If you have chickens, you may not have to provide another coop for your guineas. Guinea fowl will often go and roost in chicken coops with the chickens in there! Smart guineas learn to stay with other animals and poultry, as bigger numbers can keep them safer.
Can You Coop Guineas and chickens?
You can coop them, free-range them, or do half and half. Chickens are fine with both. Guineas are not the same. Unless you clip their wings extremely short, they are going to get out of the coop. That is actually a good thing if you have them for any reason beyond meat and eggs.
A common inquiry we ran across in our research was “Do Guineas roost in the coop?”.
Guineas should have the same housing as chickens to protect them from the elements and predators. All 30 of mine roost in the coops at night, with the exception of 2 hard heads.
Can chickens and guineas breed?
Yes, Guinea fowl and chickens will occasionally cross breed but the resulting offspring is galled a Guin or Guin-hen and will always be sterile. Below: A rooster mating with a Guinea fowl hen. The result are called Guin’s or Guin-hens and are relatively unpredictable in their habits and whether or not they actually lay eggs.
Then, are Guineas chickens?
You might be thinking, “Well, duh! But I mean they are not even remotely the same. Chickens are very domesticated birds. You can coop them, free-range them, or do half and half. Chickens are fine with both. Guineas are not the same.
This is what we stumbled across. Guineas are highly social with their own kind; where one goes, they all go. If one gets lost it will call out until the flock comes to find it. They can co-exist with other species such as chickens, but care must be taken with male Guinea fowl.
Can a guinea hen and a chicken rooster cross breed?
There are people who intentionally cage a guinea hen and a chicken rooster together just to make this cross.
Guineas can breed with chickens. It is far more likely to happen with a guinea hen and a chicken rooster than the other way around. The offspring are said to be infertile and do not tend to live long lives. There are people who intentionally cage a guinea hen and a chicken rooster together just to make this cross.
Miracle, a guinea–chicken cross, behind sibling guinea fowl. Photo courtesy of Brenda Warren. Very few rooster-fertilized guinea fowl eggs form embryos, and of those that do, most die before pipping or very soon after hatching, especially females. Of those examined, guinea–chicken hybrids that have lived longer than this were male.
What happened to my guinea hen’s mate?
My Guinea hen’s mate died late last summer and she has been on her own. Since, they are very social creatures she joined my mixed chicken coop. It has gone quite well and she seems to be thriving. Fast forward to Spring and she calls constantly for a mate. Well, I caught the chicken rooster “getting the job done.”.