How to Keep Guinea Hens Quiet?

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If you’ve lived around guinea fowl, then you can attest to the fact that they are very noisy.

Guinea fowl are typically raised for biological control of pests, as well as for meat and egg production.

But because they are noisy, people are more likely to keep them in rural areas than in urban areas.

How can you keep guinea hens quiet?

Keeping guinea hens quiet is a bit difficult, but it is not impossible. They are one of the least intelligent birds, so they make noise when they experience any external stimulus, even harmless ones. One way to make them relatively quiet is to hatch the keets and raise them amongst chickens.

A guinea fowl’s environment plays an important role in how noisy it becomes. If you can raise the keets and condition them before they become accustomed to noise, you can control the noise.

Four guinea fowls standing on a wooden fence

Table of Contents

Why Guinea Fowl Scream and Make Noise

Guineafowls are relatively low-maintenance and useful for pest biocontrol.

But it goes without saying that their tendency to be alarmists can be a discouraging element in rearing them.

Guinea fowl can be frustratingly noisy for their owners. Understanding why they make a ruckus in the first place can help you manage the noise later on.

Social

Guinea fowl are highly social when they are with their own kind. They tend to roam in a group and will communicate endlessly.

Startled

Guinea fowl scream or make noise when they are startled. Sadly for the owners and people living around, they are usually disturbed by nearly everything.

Various types of environmental changes trigger screams and noise from these birds. Something as small as a change in the yard can cause them to cry out.

Alert

At the same time, guinea fowl can become noisy when they encounter significant environmental changes. This can include the presence of insects or predatory animals.

Pair of beautiful Guinea fowls in the backyard

Guinea fowl are relatively unintelligent. Even when you expect that they will realize that an external stimulus is harmless, they won’t.

Guinea fowls can be useful alarm callers, and their predisposition to crow at anything can be advantageous.

When there is a strange person, animal, or activity, guinea fowl can call your attention to it.

Upset

Guinea fowl will make noisy calls when a member of their group dies. They gather around the dead member and cry out.

They also become noisy when a member of the group gets lost. When such happens, the lost member will also call out to the group until they reunite.

Types of Noises Guinea Fowl Make

Guinea fowl have 2 types of calls: a one-syllable sound and a two-syllable sound.

The monosyllabic sound is made by both males and females. However, it is more common with the guinea cocks.

Guinea hens are the only guinea fowls that make the two-syllable sound.

The one-syllable sound comes off as chi-chi-chi, while the two-syllable sound comes off as buck-wheat.

Tips for Keeping Guinea Fowl Quiet

Though it may seem far-fetched, you may actually be able to cut down on the noise coming from your guinea fowl. Here are some tips for keeping the peace.

Cull the Noisiest One From the Group

Among guinea fowl groups, some members are noisier than the others. In many cases, these noisy ones set the pace for the others. They instigate noisemaking in the group.

You can minimize noisemaking by selectively removing the loudest members. This leaves the remaining birds to copy the less noisy behavior they observe around them.

Three Guinea fowls standing at National park

Fulfill Their Needs

One major way of keeping the constant chatter of guinea fowl at bay is by fulfilling their food, water, and heat needs.

Guinea fowl are originally native to Africa, so it is understandable that they need to be reasonably warm, especially as keets. Keeping them comfortable is a step toward keeping them quieter.

Hatch Your Keets and Raise Them With Chickens

Raising keets yourself can give you quieter guinea fowl.

By hatching your keets around other birds such as chickens, you can condition them to act more like chickens.

Since chickens are not as noisy or flighty as guinea fowl, they can be a better influence on the keets.

A possible benefit of this method is that these quieter keets will go on to lay even quieter keets for the future.

Provide a Male Guinea Fowl

Guinea hens have been observed to be louder than their male counterparts. This is sometimes common with those that are being reared alone.

The excessive noisiness in guinea hens being reared alone has been linked to the absence of a male guinea fowl. The noise is often a mating call and can be reduced by providing a male guinea fowl.

When providing a guinea cock to the guinea hen, ensure you do it gradually.

This way, the guinea hen will not perceive the newcomer as a threat, which can make them even louder and put the animals in danger.

Keeping Guinea Fowl Quiet During the Day

During the day, the noise can be minimized by training the guinea fowl, communicating with them, and ensuring they have a routine. Communication can come as calls which they heed to.

Unusual events that can set them off should be kept at a minimum to douse their sensitivity.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl bird in mid flight at sunset with bush on the background

Keeping Guinea Fowl Quiet at Night

Since darkness can make them restless, keep your guinea fowl in well-lit areas at night. These areas should also be free of interference from invaders.

Final Thoughts

You may not be able to keep your guinea fowl absolutely quiet, but you can condition them to be relatively noiseless.

The most important factor in their loudness is their environment. By raising them amongst quieter birds like chickens and in a tranquil atmosphere, you can make them less noisy.