Another male guinea bully

[KirbyH]

For another bullying instance, I have a bullying male guinea who I have isolated from his two female, two male friends. He is cross as can be so today when the neighborhood flock came by, I let him out. He was promptly attacked by two lower echelon males. I let him stay out long enough for him to take off after those two males who turned on him again. At this point I collected him and returned him to his time out coop. He seems calmer. How long should I wait to return him to his buddies? Should I repeat this process? The four he left are happy as clams. These are young birds, three months old.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

For another bullying instance, I have a bullying male guinea who I have isolated from his two female, two male friends. He is cross as can be so today when the neighborhood flock came by, I let him out. He was promptly attacked by two lower echelon males. I let him stay out long enough for him to take off after those two males who turned on him again. At this point I collected him and returned him to his time out coop. He seems calmer. How long should I wait to return him to his buddies? Should I repeat this process? The four he left are happy as clams. These are young birds, three months old.

How long has he been separated? He must be very handleable if you are able to grab him off the field and lock him back up!

 

[KirbyH]

How long has he been separated? He must be very handleable if you are able to grab him off the field and lock him back up!

He’s not happy being handled but he’s been handled since he hatched and he was flummoxed by his surroundings and the attacks by the other birds. We used a net but I could have caught him without the net only I was wearing sandals and couldn’t keep up with him through vegetation. So far he’s been separated three days.

 

[KirbyH]

How long has he been separated? He must be very handleable if you are able to grab him off the field and lock him back up!

Meant to add this—he can’t fly all that well at three months.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

He’s not happy being handled but he’s been handled since he hatched and he was flummoxed by his surroundings and the attacks by the other birds. We used a net but I could have caught him without the net only I was wearing sandals and couldn’t keep up with him through vegetation. So far he’s been separated three days.

Well, the idea with removing the bully bird is to allow the flock dynamics to realign so that the bully can’t immediately be top dog and pick on the subordinate bird. Do you feel like that goal has been reached? And he doesn’t fly well? Ours fly well from about 4 weeks... is it only him that isn’t much of a flyer?

 

[KirbyH]

Well, the idea with removing the bully bird is to allow the flock dynamics to realign so that the bully can’t immediately be top dog and pick on the subordinate bird. Do you feel like that goal has been reached? And he doesn’t fly well? Ours fly well from about 4 weeks... is it only him that isn’t much of a flyer?

I think it is because until we made the flight cage, none of them had much space to fly in. He can fly but he did not go high. His buddies now seem quite adept. As for has the goal been reached, I don’t think so. But I wouldn’t be able to tell unless I put him back with the others. I am watching the bullied hen to see if she is getting more confident. She is but not enough in my eyes. Meanwhile, I am trying to sweet talk him into a less defensive, more trusting place. You know, maybe bully birds are like bully people, something insecure is going on.

 

[KirbyH]

I want to add to this saga as it has changed from what it first appeared to be. The bully boy is as bully as ever, the timid female is timid as before. What turns out to be different is that one of the ones I thought was a male, yesterday made the female call. So the dynamic is between three females and two males. The two females don’t participate in the bullying of the one. A veterinarian suggested I remove the timid girl from the group and now that I know the gender of the bird I assumed was male, I’m thinking the vet is right. Flocks with extra males accept females better than males don’t they? The neighborhood flock accepted my pet guinea (female) without much ado. I could try to introduce Miss Timid to that flock. Opinions, anyone? (As you can see I am fascinated by the behavior of these delightful birds.)

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I want to add to this saga as it has changed from what it first appeared to be. The bully boy is as bully as ever, the timid female is timid as before. What turns out to be different is that one of the ones I thought was a male, yesterday made the female call. So the dynamic is between three females and two males. The two females don’t participate in the bullying of the one. A veterinarian suggested I remove the timid girl from the group and now that I know the gender of the bird I assumed was male, I’m thinking the vet is right. Flocks with extra males accept females better than males don’t they? The neighborhood flock accepted my pet guinea (female) without much ado. I could try to introduce Miss Timid to that flock. Opinions, anyone? (As you can see I am fascinated by the behavior of these delightful birds.)

Hmmm, I just saw this latest post. I guess I’m curious about how you even keep yours and your neighbor’s flock separated. I would think that they would all merge themselves into one flock...

 

[KirbyH]

Hmmm, I just saw this latest post. I guess I’m curious about how you even keep yours and your neighbor’s flock separated. I would think that they would all merge themselves into one flock...

They are restrained inside a cage that is inside a fenced courtyard that they can easily fly out of. They have room to fly inside the cage. I leave The gates are open in the day in hopes the flock will visit and make acceptance in flock smoother. So far they haven’t come in even though our chickens come and go. I was letting them out into the courtyard a couple of hours before evening feed until they prevented the bullied girl from coming in. My plan is to install her in the little coop I used to acquaint Popeye with the flock. When normal harassment from the main flock subsides, I will turn her loose. Meanwhile I would like to encourage the other four to see their flight cage as a roost. I will gradually let them out for longer periods of time.

 

[KirbyH]

Hmmm, I just saw this latest post. I guess I’m curious about how you even keep yours and your neighbor’s flock separated. I would think that they would all merge themselves into one flock...

They are restrained inside a cage that is inside a fenced courtyard that they can easily fly out of. They have room to fly inside the cage. I leave The gates are open in the day in hopes the flock will visit and make acceptance in flock smoother. So far they haven’t come in even though our chickens come and go. I was letting them out into the courtyard a couple of hours before evening feed until they prevented the bullied girl from coming in. My plan is to install her in the little coop I used to acquaint Popeye with the flock. When normal harassment from the main flock subsides, I will turn her loose. Meanwhile I would like to encourage the other four to see their flight cage as a roost. I will gradually let them out for longer periods of time.