If there is one thing we know about guinea fowls is that they are very loud and make a lot of noise.
But can this be a means of defending themselves against predators?
Guinea fowls are not smart enough to defend themselves from anything. They are not sharp enough to defend or guard themselves. To ensure that they do not get attacked by predators, make sure you rear them in large numbers so they can easily scare away any predator.
In this article we would be talking about the animals which can attack guinea fowl and predators these fowls need protection from.
Is their number an advantage for them?
You need to know that guinea fowls are crazy birds that do better if they are plenty in number.
To keep them safe from predators you want to ensure that you have at least ten guinea fowls if you want to start rearing them.
The various stories you would hear about guinea fowls chasing different predators like foxes or cats always end in the owners having several guinea fowls.
If you have only two guinea fowl, they could get eaten by a fox or another predator around.
You might even have a large flock of guinea fowls, and you could lose some members of your flock to predators.
As sad as that might be, it is the truth.
The only thing you can do to save your guinea fowl in the least bit is to have a lot of them in a place together.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on can guinea fowls and ducks live together?
How can you keep your guinea fowl safe?
To keep your guinea fowls safe, you should keep them all in their coops.
A coop that is protected from harsh environments and predators outside.
If there are any predators for guinea fowls at night, you could lose your guinea fowls almost instantly.
Guinea Fowls have various predators.
These predators include wolves, dogs, wildcats, gigantic reptiles, crocodiles, and snakes.
In the wild, humans are also predators of guinea fowls.
Would guinea fowl fly away from predators?
Guinea fowls will not necessarily fly away from predators as they are good runners and prefer to run away from threats.
Whenever the vegetation is thick enough on the ground, they might find it very difficult to run far away from their predators.
During the summer and spring months, guinea fowls are more vulnerable due to their predators.
In spring and summer, predators are way more active, and the guinea fowls would not have the strength or wisdom to flee from the attack from predators.
It is even worse when you are free-ranging your guinea fowls.
Even though guinea fowls could make deafening screams when predators are close by, they could get hit and attacked when the predator comes because these foxes and several other predators are active and quite sneaky.
Can guinea fowls get attacked when feeding?
At times, like during summer at night, one of your guinea fowls might be feeding her little ones.
She could get attacked by snakes or other predators who hunt very well at night.
Your guinea fowl would be vulnerable because she would be distracted.
She might not have the energy to call for help or scream out loud.
Try not to do that because if they are locked out, they could get attacked by predators.
If you have guinea fowls that love to roost in trees at night, these are highly vulnerable to predators because they can’t defend themselves.
They could be sleeping, trying to rest, and then a hungry predator comes along.
They would be caught unawares, and before you know it. Your guinea fowl has become a meal to a fox or snake or bear or whichever predator comes to get it.
Can guinea fowls outsmart a predator?
You need to know that your guinea fowl isn’t as bright as a predator.
To outsmart a predator, you need to have teams of guinea fowls which are always better than if you have only two or three.
If you want to free-range them and have them spread out in a large piece of land, you would notice their numbers reducing.
So it would help if you learned intelligent ways to guard and protect your guinea fowls.
How can you guard and protect your guinea fowls?
You could have guinea fowls who attack and even chase foxes.
But this happens when your guinea fowls are large in number.
Or if the fox is old and wary.
But this doesn’t mean they have enough defense against predators.
They could all raise the alarm and scare the predators because of their large number.
You can guard and protect your guinea fowls by using the following methods;
- You could keep them all confined in a specific place
- You could have guard dogs around your guinea fowl coop
- You could plant several trees all around their range
- You could use clipped wings and sturdy predator-proof fences.
There are two choices you could take.
Either tighten up your security or get rid of the predators.
That’s one of the only things you can do.
Because if you want to leave your guinea fowls to defend themselves, you will keep losing numbers over time.
Conclusion
Guinea fowls cannot defend themselves.
That’s very sad but very true.
It would help if you got various security measures to protect your guinea fowls from predators like snakes, foxes, bears, and even rats.
These ways include using guard dogs and or planting a lot of trees around.
Or you could place traps or various other ways which would catch any predator around.
