Guinea Pigs

[nikijack]

Hello: I picked up some eggs from a local farmer. I asked her how she kept her hens predator free. She said that her grandmother had taught her to keep a few guinea pigs with the hens. The sounds they make keep the chickens safe. Is there any truth to this?

thanks,

Jack

 

[Criticalicious]

I can't imagine how that works. If anything, I'd expect the guinea pigs to be as tasty to predators as the chickens and maybe easier to catch! Curious about other replies.

 

[TooCheep]

Are you sure it wasn't simply guineas or guinea hens? I've heard that they can be used to help protect chickens as they are noisy, but guinea pigs would be at least as much as a predator target as chickens.

 

[Criticalicious]

Some people recommend keeping guinea HENS because of the racket they make, although they will not stand up to a predator, just make a lot of noise and then run away. So the chickens have time to duck for cover. This makes more sense.

However guinea hens won't make any difference against nocturnal predators that attack while chickens are sleeping.