If you have any knowledge about Guineas, then you know that they are very noisy birds, you can never keep them totally quiet, but you can keep them quiet by training them.
Most of you raise Guinea fowls for their meat, their egg, and to control pests.
Their noisiness, however, could be one of the greatest challenges you would face when raising them.
That is why we have written this article so that we can inform you of ways you can keep your guinea fowls quiet.
Are guinea fowls noisy?
Sure, guineas a very noisy; they are one of the noisiest birds you might ever encounter.
They don’t just make noise; they make a lot of noise very loudly and almost throughout the day.
This can be gruesome to you if you are not used to it or have not decided to get accustomed to the noise.
Why are guinea fowls noisy?
Considering that guinea fowls are so low maintenance and not domesticated, you might wonder why they get so noisy.
They get noisy for several reasons, and understanding this can help you on your journey to accepting their noisiness and even in managing it.
We are going to discuss why guinea fowls are noisy in different ways, they are:
- Social Reasons: guinea fowls are very social birds, especially when they are in the midst of other guinea fowls. They usually move as a group and discuss a lot, virtually endlessly, as they move. This endless discussion is noisy to us.
- Being Startled: just like many creatures on earth, guinea fowls scream, screech or squawk when they are startled. Guineas take this to the next level by being easily startled and being extremely loud when they are startled. This would disturb you, your neighbors, and anyone within range of their noise. Almost everything startles guineas, and it could be as little as a new thing in your yard or a drop of rain. They would cry out for the longest time.
- Being Alert: quite similar to being startled, guinea fowls can be very alert; anything that triggers them can send them blaring around the yard. This could be a good thing for you because they would keep you notified of predators. Just that, because of how unintelligent these birds are, they could interpret insects as predators.
- Flock Influence: Guinea fowls are not very intelligent, so they get stimulated easily. Since the walk-in flocks, it is very easy for one of them to get alarmed, and the others will follow, so there would be a multiplication of noise.
- Being Upset: When animals are upset, they usually cry out; guinea fowls are no different; if they lose a member of their flock, they will cry out loudly and endlessly. If that member is missing, the member will cry out until the flock finds them or it finds the flock.
This reason for guinea fowls being noisy can be said to be justified by the fact that the loss of a beloved by any creature is hard.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on do guinea fowls like watermelon
Types of noises guinea fowls make
The types of noise guinea fowls make are called “calls,” and there are two types:
- The one-syllable sound: this sound is made by both the females and males of guinea fowls. When guineas make this sound, it sounds somewhat like “chi chi chi.” Males make this sound more than females.
- The two-syllable sound: this is a sound made by the female guineas or guinea hens. Male guineas/ guinea cocks do not make this sound. It sounds like “buckwheat.”
How can you keep guinea hens quiet?
This task is difficult but not impossible. Guinea fowls are not intelligent birds, so they are easily triggered.
They will squawk and screech at every instance; no matter how little the external stimulus is, it can trigger them.
A very easy way to reduce the noise guinea fowls make is to train them with chickens from when they are keets.
The environment you provide for your guineas would go a long way to determine how noisy they are.
This is part of why raising them with chickens helps, because that environment would condition them to act like chickens and make significantly less noise.
Tips for keeping guinea fowls quiet
It may not seem possible, given the noisiness of guinea fowls, but there are several ways you can reduce the noise coming from your flock of guinea fowls.
Except you get rid of all of them, there is no way you can keep them entirely quiet forever. The tips are:
1. Remove the Noisiest of Them from the Flock :
As we have already said, Guinea fowls are social animals; therefore, they learn from the behavior of other birds around them.
If you study your birds, you will notice that there is usually one that is Noisier, louder, and more easily triggered than the rest; we advise that you remove this bird from the flock.
This would help the birds learn from the less noisy ones.
Doing this would save you a lot of stress and would significantly reduce the noise the other birds make.
If after removing the noisiest fowl you are not satisfied with the reduction of noise of your Guinea fowls, you could study the flock again and remove the noisiest.
2. Satisfy the Needs of Your Guinea Fowls:
Providing the needs of your birds is a very good way of reducing the noise.
When your birds have what they need, like water, heat, and food, they tend to be less noisy.
3. Raise them with Chickens:
From when your birds are little keets, raise them with chickens.
This would be a way to condition them to act like those quieter birds. Chickens are way less noisy when compared to Guinea fowls.
Buying already grown Guinea fowls can mean you are getting extremely noisy guinea fowls.
This method of keeping Guinea fowls quiet can go on to help you train other Guinea fowls to be quieter than usual.
This is because Guineas are social birds, and they would learn behavior from each other.
4. Give them a Male:
Female Guinea fowls (guinea hens) are naturally noisier than males, and this is especially common in Guinea hens with no male Guineas around.
It has been observed that this noisiness could be due to not having males around; the noise they make could be a mating call.
An easy way to solve this problem and reduce the noisiness of Guinea hens is to provide a male for mating.
This would substantially reduce the noise that Guinea hens make.
As you introduce male guineas to the flock, be sure to do it gradually. A sudden change in the makeup of the flock could alarm the guinea hens more and make them noisier and louder.
Also check out this article I wrote on can guinea fowls defend themselves
How to Keep Guinea Fowls Quiet during the Day
Guineas are more active during the day; this means they make more noise during the day.
A way to keep them quiet during the day is to make sure they are trained to have a routine.
This way, they will have specific things to do at every point in time and have less time to roam about.
You could also keep your guineas inside the coop during the day; this would reduce their exposure to things that could trigger them.
Therefore, you would inadvertently reduce their noise. Just be sure to provide what they need while in the coop.
How to Keep Guinea Fowls Quiet at Night
Though nighttime is for resting, guineas can be quite restless and noisy at night because they don’t see in the dark.
To keep them quiet at night, we advise that you properly light their coop or shelter; this way, they can see and be less restless.
When they are resting at night in the properly lit coop, try to minimize the entry of people and things into the coop so that they would not be startled.
Conclusion
Keeping Guinea fowls absolutely quiet is impossible, but as explored in this article, there are many ways to reduce their noise and keep them relatively quiet.
