Carnivorous Guineas?

Status
Not open for further replies.
craglet

craglet

New Born Pup
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Sutton in Ashfield
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum and wanted a bit of advice.
I have had guineas for some time now and never before had issues, currently my numbers are at 12 (all females). My guineas live in a 8ftx15ft enclosure housed with 14 forein finches and have got a dozen hidey holes but tend to share 2 or 3, they have lived like this for around 6 months, they get fed a good quality pellet which is on tap then topped up daily with a shed load of fresh veg and hay and you name it they get it.
The thing that is worrying me is that the weekend before christmas I lost 5 guineas, they just vanished, then 4 days later, I went up to feed them their daily veg and 5 of the females were gathered round eating something. I cleared them away and found a pile of dead birds which they were very happily feasting on. The birds (if you are wondering) feast on the grass which is planted for the guineas to graze on, so i can only assume a couple of the dominant females had attacked them whilst grazing?
On seeing this i cleared out all their hidey holes and found half a dozen rear legs that i can only assume belong to the missing guineas.

My guineas have been actively killing and eating there pen buddies.

Can someone please give me advice on this as it freaking me out?

many thanks
Craig
 
That sounds terrible!!
Do you know how your 5 piggies 'just vanished'? Did they escape through some fencing/wire?
 
Bekki2308 said:
Guinea pigs and birds should share enclosures. Please separate them asap.
Click to expand...
Don't you mean, Guinea pigs and birds shouldN'T share enclosures?
I thought you must've done a spelling error as you said separate at the end!
 
Chief Guinea Pig said:
Don't you mean, Guinea pigs and birds shouldN'T share enclosures?
I thought you must've done a spelling error as you said separate at the end!
Click to expand...
I did, stupid ************ phone keeps over typing all over the place ... please admin for my sanity let me have tapatalk back :-P
 
My landlady had the same issue with chickens - it was rats burrowing under the enclosure and killing/eating the birds.

As mentioned, multiple species shouldn't be housed together, please consider separating them.
 
It is very dangerous to have birds with guinea pigs. Their droppings are toxic. They have such different needs that they should never be put together. There is no way the guinea pigs have eaten each other but how worrying the poor things were trying to eat dead birds. They should never have been in that position.
 
Itried to replicate a farm park I visited, also they weren't trying to eat the birds they had eaten them. It cannot be rats the enclosure is rat proof, also birds are no longer a problem. The most dominant females den is where I found the guinea pig legs, they had not escaped they were eaten
 
Multiple species should not be kept together it is unfair on both sets of animals. Please separate them imediately.
I am sorry that this has had tragic consequences, but the way forward is to house your animals separately.
 
I'd have a really good search for rat burrows, my money is on them being the culprits...they won't chew through your enclosure mesh/wood, they will dig under and through into the inside of the pen - their holes can be as small as 2cm diameter. They'd be attracted to the bird food and possibly the guinea pig nuggets too.
 
It is not rats I have built a rat proof enclosure, so I'm guessing no one has had an issue before with meat eating guineas?
 
Guinea pigs can (rarely) eat a tiny bit of meat like the odd bug or the placenta, but they do not kill anything bigger than the odd bug. I would strongly expect another agent and would strongly advise you to evacuate your guinea pigs and double or triple check your enclosure against rats, cats and birds of prey, weasels, mink etc., especially if several of your guinea pig have disappeared without a trace.

Please be aware that no ground animals should be kept in the same enclosure as birds as the droppings pose a health risk and there are disease with can be transmitted.
 
craglet said:
It is not rats I have built a rat proof enclosure, so I'm guessing no one has had an issue before with meat eating guineas?
Click to expand...

Guinea pigs are primarily herbivores, so they cannot digest meat. They will not eat meat as they don't have the teeth or digestive system to enable them to do so.
 
I highly doubt that it was the guinea pigs who killed the others. It's more likely something getting into the enclosure even though you don't think this. I would move the pigs inside where they are safe.
 
craglet said:
It is not rats I have built a rat proof enclosure, so I'm guessing no one has had an issue before with meat eating guineas?
Click to expand...

Unless you have concrete flooring and there's no holes chewed in it, or big enough for them to get through, it's still likely to be rats. They burrow under, rather than chew through. Even if there's wire sunk under ground level (I had to do this to my rabbit enclosure to prevent my dog from digging under), they will dig below this level and back up to get in.
 
always freaks me out that rats have the ability to eat concrete and even aluminium ... wouldnt put anything past a hungry rat! ... and I keep pet rats I have seen their mischief even when not hungry ... thanks for eating through your cage lads!
 
Bekki2308 said:
always freaks me out that rats have the ability to eat concrete and even aluminium ... wouldnt put anything past a hungry rat! ... and I keep pet rats I have seen their mischief even when not hungry ... thanks for eating through your cage lads!
Click to expand...

When Liam had rats in the wall cavities in his old flat, he wasn't too pleased when I pointed out they can chew through a house brick! He's terrified of animals :lol:
 
when you say "pellets on tap" and "shed loads of veg" what exactly do you mean? If such foods are freely available at all times then this could very likely attract rats or other small omnivores. Also if you found the remains in a "den"- well rats tend not to eat out in the open they (sorry if its a bit morbid) will drag their meals to a safe place to eat in peace. You say your enclosure is rat proof- could you describe it in detail so we can possibly help to see if there are any ways it might not be rat proof.
 
Regrettably, I have witnessed similar behaviour previously - I have seen guinea pigs eating the remains of other guinea pigs/ found the remains of guinea pigs in predator-proof enclosures, which housed only guinea pigs!

However, in these incidences, the guinea pigs were simply eating the remains of the guinea pigs that had died, and not killing one another! Regrettably, in these incidences, things were very wrong!

I'm surprised that it took you four days to find the remains of the guinea pigs that went missing - Surely, you checked the entire enclosure the minute you realised that one of your guinea pigs was missing?!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top