poultrykeeper logo

Sexing Guinea Fowl

Guinea fowl are notoriously difficult to sex – it’s hard to tell keets apart until they are at least 8-10 weeks of age when they start to call. Male guinea fowl have a one-syllable call that sounds like they are saying “wheat” and the female guinea fowl has a two-syllable call that sounds like “buck-wheat”.

Guinea fowl callingMy neighbour once said to me she thought I was cutting metal with a saw, it certainly isn’t a ‘neighbour friendly sound’ once they get going, so if you’ve got close neighbours and don’t want to upset them, don’t keep Guinea fowl too close!

Just to confuse matters, females can also call like the male bird from time to time, so be sure to listen to them on a few occasions before making any assumptions.

Adult males are usually larger with bigger wattles and head furnishings as you will see in the pictures at the bottom of this page.

As they grow, this difference soon becomes apparent and is a good way to double check their sex.

The head of the male looks different to the female as you can see, note the slightly larger wattles on the male.

Hopefully this will help you with sexing Guinea fowl.

Male Guinea Fowl Female Guinea Fowl
Male Guinea Fowl Female Guinea Fowl

 

Related Posts:

On this page:

You might also enjoy:

Housing Geese
Keeping Geese
Housing Geese

Providing you can give sufficient space, adequate ventilation and security from nighttime predators, a goose house need not be complicated. In this article, Mo provides the low-down on housing geese.  

Read More »
Orpington Chickens
Chicken Breeds
Orpington Chickens

The Orpington fowl is more impressive in the flesh than in photographs that accompany the various books on pure breeds of poultry. 

With its abundance of feathers, the large fowl Orpingtons fill their show pens and are a sight to behold. The bantams – a miniature version of this magnificent breed – are still relatively big birds and equally eye-catching and impressive.

Read More »
Hatchability of Chicken Eggs
Incubating, Hatching & Brooding Chicks
Hatchability of Chicken Eggs

The hatchability of chicken eggs is as essential for backyard chicken keepers as it is for commercial flocks, especially when you have a limited number of eggs from a rare breed or breed in numbers to produce a small number of birds for the show pen.

Read More »
A poultry orchard with geese
Keeping Geese
Creating an Orchard for Poultry

Traditionally, in Europe, people kept poultry in orchards. Chickens and waterfowl would eat insects and fallen fruit, and geese would keep the grass short. Droppings helped provide nutrients for the trees, and the trees provided shade, shelter and safety.

Read More »