Guinea Fowl Behaviour
Guinea Fowl are part of the pheasant family. They have beautiful plummage and unusual heads. Their behaviour is fascinating to watch.
1) Guinea fowl like to flock together and hang about in a group.
2) They do not like to be alone.
3) These birds like to eat together.
4) Male guinea fowl like to chase each other about - one will be the chaser and when the chased guinea fowl is caught, they then turn around and reverse their roles.
5) Guineas prefer to run rather than fly.
6) In a small group, the male guinea fowl is generally monogamous but can form a group with two or three females.
7) When the female is laying the male stands guard.
8) Female guineas often share nests.
9) They are very noisy, vocal birds.
10) When confined or crowded they will run up and down repeatedly.
11) Guinea fowl sometimes like to look at their reflection in a window or mirror.
12) These birds like to dust bath in soft, sandy soil.
13) Guinea fowl love to stand in the sunshine.
14) My guinea fowl are not afraid of the cats or cattle.
I am receiving my first Guinea keets next week and my wife and I will be building thier coop and brooder this weekend. I have seen great designs for both but we are still debating on where to build thier coop. We have only 6 acres, so not a farm by any means, and we have neighbors. The place where we figure they will be the least bothersome to our neighbors and easily accessible by us will be in a wooded area. Do you think it would be wiser to try and place thier coop in a more sunlit area, or shouldn’t it matter? I also live in Michigan, and we can get some pretty cold days in winter. Hod do they do in the cold? Will they need a heat source or can they adapt fairly well?
Comment by Marty — June 15, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
Hi Marty,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. From my experience here in England the guinea fowl love to bask in the sun (when we get a sunny day!)but are also ok in the cold weather.
When it rains heavily they tend to shelter in the hedgerows and under trees although I don’t think they mind getting wet too much as they prefer to be free-ranging in the rain to sheltering in their poultry hut. I have to say that they do not like snow and will not walk on snow. When we had a heavy snowfall 2 years ago they flew into the trees to roost for 2 days until the snow had melted.
I would try to place the coop in an area that does get alot of sun but is also sheltered from wind, rain and snow as much as possible.
I don’t have a heat source for mine in the Winter and they seem to have adapted really well to the British climate especially since they originate from a hotter climate.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your guinea fowl keets and let me know how you get on.
Sara @ Farming Friends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — June 15, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
I have three guinea but I don’t know which one is male. Its some caracteristic different between both
Comment by sheila — November 4, 2007 @ 12:16 am
Hi Sheila, I hope you are enjoying your guinea fowl. There are a number of ways to tell if a guinea fowl is male or female.
Females hang lower to the ground .V. Males have more upright posture.
Females have smaller wattles .V. Males have longer, larger cupped wattles.
Females make 1 and 2 syllable calls .V. Males only make 1 syllable call.
Females have smaller helmets .V. Males have larger helmets.
Check out the video of the female to also help you identify the call. http://www.farmingfriends.com/female-guinea-fowl-call/
Hope this helps. Thank you so much for your comment and visit.
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — November 4, 2007 @ 7:24 am