Beginner Questions

[kgilmore1]

We are considering getting some guineas, maybe 6-10. We live very rural on the very edge of town on a few acres. Behind us will be a rice or soybean field and in front of our house we have a few neighbors. Our neighborhood has several flocks of chickens, there was a couple free range peacocks that roamed everywhere and some guineas a few years back. Our neighbors won't mind noise at all. My question is will guineas mess up gardens and flower beds like chickens? Also, any experience with opossums and guineas? There's TONS of opposums here and they would definitely run into one if they free range and stay out until the sun is setting.

 

[R2elk]

We are considering getting some guineas, maybe 6-10. We live very rural on the very edge of town on a few acres. Behind us will be a rice or soybean field and in front of our house we have a few neighbors. Our neighborhood has several flocks of chickens,

Read Raising Guinea Fowl 101 and pay particular attention to posts made by @PeepsCA

 

[kgilmore1]

Read Raising Guinea Fowl 101 and pay particular attention to posts made by @PeepsCA

Sorry it posted early! I skimmed through there but didn't see answers to my questions

 

[R2elk]

Sorry it posted early! I skimmed through there but didn't see answers to my questions

Skimming through that thread will cause you to miss a lot of really good information.

Guineas do not dig like chickens do. If you want your guineas to be able to do bug patrol in your garden, NEVER feed your guineas treats from your garden. You do not want them to develop a taste for what you plant in the garden. If you teach them to eat the things you grow, they will remember and seek those things out in the garden.

There are no opossums here, but there are skunks, raccoons, feral cats and Great Horned Owls. If you do not have a secure coop with your guineas in it at night, you won't have your guineas for very long. Your guineas may or may not make an alarm when they find opossums. I have watched my guineas scream their fool heads off as they followed a feral cat along the fence. I have also watched them stare quietly at a skunk or raccoon in a live trap. I have also have them raise a racket just because they saw me approach from a different direction than I normally come from.

I allowed my first flock of guineas to do pretty much whatever they wanted to and very quickly lost the whole first flock to Great Horned owls. I never allow my guineas to be outside their coop at night. I absolutely do not allow the hens to sit on a hidden nest outside.

I always recommend having at least 10 guineas so there are enough of them for their proper flock relations. If you do not raise your guineas with chickens they should not have any desire to interact with chickens once they are mature.

Good luck.

 

[sillyfab]

Skimming through that thread will cause you to miss a lot of really good information.

Guineas do not dig like chickens do. If you want your guineas to be able to do bug patrol in your garden, NEVER feed your guineas treats from your garden. You do not want them to develop a taste for what you plant in the garden. If you teach them to eat the things you grow, they will remember and seek those things out in the garden.

There are no opossums here, but there are skunks, raccoons, feral cats and Great Horned Owls. If you do not have a secure coop with your guineas in it at night, you won't have your guineas for very long. Your guineas may or may not make an alarm when they find opossums. I have watched my guineas scream their fool heads off as they followed a feral cat along the fence. I have also watched them stare quietly at a skunk or raccoon in a live trap. I have also have them raise a racket just because they saw me approach from a different direction than I normally come from.

I allowed my first flock of guineas to do pretty much whatever they wanted to and very quickly lost the whole first flock to Great Horned owls. I never allow my guineas to be outside their coop at night. I absolutely do not allow the hens to sit on a hidden nest outside.

I always recommend having at least 10 guineas so there are enough of them for their proper flock relations. If you do not raise your guineas with chickens they should not have any desire to interact with chickens once they are mature.

Good luck.

do you worm your guineas

 

[R2elk]

do you worm your guineas

No I do not. At this time I have not seen any evidence of worms in my guineas. I do what causes the guineas the least amount of stress and that is to leave them alone as much as possible. Other than not allowing any to sleep out at night on hidden nests and making sure that all are in their secure coop at night we don't have much interaction. I do provide them with a constant source of feed and water in their coop.

 

[sillyfab]

No I do not. At this time I have not seen any evidence of worms in my guineas. I do what causes the guineas the least amount of stress and that is to leave them alone as much as possible. Other than not allowing any to sleep out at night on hidden nests and making sure that all are in their secure coop at night we don't have much interaction. I do provide them with a constant source of feed and water in their coop.

thank you i will try to read everything i can ... i do hope they love us and their home and stay aroung

 

[TexasDDL]

We are considering getting some guineas, maybe 6-10. We live very rural on the very edge of town on a few acres. Behind us will be a rice or soybean field and in front of our house we have a few neighbors. Our neighborhood has several flocks of chickens, there was a couple free range peacocks that roamed everywhere and some guineas a few years back. Our neighbors won't mind noise at all. My question is will guineas mess up gardens and flower beds like chickens? Also, any experience with opossums and guineas? There's TONS of opposums here and they would definitely run into one if they free range and stay out until the sun is setting.

Just seeing this-I have guineas and yes, they will eat your garden. They peck every tomato they can reach, and they will pull up your tender young corn by the root and eat the larger young stalks. I fenced in everything last year. this year, I am just caging my tomatoes (with cloth on the outside so they can't peck through the wire) and not planting corn. They do kill snakes and eat ticks and grasshoppers very efficiently. But they can devastate your garden.

 

[R2elk]

Just seeing this-I have guineas and yes, they will eat your garden. They peck every tomato they can reach, and they will pull up your tender young corn by the root and eat the larger young stalks. I fenced in everything last year. this year, I am just caging my tomatoes (with cloth on the outside so they can't peck through the wire) and not planting corn. They do kill snakes and eat ticks and grasshoppers very efficiently. But they can devastate your garden.

Guineas learn their food likes and dislikes at an early age. If you don't want the guineas to eat your garden produce, never feed them treats from the garden when they are young.

My guineas will not touch anything from my garden because i never fed them from the garden. I can put a pumpkin in their area and they will surround it, circle it, scream at it but they will not eat it. My chickens and turkeys immediately start devouring an available pumpkin even if they have never seen one before.