# Guinea Fowl Intelligence?



## cwatkin

Is there any? I recently got Guineas. I know poultry isn't known for being smart but these things seem like they are down a notch. I have never had any other form of poultry and these were mainly gotten for ticks and bugs around the goats and such. One gets separated and it is like it goes into a panic and just freaks out. I had to recently chase one around and get it directed back to the flock and then it was just fine.

Maybe I am too used to having cats, dogs, and goats but these seem really dumb. I hear turkeys are really bad about this too. How do Guineas compare?

Conor


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## Trickyroo

Never had any , but from what i have been told they make horrible mothers and aren't the sharpest crayons in the box……
But make great bug eliminators , especially ticks. 
Ive always wanted some , i love the way they look and the sounds they make. A friend of mine had a few and one wandered too far into the road and was…..well……..road pizza. The others stood around the poor thing and just stared at it. If she didn't come out and shoo them off the road , they would have joined their friend and became part of the asphalt. Nice birds though


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## cwatkin

They are about 1/3 mile from the nearest county road where I have them. I have been told much the same by anyone else I talked with. They are attracted to roads and become flattened pretty quickly if you don't watch it. People drive fast and won't slow down on the roads around here so I know mine would become killed this way if they made it to the road.

I got them mainly to control the tick population. They are pretty and the sounds are interesting. Luckily they aren't too loud at night.

They haven't started roosting up high yet at night but hope they will. I haven't lost any yet but recently had several incidents where I had to clear out rouge packs of domestic dogs from the neighbors. I think they got every free pitbull on the local Craigslist or something as they just kept replacing them for a while but then finally gave up. These killed some of my goats and a car and had me cornered several times so started shooting them on sight. The local authorities didn't seem to do anything besides document the problem and tell me to shoot them.

Conor


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## sassykat6181

We have 7 acres and I couldn't keep the damn birds in my yard. As soon as I let them out of the coop for the day, they made a bee line for the road and the neighbors house. After 7 of them were scraped off the road in a matter of two weeks, I rehomed the remaining ones. Stupid birds!


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## milk and honey

Muscovy ducks are very good for fly control...not sure about ticks though. I enjoy mine.


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## Greybird

Guineas are not really any dumber than other poultry (not saying much, but still ...) 
One big problem with them is that they haven't really been fully domesticated and they still follow their instincts, which are, unfortunately, telling them to wander all over the place in search of food - even when there is plenty of food provided for them. They tend to develop a daily traveling pattern after a while but I don't think they stick to it 100%.
They are nearly impossible to keep inside a fence unless you clip their wings pretty severely, and even that might not work since they can jump at least 4 feet straight up, maybe more, without using their wings at all.
They are very independent little souls - it's just their nature. They know where they live and they usually come home to roost, but the rest of the time they act more like satellites orbiting the home planet.

Turkeys are different. The ones I have are not particularly dumb, but they are heritage turkeys, not the commercial meat kind. They can fly like rockets if they want to, but they usually don't. Mine are good about staying home, but it's only because they have chosen to stay. They could clear my 5ft fence without even blinking if they decided that they wanted to.
I don't know if they eat ticks since we don't have any, (I suspect they would) but they are death to grasshoppers, flying ants, etc, and they do a fair job of weeding and keeping the grass down. They graze quite a bit, which is something that really surprised me when I first got them.
They are surprisingly personable birds; not affectionate, but friendly and curious. 
Sometimes a little bit TOO curious ....


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## cwatkin

I think any commercial mass market animal is going to be dumb. They are just bred to produce one thing, either eggs or meat, and nothing else matters.

Guineas seem to startle easy for sure. I can hardly feed them without causing a commotion.

Conor


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## NubianFan

I personally think they are smarter than chickens. They are wilder though, they don't make good pets. They stick together and do their own thing. I really loved having guineas around, they kept all the ticks out of the yard and they alerted us when anything was amiss.


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## milk and honey

I loved my turkeys BUT I'm down to one. All 4 others flew one at a time, into my goat pasture where my LGD felt they were a delicious "threat" to my herd... So he ate them. We are having to build a special turkey pen for him, sad cause I'd rather he free range..


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## cwatkin

I think any commercial mass market animal is going to be dumb. They are just bred to produce one thing, either eggs or meat, and nothing else matters.

Guineas seem to startle easy for sure. I can hardly feed them without causing a commotion.

Conor


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## Trickyroo

Greybird said:


> Guineas are not really any dumber than other . They know where they live and they usually come home to roost, but the rest of the time they act more like satellites orbiting the home planet.


Satellites , :ROFL::ROFL::ROFL:


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## Naunnie

Now I'm real partial to my Guineas. They are different than any other bird though. I knew that before I bought them. I started with keets and trained them to come when called back into the duck house late in the evening. I have 3 out of 12 that will come sit next to me or even get in my lap. No they are not pets, but they know who I am and are not afraid of me.

Keep in mind Guineas are a tight flock. What one does...... the others will do. They cannot stand to be separated. This worked to my advantage. When I first started letting them free range, I never turned them all out at once. I let a few out at a time so they don't stray far from the rest of the flock. After several months, they all learned where home/feed is and come when called in.


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## happybleats

I have 7 ....I never wanted any...they are loud! But with ticks and stuff I thought we needed some....I find them interesting...We have one that will not grow to adulthood I think..his leg is not normal..but he stays with the flock...the first time we let them loose they indeed headed to the road!! and its quite a track..! we herded them back to their stall and thy stayed there a few more weeks...now they come and go as they please and stay in their own "Orbit" lol...they never go far from the lame bird and that boy can keep up!! he cant fly and scoots around...we know we will need to put him down but its hard when they have such a spirit to live lol..


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## goathiker

I'm not sure that "Guinea" and "intelligence" belong in the same sentence :scratch:


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## Jessica84

I had them once.....never again. They would go off at all hours of the night. We tried to get mama and babies back together and the dirty bird flew up in my husbands face and beat him up (shhh lol) 
I never really paid attention to them other then throwing a pillow over my head at night but I do know even though they could some what fly they were still the first thing the coyote came in and got.....not the free range no flying chickens so I'm not thinking that smart. And yeah they were crazy even coming out of the egg.


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## kccjer

Guineas are different to say the least. I really like the "satellite" comment. hehe They are fantastic bug control of all kinds. We have a heck of a time keeping them around because they do tend to disappear but we replace them. I've never had a problem with them at night unless something was going after them. I had one a couple years ago that was going nuts....finally figured out a skunk was after her nest! I don't think they are any dumber or smarter than any other birds....the term "bird brain" is out there for a reason. We do try to find their nests and incubate the eggs cause the keets don't survive very well....but any kind of wet will kill off the babies. Guess that's why they do so well in africa where they are originally from?


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## cwatkin

I found this and thought point #5 was valid: http://thefreerangelife.com/5-reasons-not-to-own-guinea-fowl/

Besides this, I hope the others aren't a problem.

Conor


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## kccjer

That's funny! LOL I haven't noticed the bully thing tho...


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## cwatkin

I have been told the bully issue is most noticeable if you have lots of roosters around.

Conor


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## cwatkin

I have been told the bully issue is most noticeable if you have lots of roosters around.

Conor


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## sassykat6181

....it's like their brains fly out the window. Lol Funny article!


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## Chadwick

I have only seen guinneas twice.....once in the road and I slowed down.....once in a Ben in the road and I nearly hit it!

Both times in a roadway!


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## Trickyroo

I would see the neighbor's birds on the side of the roadway too.
And also when traveling in Mass. I saw them , same place , on the roadside , lol. Not road pizza ……yet.


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## sassykat6181

Spoke with a man on the phone yesterday and somehow guineas came up. He said his guineas always beelined for the neighbors house. After a couple days he went over to check it out. The neighbor had a giant mirror up against his garage and the guineas were enthralled with it. Every time they started to walk away, they thought one got left behind! Lol.


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## Trickyroo

sassykat6181 said:


> Spoke with a man on the phone yesterday and somehow guineas came up. He said his guineas always beelined for the neighbors house. After a couple days he went over to check it out. The neighbor had a giant mirror up against his garage and the guineas were enthralled with it. Every time they started to walk away, they thought one got left behind! Lol.


:ROFL::ROFL::ROFL: I wonder what the goats would do if they saw their reflection in a big mirror :chin:


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## LadySecret

Trickyroo said:


> :ROFL::ROFL::ROFL: I wonder what the goats would do if they saw their reflection in a big mirror :chin:


Mine would probably break the mirror trying to head butt the "new" goat. lol


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## Trickyroo

I would like to see their very first reaction when seeing their
reflection lol.


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## christinajh

If start them from keets and keep them locked up where there home will be for awhile, then they usually stick in the general area of it. They are dumb, and I found most of the females I had would try to control all the birds and call them into line constantly. The males will run your roosters to death. Also guineas like to drown themselves 


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## Trickyroo

Also guineas like to drown themselves [/QUOTE said:


> :scratch::shrug::ROFL::ROFL::ROFL:
> Oh my , i just can't see how so many make it to adult hood


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## Naunnie

Oh my gosh! I feel like the guinea fowl advocate!:ROFL: Guineas are beautiful birds and they know it......hence love looking at their self in a mirror. Providing them a mirror is a great way to keep them close to home especially when in training. No....really, a flock of Guineas lives as a team. Together they will take on the world! They are fearless when it comes to some poultry predators. Guess it just depends on what your expectations are. I appreciate all the things they do here. They have killed snakes, mice and alert us to anything "off" on the property. I also have Guineas that sit in the ducks pond. So far none have drowned. They stand or squat in the shallow ends to cool off. 

Oh my! Just dawned on me....my guineas have always been with the ducks! They are one big mixed happy flock!!:stars:


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## cwatkin

Mine finally know how to get back to their coop with food and water without my having to corral them there. I agree they are neat and pretty birds and LOVE the fact that they are really starting to chow down on the tick population around here. They just don't seem very intelligent.

Conor


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## kccjer

Naunie, I agree with you. They are beautiful birds and I absolutely love mine. But...they really aren't intelligent. LOL Mine keep down the bug population but I haven't noticed the mice or snakes disappearing very quickly. I don't have grasshoppers, ticks, etc around. The ducks take care of the june bugs along with the toads.


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## christinajh

I like guineas. I only got rid of my four this year because they decide my squash plants tasted great. They were making too much noise for my small neighborhood when they were out with the main flock, so I traded them to a guy that was going to run them out on his hay field.


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## DanielsDairyGoats

Years ago I came across the site, and bought (and have now lost *sad face*) the book called Gardening With Guineas. It was a big help.

After my personal experiences I've come up with a plan to help keep them from wandering too far, or rooting in the trees. I do expect I could loose a number of hens while on the nest, or they will have no luck keeping a nest outside of the coop because of our dogs.
My plan is pretty simple, keep a few breeding pairs in a run with their coop attached to my free range coop. It will actually be one coop with the inside divided by wire. Then the free range birds will be tempted to come back, and I'll have keets every year to sell, replace my stock, maybe even eat.

I've had bullies, and I've had gentle souls. I did find them easier to brake from being aggressive to people then roosters. I had wild ones, and friendly ones too.


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