Guinea talk.

[GlennLee]

We don't have fishers where I live, but we do have weasels and mink. I gave some guineas to a friend a few years ago and the first night she had them, a weasel got into the pen and ripped the guineas apart. It didn't eat them, it just destroyed all of them. Only one was left alive and it had one wing completely ripped off. It still makes me feel horrible to think about it! I don't mention it to worry you, only to say if they are anything like weasels or minks, they are the worst predator to have around, as they just seem to kill many at one time just for the fun of it, not for a meal. You probably know all of this, but thought I'd mention it in case others aren't aware of the damage these critters can do!
Luckily, my friend was able to trap and kill the weasel.....I gave her more guineas after that, and they are doing fine. Fortunately, I don't seem to have of these around my house as they seem to live mostly around areas with rivers, ponds, or other large water source.

Well, I think on one hand Fishers are amazing creatures, just like the hawks, coyotes, fox, owls, etc. BUT they aren't so great when it comes to being a predator. Let me stand corrected, they ARE GREAT as predators, that's the problem. We have weasels too, but I haven't seen or had evidence of any - although one of our neighbors mentioned that her cat killed and brought home two of them! Good thing we have cats that terrorize the neighborhood here! I know that weasels just kill for the sheer fun of it. That would be very upsetting to know that guineas you had given your friend were killed on the very first day. That is horrible! Good that she was able to trap it and was willing to try it again with the guineas. It would be a bit traumatic to go through. We've been quiet on the predator front for a long time. Let's hope it continues that way! Thanks for the info.

 

[pattyhen]

They are always asking to come in when they knock.

The guineas are just the regular guineas their not French guineas. In the first pic Spiderman was sitting on my lap and Mary Jane kept coming up to him it looked like he was whispering in her ear. I couldn't believe I actually got a pic of Mary Jane she usually turns her head when I take the pic.

 

[pattyhen]

Guineas and chickens?

I have guineas , chickens and ducks.

 

[GreatBreeder]

Can guineas be kept with other fowl? If so is there a particular breed you reccomend? By other fowl I mean chickens (possibly ducks and quail).

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Can guineas be kept with other fowl? If so is there a particular breed you reccomend? By other fowl I mean chickens (possibly ducks and quail).

I have my guineas with chickens and turkeys, and todsy they were introduced to my muscovy ducks and did not approve. They were charging my drake and kicking him. Kinda sorta serves him right as he bit them when he was small and chews on me all the time which hurts.

 

[guineapeeps]

Well, I think on one hand Fishers are amazing creatures, just like the hawks, coyotes, fox, owls, etc. BUT they aren't so great when it comes to being a predator.  Let me stand corrected, they ARE GREAT as predators, that's the problem.  We have weasels too, but I haven't seen or had evidence of any - although one of our neighbors mentioned that her cat killed and brought home two of them!  Good thing we have cats that terrorize the neighborhood here!  I know that weasels just kill for the sheer fun of it.  That would be very upsetting to know that guineas you had given your friend were killed on the very first day.  That is horrible!  Good that she was able to trap it and was willing to try it again with the guineas.  It would be a bit traumatic to go through.  We've been quiet on the predator front for a long time.  Let's hope it continues that way!  Thanks for the info.   

Although I'm an animal lover in general, I do like some less than others (fox and coyote have killed a number of my guineas, so they're not my favorites). However, I do love hawks, eagles, and owls, and agree that they are amazing! (I really love almost all birds). We have a lot of bald eagles in our area right now as they are starting to nest along the Mississippi River nearby....they are really impressive! I do worry when I see hawks or eagles when I've got keets, though. So far I've never lost any guineas to birds of prey. The other day, there were some house sparrows hanging out in the guinea flock. I heard the guineas sound their alarm. When I looked out, I saw a hawk land right in the middle of the guineas and grab the sparrow and take off with it. It wasn't big enough to get an adult guinea but could have easily gotten a keet. There is always some threat that you have to worry about, I guess!
After your post about the fisher, I got curious and looked up some info on them. It looks like they are quite a bit bigger than weasels. One interesting thing I found was that fishers are one of the few animals that actually kills and eats porcupine.....now that's impressive!

 

[guinealeghorn]

Mine are a little on the weird side, they love corncobs, suet, pretzels and anything pretty much but yell at bugs. Except for the newer three we got earlier this year, Foxy, Zelda and Juliette.
Blue, Charlie, Echo and Delta yell at bugs.

Mine like corn, and would probably eat pretzels and suet, too. They seem to eat everything! They are supposed to be good around gardens, but mine eat anything small and green! The only thing I have found they don't eat is carrots. They even caught and killed a mouse once! I don't think they ate any of it. We don't use poison, so it's fine if they do catch a nibble of mouse. Mine will eat bugs, and are learning to eat snakes.

 

[guinealeghorn]

Can guineas be kept with other fowl? If so is there a particular breed you reccomend? By other fowl I mean chickens (possibly ducks and quail).

I keep my guineas with white leghorns and BB red OEGs. When we got our guineas an expert recommended that we get them with regular chickens so as to convince them not to leave. He suggested leghorns. The guineas get attached to the other chickens if you raise them together, and the guineas won't leave them behind right away. They might still leave, as last night three of mine disappeared. We know where they went, though. There is a fenced in field next to our yard that we saw her in. She was fast, though and we lost her, as it was too dark to see. The three ought to return in a few weeks at most.

 

[guinealeghorn]

Although I'm an animal lover in general, I do like some less than others (fox and coyote have killed a number of my guineas, so they're not my favorites). However, I do love hawks, eagles, and owls, and agree that they are amazing! (I really love almost all birds). We have a lot of bald eagles in our area right now as they are starting to nest along the Mississippi River nearby....they are really impressive! I do worry when I see hawks or eagles when I've got keets, though. So far I've never lost any guineas to birds of prey. The other day, there were some house sparrows hanging out in the guinea flock. I heard the guineas sound their alarm. When I looked out, I saw a hawk land right in the middle of the guineas and grab the sparrow and take off with it. It wasn't big enough to get an adult guinea but could have easily gotten a keet. There is always some threat that you have to worry about, I guess!
After your post about the fisher, I got curious and looked up some info on them. It looks like they are quite a bit bigger than weasels. One interesting thing I found was that fishers are one of the few animals that actually kills and eats porcupine.....now that's impressive!

I haven't lost any to mammals yet. We lost one bantam hen to a hawk or eagle (I never saw her taken, but assume it was a hawk). We have lots of bald eagles around our house, and they are big, but I don't think they would take a guinea. The original guinea was one that wandered over to our house from a different house down the road. She stayed, as we had lots of ticks and grasshoppers for her to eat in the tall grass by the pond. Back then I didn't know what a guinea was. We eventually figured out what she was, and that she was a hen. I fell in love with her. She stayed living at our house for about a month when one day she disappeared. I later found a bunch of feathers on the ground and a great horned owl had been in the birch tree the night before her disappearance. We figured that the owl had got her. I just had to have a flock of guineas running around the yard, so I got 13 the next spring! I have thus far only lost the 1 bantam and the original guinea. I hope our luck with predators continues!

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Mine like corn, and would probably eat pretzels and suet, too. They seem to eat everything! They are supposed to be good around gardens, but mine eat anything small and green! The only thing I have found they don't eat is carrots. They even caught and killed a mouse once! I don't think they ate any of it. We don't use poison, so it's fine if they do catch a nibble of mouse. Mine will eat bugs, and are learning to eat snakes.

Mine tare up carrot sticks.
I found an easy way to give picky birds their veggies is to make a smoothie out of them and mix it in their feed, they never know the difference.
Im honestly scared to free range mine i live right on a busy highway on 2 acres, but its the highway that scars me. Last month i had a drunk driver drive through my yard and slam into my parked truck totaling it and totaling my fiances pickup.

But once i have my orchard fenced in and a screen on top my Guineas, ducks and banties will range the orchard all day long.