Tractored Guineas and Tick Control

[fadetopurple]

Has anyone ever tried to use a tractor to keep guineas for tick control? Did it do anything to keep the ticks down? We have a pretty bad tick problem but due to a couple of factors, we can't free-range the guineas. I am not real fond of them otherwise, so if they can't do their job while tractored, I will probably sell them.

Thanks!

 

[txchickie]

I wouldn't think they'd put much of a dent in the tick population if they were tractored. You'd have to move the tractor really frequently, and even then there are so many places a chicken tractor can't go that ticks can.

 

[fadetopurple]

txchickie - thanks for the reply. That's pretty much what I suspected, but I figured it was worth asking just in case.

 

[arherp]

They would take care of the ticks that are inside the tractor...

 

[lovinlife]

What are your reasons for not releasing them? They may be okay if they free range during the day. They'll go into a coop at night if trained. Guineas are the best for tick control and if you have a problem, they'd solve it for you!

 

[MuranoFarms]

Chickens eat ticks too ya know. So do turkeys. They'll eat everything they can get to, but my chickens never go more then a few feet into the woods. The guineas roam all over creation chasing bugs. They really are best for tick control, but if you have to keep them tractored......chickens will do just as good of a job in that amount of space.

 

[fadetopurple]

arherp - haha, yes, I would be safe from ticks inside the guinea tractor! Unfortunately I would not be safe from their shrieking, so it kind of evens out...

The two biggest problems are: a beehive (which we didn't have when we got the guinea keets last summer), and a dog that refuses to go to the bathroom on the leash and may or may not have killed a guinea earlier this week while he was loose.
I could explain the whole chain of events, which might make me look like less of an idiot, but that's the gist of it.
We also live fairly close to a busy road, and it sounds like guineas are more prone to wandering than chickens are. Basically, I'm worried that when I phase the guineas into free-ranging, they'll a) eat all the bees, b) get killed by the dog, c) get killed by cars, d) continue to annoy me and not make a dent in the tick population, or e) some combination thereof.

For the first time we have chickens that free-range during the day, so maybe they'll take care of some of the ticks.

 

[lovinlife]

Guineas will stay away from the road. There are chickens near me that forage right next to the highway, and in 11 years of living here and seeing those chickens near the road daily, I've only seen one that didn't make it. There is a flock of guineas that live on another rural road near me and they do just fine staying away from traffic.

I have Weimaraners, who like to hunt all sorts of things. They terrorize the bunny in her cage and can't get enough of the chickens in the coop. They aren't let out of their yard unless the chickens are put up. I promise you the dog will learn to pee and poop on a leash if that's the only choice they have. I have six dogs, three of which have no problem with the fowl in the barnyard.

I can't imagine they would eat the bees. If you're really concerned about that, put the bee hive in a "cage" of sorts, make one with 2'x4' mesh. The bees will have no problem going in and out, but any predator that would eat them can't get to them.

They will eat the ticks. I agree with Murano, chickens will eat them, too. They all eat bugs. My chickens will only eat the grasshoppers that innundate my property if they're allowed to free range. If I keep them in the run all day, they don't make a dent in the grasshopper population. I bought 2 guinea keets to add to my 2 adult guineas this spring. They free range 24/7, so I know they're eating way more bugs than my chickens that are only allowed to free range in the evening.

 

[cracking up]

I've heard people say they will wipe out a hive of bees. We have bees coming out of a hole in the garage wall (ok so they live in the wall of the garage) and the guineas don't bother them, they're too busy eating ticks. I do wish they would eat red ants.

 

[txchickie]

Quote:
I'd love to have some of these guineas that know to stay out of the road! I gave a good friend of ours several older keets and they did a great job raising them for about 3-4 months, then they turned them out to free range and they were all roadkill within 2 weeks.