A Beginner’s Guide To Raising Guinea Fowl - The Essentials You Need to Know
Last year we decided to add guinea fowl to our flock on our homestead.
Let me just say, what an experience and interesting bunch!
Their personalities and habits differ dramatically from chickens. However, if you are prepared to put in some effort, they can make a wonderful addition to your flock and offer many advantages for your farm.
But, be aware! They are not everyone's cup of tea! Although they are very cute and mind their own business most of the time.
Keep reading to learn about the pros and cons of raising guinea fowl, how to care for them, their egg-laying ability, mothering instincts, and more!
CONTENTS:
raising Guinea Fowl
Many people have never seen or even heard of guinea fowl, and they often mistake it for some kind of turkey. But nope, they are not! Guineas are Galliformes, a group including all chicken-like birds, but have their own kind of bird family.
There are many kinds of guinea fowl, with the Pearl (or Helmeted Pearl) guineas being the most known and domesticated. Other favorite varieties include the White, Royal Purple, and Lavender guinea fowl. Pearl feathers are often used for decorative purposes.
Pros and Cons of keeping guinea fowl
As with all live animals, keeping guinea fowl has pros and cons. Some people will love them, and some will hate them. And when you ask those who keep guineas why they have them, you'll get a different answer every time.
Pros:
If you prefer free-range fowl, guineas are your answer!
Guineas are great at warning you when they spot a stranger or predator.
They are excellent at bug and pest control around your farm or yard. This and their alarming ability are our biggest reasons for keeping them.
Guineas also target small snakes and small rodents
So when you have guineas among your flock, they act as watchdogs!
Guineas will cost you less, as they get 90% of their food when free-ranging.
Guineas will not mess up your garden beds like chickens do!
They are tolerant of warmer climates.
They have a long lifespan of 10-15 years.
Cons:
Like chickens, guineas are natural-born scratchers, although not as persistently as chickens. They also love freshly worked soil.
Guineas are VERY, VERY LOUD! This makes them a poor choice where neighbors live nearby or if noise drives you crazy! So their noise could be a pro or con!
They are not ideal for small backyards and confinement, as they are much happier in big open spaces.
Guinea are not chickens and will never be your best friend. They've got about the same level of affection as a barn cat! Although our barn cats are awesome!
Learn more about how to raise barn cats here.
Guinea Fowl Care Tips
SPACE & free ranging
Guineas will spend most of their days foraging and looking for their next meal, so they need a large area to be happy, healthy, and active. They really must be able to free-range, that is what they were made for.
Our guineas are forever all over our homestead, they love exploring!
If you have to enclose your guineas, it is vital to give them plenty of room (2 to 3 sq. ft. per guinea). The more space they have, the less likely they will become stressed, unhappy, and unhealthy.
You can also have a movable tractor or something like that, which can help if you don't want them to free-range fully.
housing & nesting
As I mentioned, guineas will want to free-range most of the time. An enclosed run might not even be necessary for them as they will most probably roost high up in trees at night.
However, you can still provide shelter or an enclosed run to protect your guineas from rain, cold, snow (they are not fond of snow!), sun, and predators.
Add absorbent bedding material such as wood shavings, chopped hay, or straw to the shelter or coop, especially during the winter.
Always ensure you have enough ventilation in the coop to prevent moisture from accumulating and causing mold and disease problems.
Guineas like to roost off the ground or in trees, so make sure you have roosting poles for them in the coop or where you keep them enclosed. Roosting makes them feel more comfortable and safe.
Guineas are not fans of nesting boxes and would rather lay their eggs wherever they like! And sometimes it would be in the most random places!
But if you do intend to keep them for their eggs, providing nesting boxes and teaching them to use them (here's to hoping!) will make your life much easier! Nest boxes designed for chickens will do just fine.
Guinea fowl eggs
Guinea fowl only lay eggs between March - October, depending on your location. Hens will lay on average around 100 eggs per season.
Their eggs are light brown, speckled, smaller than chicken eggs, and very hard-shelled.
As I mentioned earlier, guineas will lay their eggs anywhere they deem fit! And often in the places where you will never find it! It could be in the woods, long grass, or on top of buildings. This is their way to hide the eggs from predators.
Guineas are 'communal' layers where they will often all lay in one nest until there are sufficient eggs. Sometimes up to 50! They are also communal brooders, taking turns to sit on the nest.
How precious is that, mothers helping each other!
Since guineas will lay their eggs anywhere, you may struggle if you plan on collecting eggs.
Your best bet is to purchase keets (baby guineas) or young hens and keep them in an enclosed space from a young age. This will familiarize them with the coop, and once they get older, you can gradually start to free-range them one by one.
They will stay close to the pen where their family is (they are pack animals, so they won’t stray far) and learn to return to the coop each night.
Yes, it is a lot of work and will take a lot of patience, but this is your best tactic from possibly losing them all to the woods.
As I said, they are wanderers! Oh, and they can fly pretty high!
Guinea hens & their mothering instincts
Guinea hens are, unfortunately, not the best moms. They try, but most babies end up dying because they can't keep up with the mom.
Guineas will brood their eggs for 26-28 days until the keets hatch. Although they are protective of their babies, the mother is ready to get a move on by now!
Once the first few eggs have hatched, guinea hens will leave the nest, and then the keets need to catch up and stay with her! Unfortunately, it is survival of the fittest!
If a hen hatches babies, I would recommend taking them and putting them in a brooder. I always leave a couple with the mom, and they do okay, but don't leave all 15–20 babies with the mom.
Some guinea keepers also use a broody chicken to hatch the keets themselves.
RAISING guinea KEETS
You can order guinea keets the same way you would order chicken chicks and often from the same hatcheries.
The chicks will start off in a 95-degree brooder. Then approximately every three days, you'll turn down the temperature by five degrees. If you've raised chicks before, you'll know the signs of discomfort. They will huddle under the lamp if it's too cold or try to stay as far away if it's too hot.
Keets need much more protein than baby chicks. You should start them on a 28 % game-bird/turkey ration (they prefer crumbles) and then change to an 18 % feed for weeks 5 - 8. After week 8, you will continue with a 16 % layer mash.
Only give them lukewarm water as cold water can cause a life-threatening chill. You should also keep their bedding clean and dry.
Move the keets to a pen once they're fully feathered, but don't let them out to join the flock yet. They need to stay there for two to four weeks.
You can read more here on how to care for baby chicks, and much of the same will apply to keets: Baby Chicks 101
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Because guineas prefer free-ranging to confinement, they have not been commercially exploited and "improved" as chickens and turkeys have. Because of this, they are very hardy and almost entirely disease-free and do not get sick too easily.
But, as with any bird, they can pick up diseases from poor hygiene in their environment or bacteria infections. HERE is a good resource on diseases of guinea fowl and what to look out for.
They will adapt in most climates but do not like wet or cold snow. They are originally from Africa and prefer warm temperatures.
what do guinea fowl eat?
Like most poultry, guinea fowl require at least 0.25 – 0.5 lbs of food a day, whether from bird feed and forage or only free-ranging.
Guinea fowl need more protein than chickens, so that's why they forage so heavily for bugs, slugs, worms, and small rodents. They will be able to meet most of their nutrition by themselves.
To maintain good digestion, they will also eat grass, weeds, vegetation, and dandelions.
You could treat them with a bit of scratch feed such as wheat, sorghum, millet grain, and your vegetable leftovers. Remember to provide them with grit and oyster shells for better digestion and added calcium.
If your guinea fowl cannot free-range and forage (which I highly suggest), or you need to supplement their natural diet during winter, you can feed them commercial poultry feed.
Make sure it is an unmedicated feed and has a higher protein content. Guineas should be fed mash or crumbles, and pelleted feed is not recommended.
Always ensure your guineas have enough fresh water to drink!
If you treat your guineas with the occasional treat and give them feed, they will more than likely stick around and not go find greener pastures!
How many guinea fowl should I get?
In nature, guineas flock together in groups of around 30 and have each other's backs! They are so adorable when gliding like a sea of grey across our yard, chasing the next bug!
It is recommended to have an absolute minimum of 3 guinea fowls and not more than 30 birds per acre. This way, they won't feel stressed and unsafe in small groups or start fighting when there are too many.
If they are confined, keep the group small, 6-8 guineas, and limit to one male.
Can Guinea Fowl Live with Chickens?
Yes, guinea fowl can live with chickens! My flock is doing just fine with each other.
As I mentioned earlier, they are a watchdog for the whole flock, which is fantastic!
However, there are some things to consider:
Guineas and roosters do NOT get along. The guineas are very territorial. For this reason, I would never recommend keeping guineas and roosters together in the same enclosure unless you absolutely have to. If it's just at night, that is okay, but you must let them out in the morning, etc. My rooster lost all of his tail feathers because the guineas plucked them out one by one.
Guineas will chase the roosters and keep them from food and water. Who would have guessed? I thought it would be the other way around, lol!
If your flock does free-range during the day but is locked up together at night, you can keep guineas and roosters in the same coop. It is also safe to enclose them together when there is an emergency, such as a blizzard or other bad weather.
Be sure to have separate feeders and plenty of water options, and they will be fine staying in the same space as long as they can range freely.
Is raising Guinea Fowl a Good Idea?
Sure, guineas are a bit different and even strange, but they are a pretty cool addition to your flock. And they provide so many benefits to a farmstead!
Yes, it takes a bit of work and patience to train them and get used to their noise (that never seems to stop!).
But they are indeed unique and fascinating to have around!
In the end, this decision really will rely on your farm, environment, needs, and adaptability to noise ;-)
Love, Annette xx