Geese, Quail and Guinea Fowl: Three Very Different Birds

Geese are grazing, long-lived guard birds that can be fierce in spring. Coturnix quail are tiny, flighty and quick to lay, and need a fully covered pen. Guinea fowl are very loud, love to roam and roost high, and won't clear your land of ticks alone. All three are social, so keep a group, and all count as poultry for registration in the UK and Ireland.

Grazers, sprinters and the neighborhood alarm system.

How the three compare.

Geese, quail and guinea fowl at a glance
Geese	Grazers; need grass and water; loud, protective; long-lived
Quail	Tiny; fully covered pen; lay young; shorter lives
Guinea fowl	Very loud; roam and fly; roost high
Company	Keep a small group of each species
Noise	Geese and guinea fowl are loud; talk to neighbors first
Paperwork	Count as poultry in the UK and Ireland

Geese: Grazers With Opinions

Geese are grazing birds: given good grass, they eat a lot of it, so they suit people with a paddock or orchard rather than a small yard. They're loud, alert and protective, which makes them good at announcing visitors. Ganders in particular can be aggressive in the breeding season, and a goose's bite and wing blows hurt, so supervise children and visitors.

Space: good grazing and room to roam; geese foul small areas quickly.
Water: enough to dip their heads, and ideally to bathe in.
Housing: a dry, airy shed shut every night; geese sleep on the floor.
Lifespan: often well over a decade, so they're a long commitment.

Hand-reared geese raised around people are usually much easier to live with than birds that arrive as adults.

Coturnix Quail: Small, Speedy and Flighty

Coturnix (Japanese) quail are small enough for a garden that couldn't take chickens. They mature fast and can start laying at only a couple of months old, but their lives are shorter than a chicken's.

Fully covered housing: quail startle and fly straight up, so a solid or soft roof, not a hard wire one at head height, protects them from injury and from predators.
Predators: their size means rats, cats and birds of prey are serious threats, so the mesh and the base must be secure.
Floor and cover: quail live on the ground and like cover to hide in, plus a dust bath.
Feed: a game-bird or high-protein poultry feed made for quail; ask the supplier.

Guinea Fowl: The Loudest Birds on the Block

Guinea fowl are alert, comical and very noisy. Their alarm call goes off at almost anything new and carries a long way, so talk to the neighbors before you buy. They love to roam, fly well and prefer roosting high in trees, which leaves them open to predators at night.

Training them home: keepers usually keep new guineas shut in their house for several weeks so they learn where home is, then let them out a little before dusk.
Ticks and insects: they do eat ticks and other insects as they forage, but a few birds won't clear a tick-heavy property on their own.
Company: they're happiest in a group, and often mix reasonably well with chickens.

Fences, Flight and Wings

Guinea fowl clear ordinary fences easily, and even heavy domestic geese can hop a low one if they're keen. Secure fencing designed for the species is the main answer. Some keepers trim the flight feathers on one wing; if you're thinking about it, have a vet or an experienced keeper show you how, because done wrongly it causes pain and bleeding.

The Law: Rules Differ by Country

Even a few pet hens can come with legal duties, mainly so that officials can reach keepers during a bird flu outbreak. Check what applies where you live before the birds arrive.

United Kingdom: In England and Wales you must register with APHA within one month of keeping poultry, whatever the number of birds and even if they are pets (see registering a small flock on gov.uk). Scotland has its own kept-bird register, and Northern Ireland keepers register with DAERA. During outbreaks, bird flu housing orders and prevention zones apply to backyard flocks too.
United States: There is no federal registration for backyard flocks, but city or county zoning often limits numbers, roosters and coop placement, and some states ask for premises registration. Your state department of agriculture or state veterinarian can tell you what applies.
Elsewhere: Ireland requires every poultry keeper, even with one or two birds, to register with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Canada (CFIA and your province), Australia (your state or territory agriculture department) and New Zealand (Ministry for Primary Industries) have their own rules, especially during bird flu outbreaks.

Kitchen scraps: don't feed kitchen scraps to poultry. In the UK and the EU it is illegal, even for pet hens and even for vegetable leftovers, and many other countries restrict it because food waste can spread serious animal diseases.

Rules change, so check with your national authority before you buy.

Housing and Feeding Gear

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Quail need a fully covered hutch or aviary-style pen with a secure base. Geese need tall, sturdy fencing and a water tub big enough to dunk and bathe. Welded mesh keeps rats and other predators out of any pen. A game-bird or quail feed and a covered feeder round out the list, along with poultry grit for birds that graze or forage.

Feeding All Three

Geese live largely on grass in the growing season, topped up with a waterfowl or poultry feed, and need more feed when grass is short. Quail and guinea fowl need complete feeds suited to them; game-bird feeds are often used, and young birds need the higher-protein starter versions. Grit helps every bird that forages. Keep feed under cover and away from wild birds.

No kitchen scraps for any of them: in the UK and the EU it's illegal to feed kitchen or catering waste to poultry, pets included.

Health Basics and Bird Flu

Find a vet who sees poultry or birds before you buy, check every bird daily, and keep newcomers apart for a couple of weeks. Geese, like ducks, can carry bird flu without showing signs, so keep feed and water away from wild waterfowl and follow any housing orders. In Great Britain, suspected bird flu must be reported to APHA.

Medicines, worming and parasite treatments: see your vet or a pet supply store with trained staff. They can tell you what suits your birds and where you live.

Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before adding these three.

Are pet geese aggressive?

Many are protective, especially ganders in the breeding season, and their bites and wing blows hurt. Geese raised around people from young are usually easier, but supervise children and visitors.

How much space do quail need?

Much less than chickens, which is their appeal, but they need a fully covered, predator-proof pen with ground cover and a dust bath. A soft or solid roof stops them injuring themselves when they flutter straight up.

Are guinea fowl really that loud?

Yes. Their alarm call is piercing and goes off at almost anything new. If you have close neighbors, talk to them first.

Do guinea fowl get rid of ticks?

They eat ticks along with other insects as they forage, but a small flock won't clear a property with a serious tick problem on its own.

Will geese and guinea fowl fly away?

Guinea fowl fly well and often roost in trees; geese fly less but can clear a low fence. Secure fencing and training guineas to come home at dusk are the main answers.

Can they live with chickens?

Guinea fowl often mix with chickens. Quail usually do better on their own because of their size, and geese can bully smaller birds, so watch closely.