Gardening with Guineas

[citrusdreams]

Is it true that guineas will not eat your crops unless you've been feeding it to them as treats?

I heard that you can keep guineas in your garden and they will eat tomato worms (but not tomatoes), squash bugs (but not squash), etc.

What are your experiences with guineas in your vegetable gardens?

 

[speckledhen]

Not true, sorry. That book "Gardening with Guineas" is quite misleading, really. Yes they'll eat your garden. They'll eat your hostas (mine sure did!) and they will sometimes harrass chickens relentlessly.

 

[stu3796]

Only thing my guineas have ever bothered were pumpkins. They left tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and everything else alone.

 

[Katy]

Mine like to take dustbaths in a couple spots and they like to peck and eat the tomatoes

 

[txchickie]

Mine don't touch my garden. They walk through and pick out bugs, but have never ate a tomato, pepper, squash, etc...nada. They don't really scratch either, so they don't tear anything up. Then again, mine won't touch leftovers or scraps and my chickens are total garbage disposals---they will eat ANYTHING.


The chickens and gardens, however....

Turds. I had to dig up my azalia bushes last week because they looked like dumb old green bushes, the chickens ate every single pink bud off of them!

And I've had to fence off my garden to keep the little peckers and scratchers out of it.

 

[cw]

mine dont bother the garden

 

[citrusdreams]

Well, I guess I'll have to try this new batch and see. My garden is well protected, so if they do any damage, I can always remove them.Thanks for your input

 

[Aj1911]

mine eat some greens but prefer celery over anything in the world

 

[cw]

i have read the book, and like anything else you will just have to learn by expiernce

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Guineas will eat your graden. Depends on the Guinea I guess.

One thing about a Guinea is that they do not do the scratching NEAR like a chicken does. They like ticks and bugs ON the vegetation. Chickens like the worms, grubs and such IN the vegetation. A chicken will DESTROY your garden simply because they will scratch the dirt out of it.

Even a small fence will keep them pretty much out (Guinea), but a chicken will find it's way into your garden fenced or not.

Guinea LOVE to free range and they cover a large amount of ground in a days time. I watch them go over the pature behind the house everyday. I thought I was "busy" unitl I watched the chicikens and the Guineas go at it.