I have 3 guineas that a chicken hatched out and they are maturing quite nicely ranging around with their mama. Now I was wondering what I had gender wise and I don't know how to tell the difference between guinea hens and guinea cockerals. Any clues?

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 18, 2001

Answers

Alison.......the females will make a call the sounds like they are saying "buckwheat......buckwheat" and the males just squawk. At maturity there are some differences in the appearences in the heads of males and females but I am at a loss as to how to discribe it. They are more subtle differences that you see on other species.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

The male guinea has large roundish wattles while the female has smaller triangular shaped wattles.

-- Bettie Ferguson (jobett@dixie-net.com), August 18, 2001.

Just wanted to add that they don't start making their different calls till they are a few months old. You can't tell much difference in the wattles till they get this age either.

-- Paula (chipp89@bellsouth.net), August 18, 2001.

Ummmm......the females lay eggs. Sorry, couldn't resist. I can't tell mine apart either.

-- Mona in OK (modoc@ipa.net), August 18, 2001.

Thanks, all! ROFL@Mona...funny girl!

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 18, 2001.

Can't help with guineas but you tell a boy chromosome from a girl chromosome by pulling down his genes. Okay, okay! So stop with the rotten tomatoes already. My freshman biology teacher told that the first day of class 30 some odd years ago. Couldn't resist. By the way, we as a class groaned too.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), August 18, 2001.

marilyn........now you are really dating yourself and me because my teacher told me that joke back then also!!! Where do you live???? Wouldn't be Michigan would it???? LOL

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

No, Dianne, I live in Missouri now but went to college in Mississippi. It was a college freshman class so that makes me even older!!!!! I figure age is a matter of mind. If you don't mind, age doesn't matter. Now the wear and tear on the old bod (how long has it been since you heard BOD?) is something else again but the mind is still good. I think. Oh rats! I am old, let's face it!

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), August 18, 2001.

the male guineas have gold chains around their necks and the female guineas have moustaches. Hope this helps.

-- crawford (drill-instructor@wabcmail.com), August 19, 2001.

Just throw a small stick at it. If HE runs, it is a male. If SHE runs, it is a female.

-- Tom B (tombasin@alltel.net), August 19, 2001.

I can tell that if Jim Carey ever runs outta schtick he can come to you guys!!!!!! Note on the Italian crack: My friends husband commented after I said I had 3 guinea chicks "I have one too..had her almost 30 years" at which point he hugged and kissed his wife. Luckily she laughed.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 20, 2001.

Their are two ways that I know of to distinguish hens from males. One is by the sound they make. The hen will make a "pot rack" sound. It's the only sound the male cannot make. The visual way to tell them apart is by looking at the wattles. The wattles on the males on full and puffy, and stick outwards from their face. The females wattles hang flatto the face and do not appear puffy. Some say you can sex them by the crest on their head but I have found this to be untrue.

Best regards,

Gary Pfalzbot - GoatWorld.com

-- Gary Pfalzbot (gary@goatworld.com), August 20, 2001.

My Grandmother always claimed that she could tell the difference. She would argue w/ my Grandfather. She won 50% of the time, he did too. As far as I know, only by surgical exploratory can the sex organs be determined to be m or f. As in many birds this is the case.

-- blue (mulehead@hotmail.com), August 23, 2001.

The male do have fuller wattles, however you can't tell until they are more mature. I have three of the meanest males I have eve seen. I have to keep them caged, they chase everything (turkeys, chickens, cats, etc) out of the yard. I would love to sell them. On the othe hand I also have another male that loves babies, of any sort, and he stays with the mother turkey (or whatever) and protects the babies from larger birds. Strangest thing I have ever seen. On top of all that, none of them will socialize with the semi-wild ones that roost in our 77 yr old Burr oak tree.

-- Cindy Danks (cindy@odsy.net), August 23, 2001.

I've been trying to determine the sexes of ours, too. Another gal on the forum told me about the sounds they make, and we've decided that the one in the bunch that always goes the opposite way the rest of the bunch goes, then acts stupid for hours until we get it back with the main group, must be a hen as she constantly says "come back, come back, come back"! It probably isn't always the same bird, but this one must be missing some of it's brain cells, as it only seems to be one bird that doesn't follow the crowd, and can't figure how to rejoin them after they get out of it's sight. Obviously, the birds can tell who is what, or the species would be extinct! Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), August 23, 2001.

As some of the other folks have said the sound the female makes is like they are saying "buck wheat" the male makes a loud chipping sound. I have found these birds to be hard on the other fowl, but they make great fox + owl bait, when something stands there and screams that long it really is asking to be killed! Dan p.s. those jokes were real groaners, timed jokes...laugh when you have time.

-- Dan Porter (dansark@yahoo.com), March 23, 2002.