Keeping guinea fowl

[Cogcog]

We have a 'rasp' (collective known I am told) of semi-wild guinea fowl living in the woods and fields around the house. The farmer bought them to live amongst his pheasants as an early warning system. They make excellent burglar alarms. They sort themselves out, so no feeding etc.

Anyway, the farmer is retiring and intends to let the birds live out their days. He tells me that the rasp have lost all their females as they have been predated by foxes as the females are white and easy to spot (not sure if that is right). I was thinking of adding a few new females in the hope of starting them breeding again.

Has anyone kept them and know how they would take to new arrivals, at what age I can introduce them (most sales are for chicks or poults)and whether they will naturalise or if I need to feed them for a while?

[Simpo Two]

'noun'

Sorry but there are limits!

[Wigeon Incognito]

Out of interest, why do you want to keep them going?

Females aren't necessarily white, either sex can be either colour. They're truly awful parents though which is probably why they've dwindled. They make nests in ridiculous places and as soon as they leave their chicks behind after crossing an obstacle they normally just forget about them.

As for introductions as long as they're a similar similar size they should be fine. If you introduce smaller birds you'll probably just find they live separately until they mature.

[Cogcog]

Wigeon Incognito said:

Out of interest, why do you want to keep them going?

Females aren't necessarily white, either sex can be either colour. They're truly awful parents though which is probably why they've dwindled. They make nests in ridiculous places and as soon as they leave their chicks behind after crossing an obstacle they normally just forget about them.

As for introductions as long as they're a similar similar size they should be fine. If you introduce smaller birds you'll probably just find they live separately until they mature.

We do find them quite amusing. They come into the garden and sit on the window ledges and even sat on the neighbours Rotweiler, which is something nobody in their right mind would do as he killed 2 dozen pheasants the week before. They are also very alert (noisy) to anything unusual which being quite isolated is useful. I think they are quite attractive too, a sort of poor man's peacock.

I had been told about them being terrible parents, route marching chicks and leaving those which can't keep up and that the chicks die easily in the wet. I am told they laid eggs in the long grass at the side of the house but didn't really bother with them and they were all lost/eaten as we have a major fox and raptor population.