Raising guinea flocks can be pretty frustrating and challenging as they are not as docile as other poultry birds. Guinea fowls have been reported to attack humans, especially the male guinea fowls.
Some people who rear guinea fowls have reported being attacked and pecked by their male guineas.
However they noticed this mostly happened when the guinea hen was laying eggs.
The males serve as a defender during this period and try to keep out threats from the nesting site.
The males tend to be more aggressive during this period, it also occurs when there is only one male guinea among the roost and there is no other male to dominate.
Are Guinea Fowls Friendly?
Guinea fowls are naturally wild animals and as such they are not exactly cut out for being friendly towards humans.
If they perceive you as a threat, they wouldn’t hesitate to run away from you and guinea fowls can be pretty fast.
You can train guinea fowls to at least be a bit friendly and not run from humans and the first step to achieving this is by raising from keets to adulthood.
Raising guinea fowls from childhood can help them become acclimatized to you and will reduce their chances of running away from your home when they are matured..
Being raised by a mother hen also and mixing them with the chicks also helps to ensure the guinea fowls are friendly as they grow.
Giving your guinea birds treats will make them recognize you.
Feeding them personally makes them realize you are their friend and once they get used to this they would come running to you whenever they see you with food.
A keeper of guinea fowls even reported that he talks to his guineas while feeding them so they get habituated to his voice.
Might seem silly but you got to do what you got to do.
All these tips are useful when you have raised the guineas from their childhood and they have gotten used to you over time.
If you recently got a flock of adult guinea fowls please ensure you do not try to catch them.
Guinea fowls do not like being chased and trying to catch them will only induce them to run away.
The treat method also works with them although it might take a longer period over weeks or months before they feel friendly enough towards you.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on can guinea fowls eat dog food?
Are Guinea Hens Mean?
Guinea hens are not particularly mean to humans except when you come near their eggs or brood.
Just like any set of mothers, if they feel you want to harm their chicks they will act protectively and might peck you.
Generally, guinea fowls are more aggressive than most poultry birds like chickens and they usually seek to establish the pecking order within their breed and when mixed with other types of birds.
The males of the species are the more aggressive and one male guinea fowl can give hell to about 5 roosters.
Raising them together would help reduce the aggression tendencies in them as guinea fowls are natural bullies.
How Do You Keep Guinea Fowls on Your Property?
Guinea fowls are semi domesticated at best. They prefer roaming about free and even when they have been trained to recognize home they might or might not return to the coop to roost.
Guinea fowls are well known for leaving the property of their owners, some are never seen again while some can be found in the neighbors house or along the road.
If you would rather reduce the stress of chasing guinea fowls across your yard, which is most often not effective anyway, raise them young.
Buy keets which are the baby chicks of guinea fowls. Raising them lets them get habituated to their environment.
Even when this is done, some poultry keepers still report their guinea fowls disappearing after being released.
Raising them with chickens and being brooded by a mother hen helps reduce their flightiness.
They tend to take cues from the chicks as they grow and as such they will follow the lead of the mother hen who will care for them like her own chicks.
Once they start feathering, they are ready to leave the brooder and at this time you train them to get used to their coop and see it as home or when they leave the cooper they will get confused and might not return home.
Will Guinea Hens Eat My Garden?
Guinea fowls are naturally good for gardens as they do not eat up the plants while looking for bugs to eat.
Unlike chickens who scratch at and dig up planted seeds, the guineas will delicately pick the bugs from the plants.
The guinea fowls are even referred to as your garden buddy as they will rid your garden of the insects, ticks, lice and small snakes.
The guineas have a sense of picking out the bugs and swallowing them in a clean chop.
If you recently planted seeds in your garden, then you might want to keep the guineas and other farm birds out of it till the seedlings are sprouted.
While guinea fowls are usually careful not to destroy the plants or seeds, it might be harder if you just planted and easier to dig out.
Even if raising your guinea fowls tend to be more challenging, getting rid of the bugs in your garden will definitely make up for their shortcomings.
They solve your pest problems easily and naturally.
Are Male Guineas Aggressive?
Without any doubt, male guinea fowls are quite aggressive in nature.
Guinea fowls spend a considerable amount of time chasing each other to assert dominance and pick out the strongest among them.
They also do this to impress the female hens as the most dominant male guinea gets to have his female hens.
With this they are able to realize their natural pecking other and the weaker males might be bullied.
When mixed with other birds they also spend their time terrorizing the male species of those birds.
If you thought roosters were aggressive, male guinea fowls are five or ten times.
They also want to assert dominance over the males of the other birds especially when it is mating season and they want to mate with the females of other species.
You do not have to when your male guinea fowls are chasing each other as they will not hurt each other.
To them it is all play and fun, however when mixed with other bird species you should check on them to ensure they are not be overly aggressive to the
Can Guinea Fowls Be Kept As Pets?
When raising guinea fowls you should have it in mind that they are not as homely as other domesticated birds such as chickens or ducks.
They do not exactly like being petted or touched and this can make them hesitant to be near you or remain in your yard.
So do not expect a lovey-dovey relationship like one you have with your dogs. They are not lap birds.
Although you can train them to recognize you and become semi-domesticated, they are not made for petting.
Guinea fowls can be a great addition to your yard as they are fun to watch while also protecting your other birds from predators.
They also serve as natural pest controllers by eating up all the bugs in your gardens and reducing disease breakout.
Conclusion
Guinea fowls can sometimes be aggressive, especially the male of the species. They love asserting their dominance in the pecking order.
Even though they can be a challenge to raise, once they get used to you and the property it is usually a peaceful ride.
They also coexist peacefully with other poultry birds though they act aggressive towards them.
Raising guinea fowls should be a fun challenge to take on.
