Guinea Fowl

[triciayoung]

Has anyone added guinea fowl to their chicken flock to protect from hawks? If so, how has it worked? Thank you.

 

[Isadora]

In what way would you expect they protect chickens from hawks? If anything, they might notice a hawk before a chicken because they scream at everything But that's also the downside…. that they do scream at everything. If everything is a threat, nothing is.
I have Guineas. They free range during the day and are cooped together with the chickens at night. My guineas don't care about the chickens and don't hang out with them. They don't react when large birds fly overhead either, from what I've seen.

 

[triciayoung]

In what way would you expect they protect chickens from hawks? If anything, they might notice a hawk before a chicken because they scream at everything But that's also the downside…. that they do scream at everything. If everything is a threat, nothing is.
I have Guineas. They free range during the day and are cooped together with the chickens at night. My guineas don't care about the chickens and don't hang out with them. They don't react when large birds fly overhead either, from what I've seen.

Thank you. This is exactly what I was asking for...real life experience. I heard this on another site, but knew someone here would provide first hand experience.

 

[The Birb King]

I wouldn't keep guineas with chickens. I made this mistake when I had guineas a few years ago. They would constantly chase and attack the chickens, and they especially targeted bantams and young chicks. I got rid of the guineas because my chickens were constantly stressed and scared.

 

[triciayoung]

I wouldn't keep guineas with chickens. I made this mistake when I had guineas a few years ago. They would constantly chase and attack the chickens, and they especially targeted bantams and young chicks. I got rid of the guineas because my chickens were constantly stressed and scared.

Thank you.

 

[Guinea Math]

I know this is an older post but I have guineas and just had a recent experience on this topic to share for anyone else that comes upon this thread....

My guineas are amazing sky watchers, someone in the flock is always watching the sky and they take all shadows overhead as threats, even when it’s Canada Geese flying by.

I have guineas for lots of reasons but one of them is definitely their ability to sound the alarm to deter predators from entering our space in the first place. And that they will stand up for a fight if you have a flock of them, a solo bird or two is not enough to mount an attack.

A couple days ago I arrived home to find the yard in an uproar, a hawk was trapped INSIDE of the pen with my 6 week old youngsters, 9 chicks and 2 guinea keets. My free ranging momma guinea and two daddies, that are currently raising a clutch of 15 keets, were valiantly and fearlessly attacking the hawk through the hardware cloth. The hawk had somehow made it in through the bird netting on top that was still in place keeping him in. When I ran over, opened the pen and started grabbing out the youngsters to get them into a safe space the daddy guinea came inside the pen and charged after the hawk, pecking away. The other two still kept up the pressure from outside the pen.

The hawk finally made his escape through the opening I made. I know it’s nature but I am so very sorry I didn’t shoot the bird as now I worry he’ll be back for more. But my focus was keeping babies out of harms way; I was so worried about the 15 keets that momma brought to the fight with her instead of hiding with them.

The 12 adolescent free ranging guineas also in the yard were hiding under the asparagus ferns while squawking up a storm. My momma chicken hen who is raising 5 guinea keets in a completely separate yard was hiding with her babies in the woods and wouldn’t come out, or even stop growling at the babies to not move for a couple hours. I’ve no idea how long the hawk was in the pen or if it was a multi hit attack but it was sure long enough to stress all my birds out, chickens and guineas, and kill two of my 6 week old chicks that I hatched and who all consider me momma hen. I seriously failed as momma.

But I credit not losing all 11 of the youngsters that were trapped in the company of a hawk to my 3 free ranging adult guineas who risked their own babies to fight off a predator and defend babies that were not their own. I am grateful and amazed.

Regards housing guineas and chickens together, it’s been my experience that guineas ignore the chickens; they will eat from the same food tray no problem but only peck or chase after their own kind. The chickens will peck away the keets when eating, but otherwise they ignore all the guineas. They all roost next to each other just fine. I have had a couple young and dumb roosters try to mount the guineas, older keets and adults, but the guineas just shrug them off or pull away, still without pecking. The roosters and guinea cocks also ignore each other. It’s interesting to watch their silly behavior.