Keeping guineas makes me question my sanity!

Ah memories! I am down to one 15 year old guinea now, from my flock of 30 plus some years back.

They make great watchdogs- a few years back I saw a fox come trotting up the paddock looking for an easy meal-

- the entire flock took to him and chased him for 2 paddocks! (about half a mile) - it was hilarious!

No - it's a 15 yea rold cock- all the hens got eaten years ago because they would
insist on sitting on nests out in the paddock. my second last guinea to die, last year, was
more than 20 years old (i know that because he moved here from the farm next door AT LEAST
20 years ago!

A while back i had noticed a car had been coming down our easement and thought it was someone visiting my neighbor until 300 guineas went running in that direction one day screaming like a big predator was there, i went to see what was going on and as i stepped out on the easement i saw all the guineas surrounding the parked car and i do mean surrounding the car, There apparently was some hany panky going on in that car as the windows were all fogged up, they had started their car but could not see i guess and were trying to get turned around to leave and backed their back tire into a deep hole and got stuck, i went back into the woods and let them alone in the hole with 300 plus guineas screaming.
My neighbor ended up coming to see all the commotion was and gave that couple what for after having to pull them out of the hole , you can bet they will never be back here again LOL

Guinea stories are so much fun! Mine are finally starting to go in their coop in the evening. I have to get there early enough for sure or they are in the trees. Sad note, I am down to 13 now. I am hoping one is sitting on a nest somewhere, but my neighbor saw a fox after one, and I had another neighbors dog here chasing them the day before the fox. That was the day the guinea turned up missing. I have spent some time stalking them, (looking for those eggs!) but still no luck. Life is just too short to spend the day stalking guineas!!! They stay in one big group until they see me, then they split up into little groups and go every which way! I swear they are doing it on purpose, but that would require some thought on their part and we all know they are not great thinkers! Love them anyway!

I can't imagine life without guineas. Eggs and entertainment! Of course, the boneheads can make me so mad. . . like the time I had to crawl under my neighbor's barbed wire fence during a blizzard to get them out of his hay barn and they couldn't figure out how to get through his cattle chute arrangement. I'd almost have them out then someone would panic and they'd all run to the other side AWAY from the opening. Or the time they all went to ground on his side of the fence and would not budge because it was dark. I put a cage on a wheelbarrow and we rounded them up. I'm doing all this in my work clothes. As we got closer to home they began to peep and cheep as they recognized the house. I very unceremoniously dumped the cage in their pen.

But my favorite story is the first time we ran an extension cord from the house to the pens. The guineas came upon this strange orange snake-like thing and had a town hall meeting about it. It was between them and where they wanted to go but no one wanted to walk across it. Finally, one brave bird flew up and over the extension cord to freedom and the others followed quickly.

BritinMO said:

With the warmer weather here, my herd have decided that its time to get into the summer routine (sleeping in the big tree by the coop, instead of IN the coop where they spend their winter nights), but so far only HALF of them have made the move - so around 7pm when its bedtime and getting dark, there is an almighty row going on between the 2 differences of opinions of where to spend the night - I have the bunch in the tree screaming at the ones in the coop to join them - and I have the bunch in the coop screaming at the ones in the tree - its complete mayhem out there, I am thinking about getting earplugs for the chickens who are trying to get some sleep.

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OMG--I could have written your post! That is exactly what is going on at my place right now! But it goes on ALL NIGHT LONG! I really am thinking about cutting down the tree outside the coop...but then thy'd probably take to roosting in the pine outside my window!
Gotta love 'em though...havent seen a tick for 6 years! TErri O