How to Determine the Sex of a Guinea Fowl

A male guinea fowl is termed a cock, while a female is called a hen. Like any species, there are some signs to look for when determining gender. The ability to determine sex aids the local breeder, farmer and fancy bird show-person to appropriately house and feed both genders. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Wait until 2 months or older to determine the sex of your guinea. Although guinea keets (babies) are naturally loud from birth, the distinctive call that most easily determines the gender isn't full developed until then.

2. Listen the guinea's call. At 2 months of age and older, a guinea will emit either a one or two syllable call. The female emits a two syllable call, which, according to folklore sounds like "buck-wheat, buck-wheat." A male emits a one syllable call that sounds like "chit chit chit chit." Determining the difference is easiest when you can hear both sexes.

3. Observe differences in the size and shape of the head. Males exhibit a more elongated and larger head, especially in the rear section of their heads. Females' skulls appear much more rounded.

4. Look at the bird's wattles (the ornamentation on the top of their head). These vary in size and males exhibit much larger and more erect wattles.

Tips & Warnings

• At times male birds will display assertive tendencies in a flock. You can identify them through this behavior. However, the call that is specific to this species is a more accurate method of determining sex.

Resources

• Listen to clips of the sounds that both female and male guinea fowl make.

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