Identifying Guinea Fowl Sounds: When Do They Make It And What It Means

A guinea fowl feeds upon insects and seeds of various plants and they belong to the order Galliformes.

Usually, these creatures are of more than one size depending on their breed which means that one can be bigger or smaller than another. They are able to grow up to 28 in (71 cm) tall.

Usually, they live for 10-15 years at a farm. Guinea fowls have actually been declared as one of the endemic species of birds in Africa. They are one of the oldest species of birds in the order of Galliformes. Mostly, the modern guinea fowl has been declared endemic in Africa but the helmeted guinea fowl has been declared as a domestic breed of bird in many places.

Guinea fowls live in groups and love to socialize. They are normally monogamous in nature, like swans, and they mate with one partner all throughout their life. These breeds of birds are quite helpful for farmers as they keep away locusts, flies, and ticks and help in keeping the crops protected. These birds are very strong flyers and actually feed upon maggots collected from manure.

After you have understood what guinea fowl sound like when in a coop, be sure to check out our answers to why do roosters crow and what animal produces the loudest sound?

What does a guinea hen say?

Guinea hens are extremely loud birds who tend to make a lot of noise throughout the day. These noises can be made to ward off predators or alert other group members of any danger that might be around.

The sound made by a guinea hen has been described as 'buck wheat' noise. Apart from the buck wheat noise, the guinea hens can also mimic the sound of a cock. They make a 'chee-chee' sound imitating a cock. These birds can disturb the silence. Normally, a guinea fowl makes noise in groups when a member of their flock dies and they are upset. It is also known that guinea fowls make noises and screams when they are disturbed by their surroundings.

They will also start making noises when any group member is lost and prefer to make that bit of noise until the lost group member is reunited with the rest of the group.

During the breeding season, male and female guinea fowl species make loud calls to attract the attention of a potential mate. It sounds like they are singing a duet and raising their voices.

Once the mate responds to the call, they will engage in the mating process and stay together for raising the chicks. Guinea fowl chicks are known as keet and both parents do their bit in raising the chicks and both the males and females are able to take care of them.

What kind of noise does a guinea hen make?

A guinea hen makes a noise that sounds like 'buck wheat'. They can also copy a cock's call and can scream 'chee chee'. This breed of birds proves to be helpful when it comes to keeping away pests and insects as they eat them as part of their diet. Guinea hens are noisy breeds of birds.

Even though they are domesticated now, they have a wild ancestral history and so these birds have wild qualities. Guinea hens clatter all throughout the day making as much noise as possible.

Their screams are caused by small changes in the environment. Sometimes, a guinea fowl will clatter in order to warn its owner about predatory animals and these are rightfully called alarm callers. Guineas' lifestyle consists of eating, sleeping, chattering, and screaming in terror. Hence, they are best suitable for rural areas and are not usually found in urban cities as they would more than likely disturb neighbors! Guinea fowls are known to make two types of calls; the one-syllable call made by both males and females, and the two-syllable call.

Why do guinea fowl scream and make noise?

Guinea fowls are a noisy breed of birds. They like to shout all day long. The guinea fowl sound of the male and female bird is different and enables people to identify the sex of the bird through the distinct, loud sound.

Guinea fowl can scream and make noise for a variety of reasons. They scream when upset about the death of a member of their flock. They scream when they see an environmental change forthcoming. Small changes affect them. They scream sometimes to alert their owner to predatory animals. A guinea fowl will scream for a number of reasons and as a result, they have been declared by many as a noisy breed of birds.

They are loud birds who like to use a one-syllable loud call to alert their owners or convey a message to the rest of their group.

What do guinea fowl sounds mean?

Guinea fowl are a noisy breed of birds that are mostly domesticated.

These birds are affected by every minute change in the environment. These birds can scream for a number of reasons. When they are upset they scream, when they are disturbed by changes in the environment they scream.

Any small noise in the yard can cause these birds to scream. They make noise also to alarm their owner to predatory animals. Thus, these noisy birds can make a number of noises and each noise has its own interpretation.

These noises can be a true nuisance if you have neighbors so, it is advisable to keep these birds in rural farms where any such issues will not be faced. If you are thinking about keeping guinea fowls in a city environment, then you might want to think twice before doing so.

How can you tell a male from a female guinea fowl?

A male and a female guinea fowl look alike. They are often helpful for farmers to protect the farm from various insects like locusts and predatory animals.

Famous for their meat, the popularity of these birds is increasing day by day. The sex of a guinea fowl is difficult to determine and therefore you must wait until they get older and start to vocalize. Normally, guinea fowls start vocalizing when they are eight weeks old. The sex of the bird can be determined on the basis of the noises made by them. A male guinea fowl makes monosyllabic noise which sounds like a chirp or a yelp and has often been compared to the sound made by a machine gun.

The females, on the other hand, can make a two-syllable sound that sounds like 'buck wheat or 'put-rock' or 'qua-track'. You can often tell the gender by the wattles hanging from the bird's head or neck. In the males, the wattles are elongated and large and come in folds while in females the wattles are flat and are smaller than the wattles of a male guinea fowl. You can also distinguish between a male and a female on the basis of the helmet. These helmets are present on the top of their heads and in males, the helmets are larger than the females. You can also distinguish between them by closely identifying their sexual organs.

Are female guinea fowl loud?

Guinea fowls are a noisy breed of birds found in Africa where they have been declared as an endemic species.

A female guinea fowl is loud and they can shout, scream and clatter all day long. You can raise them in your yard because they are excellent birds that require little maintenance and keep away pests. However, they can disturb the silence with their repeated calls.

How To Keep Guinea Hens Quiet

There are various ways to quieten this breed of noisy birds. The very first method to quieten these birds is to raise the keets with chickens.

Environment plays an important role in the noise made by a guinea hen. If they are raised in conditions before they become habituated with noises then you can quieten them. Sometimes, the entire flock of guinea hens may scream due to the instigation of one noisy member of the flock. In such cases, consider removing the noisy member from the flock. Often, guinea hens scream when they need food or water. In such cases, supply them with food and water regularly to cut the noise. Often, guinea hens will also scream for mating. Such mating calls can be avoided by providing male guinea fowls.

The Utility Of Guinea Fowl Sounds

You might consider guinea fowl as very noisy creatures who clatter all day long. However, the noises made by a guinea fowl are sometimes helpful for the owners.

It is worth noting that a guinea fowl shouts for various reasons. Other than shouting when upset or disturbed by environmental changes, a guinea fowl also shouts to keep away predatory animals from your yard. These alarm calls are quite helpful. They also help in keeping a farm free of insects and locusts. Therefore, whilst loud, a guinea fowl's sounds are sometimes helpful too.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for guinea fowl sounds then why not take a look at guinea fowl eggs, or Guinea Fowl Facts.