Does anyone know anything about Guineas????

[Mystery Peepers]

If anyone knows anyting about guineas, I'd love any info!!!
I've got a few 1 week old ones and a few 1 1/2 month old ones.

thanks
M.P.

 

[chickensioux]

Well, I don't know alot but...they are excellent buggers, they can be very noisy. Some people like and want that. They are good alarm systems if you have chickens. They are cool looking.

 

[Katy]

There's lots of info on guineas if you do a search for it.

 

[chickenlittle32]

I have heard that they are good at letting you know when strangers are around. I really like the sounds they make...so far...(I don't own any lol an uncle does tho) From others, I was also told that they eat snakes...etc...

 

[froggie71]

When we got guineas, we were told to check out this website for a lot of good info. Hope you find what you are looking for. www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas

 

[kinnip]

Just be sure to thoroughly home them. The week olds may be o.k. with 6 weeks confinement in their house, but the older ones will need 8 weeks. Give them a comfy place where they can see their surroundings and they'll be fine, won't even remember it later. They aren't the smartest birds around, so it really takes a lot to teach them where home is.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Neat web site.

Guinea fowl are very hardly once you get them past about 3 weeks of age.

They come in a variety of colors and there is a "french" Guinea that is somewhat larger than the regular Guineas. These only come in the common "pearl" color.

Guineas use one nest usually for all.

They require 28 days to hatch out.

They are extremely loud, but not really obnoxious.

They will clear your propery of ticks, they LOVE ticks.

They will alert to hawks and dogs.

They can not protect themselves as a rooster can, but the can fly long and high.

They are EXTREMELY aggressive during mating season and they will hurt your chickens if they are not raised with them.

Do a search, there is boat loads of info on this site.

 

[Mystery Peepers]

Thank you!
Yes, we wanted them to
1 eat bugs ( my sister has already had lymes this year)
2 an alarm system
3 they eat sankes, the deadly ones we have around here are,
copperhead, cottonmouth (water moccasin), and rattle snake.
say hello to the south!

M.P.

 

[kinnip]

Quote:
This statement may or may not be true depending on how close to the house they decide to be. Mine run all over the roof shouting at everything. I love my guineas, and I find them to be soo entertaining that I'm willing to overlook the noise. My BF is ready to slaughter every one of them.
Insofar as an alarm system goes, it's not exactly fool-proof. If I got up to check every time the guineas went off, I'd have no time for BYC.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Isn't that the truth? They don't only let you know when there are strangers around (which they DO do, by the way), but they also let you know when you are wearing a hat, or when the wind is blowing, or when their hen is laying an egg (mine 'stand guard' and screech while the hens are hiding), and if that little person is on the swing set again, or if the dog they were investigating decided to sneeze....just about anything that is out of the ordinary will cause an alarm

Oh yeah, they also like to let you know when they are coming in for a crash landing, very useful tip that

But if you seriously want guineas for tick control, you'll probably need a lot of them. I have 5 guineas, and at least 60 free range chickens, on 10 acres and there are still a ton of ticks!! Thank goodness the hens have a nest, maybe they won't be so stupid as to loose ALL the babies!