Chickens and Guineas

[tortoise]

Can I coop chickens and guineas together? especially all winter??

 

[butterscotch]

Can I coop chickens and guineas together? especially all winter??

I hope this thread isn't too old for me to being posting on.

Yep, Guineas and Chickens can be put together. Obviously there are some extreme cases, just play it by ear. However, I wouldn't suggest putting them together if there is a large size difference between the breeds (e.g. Jumbo Guineas and Silkies).

 

[tortoise]

Hi Butterscotch! Not too late! I didn't get the batch of keets I was considering at the time, but I still am tossing around the idea of guineas. We also seem to always need to split our flock for age groups (chicks, juvies) or breeding purposes, so I don't know if I'll every get much of a chance. I've been told and have observed that guineas are in demand, so I've tossed around the idea of breeding them. We were in an avian flu control zone in 2015 so moving birds was not an option. Now we can move birds (except quarantine zones) but no poultry have been allowed at swap meets. Need to wait and see how the avian flu thing plays out in the next year.

 

[Mini Horses]

I had guineas for a while and love them! They are smart and yet, quite dumb. They fly over a fence and then run the fence line trying to figure out how to get back over!

They PREFER to live outside of enclosures, although can be trained to be in them if done from keet stage....owls will take them at night because they like to get on the roof vice in the shed. Yes, I had a fully enclosed run, they didn't like it as much. GREAT during day, good watch dogs, great foragers. They like to go "anywhere" they can get into weeds to lay eggs. Count on incubating eggs as most often nest is broken up by predators, often hen too.

Yep, I'd get more. Also, I understand they are good eating but, never did that.

 

[Denim Deb]

Are you sure you're not talking about my chickens? I don't know how many times they've gotten out of the field and someone apparently moves the gate on them. They'll run up and down along the fence line trying to get back it. They don't herd that well, either.

 

[mcjam]

I keep my guineas separate as I found that while they get along with the adult chickens, they will torment and kill chicks and young pullets. I thought I might too like to breed them, but they are elusive nesters and I usually cannot find their eggs until late fall when the brush has died off. I do love them and they taste good too, but have not figured out how to collect the eggs....Mine are free range and I cannot imagine keeping them penned up. I think they would be miserable. They are the clowns of the homestead though.