Any way to curb aggressive behavior of one psycho guinea?

[Omegacron]

We've got a small flock of about a dozen or so chickens at the moment, along with a turkey and two guineas. Pretty sure the guineas are one male, one female, but you know how that goes. The one we think is male apparently has it out for a specific hen, and will go nuts trying to attack her. My wife put her in a cage to let her heal up, and yesterday the guinea somehow tore his way through the side of the cage and really bloodied the hen's neck... as in all skin gone from the back & sides of her neck. Too early to tell if she's gonna make it, but we put the guinea in a different cage. This morning he was out again, and he got out by ripping a hole in THAT cage as well.

We'd like to keep him around so the female guinea doesn't get lonely, but this is one psycho guinea. Any way to curb this behavior and salvage the bird, or is he looking at a one-way trip to freezer town?

P.S. - And in case anyone asks, he is not trying to mount her. Near as we can tell, this guinea is just running on a tank full of hate for some reason.

 

[R2elk]

We've got a small flock of about a dozen or so chickens at the moment, along with a turkey and two guineas. Pretty sure the guineas are one male, one female, but you know how that goes. The one we think is male apparently has it out for a specific hen, and will go nuts trying to attack her. My wife put her in a cage to let her heal up, and yesterday the guinea somehow tore his way through the side of the cage and really bloodied the hen's neck... as in all skin gone from the back & sides of her neck. Too early to tell if she's gonna make it, but we put the guinea in a different cage. This morning he was out again, and he got out by ripping a hole in THAT cage as well.

We'd like to keep him around so the female guinea doesn't get lonely, but this is one psycho guinea. Any way to curb this behavior and salvage the bird, or is he looking at a one-way trip to freezer town?

P.S. - And in case anyone asks, he is not trying to mount her. Near as we can tell, this guinea is just running on a tank full of hate for some reason.

Guineas are flock birds and do best in large groups of guineas. Guineas have entirely different instincts than any other poultry.

My recommendation is that you rehome both guineas to someone that already has a large flock of guineas.

 

[MROO]

Guineas are flock birds and do best in large groups of guineas. Guineas have entirely different instincts than any other poultry.

My recommendation is that you rehome both guineas to someone that already has a large flock of guineas.

Or get a dozen more? I mean, Guinea Math can't be that much different from Chicken Math, right?

 

[DLA]

Or get a dozen more? I mean, Guinea Math can't be that much different from Chicken Math, right?

A dozen more guineas... Get some hearing protection for yourself and any nearby neighbors too.

 

[MROO]

A dozen more guineas... Get some hearing protection for yourself and any nearby neighbors too.

No more need for that ol' watchdog, THAT's for sure!

 

[DLA]

No more need for that ol' watchdog, THAT's for sure!

 

[Zenmonkey]

I find that roasting the bird gently at 325ºF until an internal temperature in excess of 170ºF is reached does wonders for their attitude. And flavor.

Short of that, yes, guineas like large flocks and behave differently at large numbers. However I think @R2elk perhaps misled you. Don't think in terms of a dozen more. Think multiple dozens. Large flocks.

And the hearing protection, when in close proximity such as handling individual birds, is no joke.

 

[Zenmonkey]

No more need for that ol' watchdog, THAT's for sure!

I find the dog goes well with the guineas. The guineas alert on everything, but the dog is more selective. If the guineas draw his attention to something, and then he also feels it is worth alerting on, something needs attended to. Likewise Louie the canine companion may be communicating with fellow canines at night. If the guineas aren't lit up as well, it's probably not too worrisome to me.

 

[R2elk]

I find that roasting the bird gently at 325ºF until an internal temperature in excess of 170ºF is reached does wonders for their attitude. And flavor.

Guineas are delicious.

 

[Omegacron]

Guineas are flock birds and do best in large groups of guineas. Guineas have entirely different instincts than any other poultry.

My recommendation is that you rehome both guineas to someone that already has a large flock of guineas.

That may be, but we've always had no more than 5 guineas at a time, and other than some chasing around the yard, they've never had a problem with the chickens. This is the first time we've had any kind of issue like this. Our flock in general has rarely gone over 30 birds.