock & a sudden lack of oxygen!). Hey, I didn't invent chicken math. It's a universal rule. Everyone knows that you have to play by the rules.

( WISH I could take in all of the Barred Rock Biddies in the world!! I keep saying that when we win that lottery, chicken life is going up several notches!

 

[varidgerunner]

I dislike all of the MLM/pyramid scheme breeds. You know the ones.If you want unique birds, then getting on the waiting list for the same unique birds that everyone else wants is a surefire way to destroy their uniqueness. But, the hatching eggs are worth "x"! Sorry, but they won't be once everybody gets them all hatched out and every single female comes into production.