Guineas for Tick Control

[KrisH]

After reading several threads....I'm guessing that guineas won't work for my scenario. I have a house and 32 acres in northwest Arkansas...but I don't live there. (someday) My wife and I got eaten alive by ticks this past weekend. (first time I've found ticks this year) The home and land is approx 1 hour from where I live. I get out at least once a week....sometimes more but minimum once. Thought about guineas for tick control but it sounds like they wouldn't make it without me there more often. Thoughts/suggestions? Don't want to get hens just to have them die quickly.

convince the neighbors they need some!

I suppose it would depend on the preditor load. could build a strong pen, feed and water a couple times a week. when they are old enough they can get out on weekends until they are big enough to fend for themselves.

We treat ours as daytime pets that DO NOT want attention, but will come for treats

RobertH

 

[jjaazzy]

Yea if I had a tick load like that I would try and figure out something. How about a pet sitter in the area. Maybe they could help out in your absence. I have never had them but we too had a few rounds of ticks and they are the worse. I ordered guineas for my HOA neighborhood I am in the city I didn't care it was me or them. Unfortunately the guy never sent my chicks and I had to be the predator. Anyway we don't have lime disease down here but I am guessing you do where your are and it's a huge concern.

 

[JLeigh]

If it were me, I'd pass on guineas for now. If you have plans to move out there permanently, then I'd get them right away when I moved in, but too much can go wrong if you're not there to keep an eye on them: bad weather, no access to water, predators, and I wouldn't trust my flock to someone I didn't know well. Just my opinion, though there's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[hogster160]

I have two acres and a ton of tics this year, daily the dogs are bringing them in the house. I was thinking the chickens might work for just my small area, do you think I should get a couple of guineas? How many would I need for just 2 acres?

 

[BillM2]

My idea was to get them out in the yard to eat ticks. Making it warm and cozy might be fine for the winter, but not during the warmer months when their foraging is needed.

I settled on three breeds of chickens bought at around a week old. The flock consists of two of Barred Rocks, Black Australops, and Golden Wyandottes. I'm told each breed are good foragers and will pick clean their roaming area. They are now 10 weeks old and have been doing a good amount of foraging around the coop. I let them out as a flock around an hour a day and each day they roam a bit further. They're constantly pecking away. Eventually I'll leave them out for the day but with supervision when possible. I'm trying to keep them in the small woods around our property and in the yard. I may elect to put in a 2' high fence as a deterent. I've got them trained to come inside their coop using a dinner bell. That's when they get their treats without fail.

 

[PeepsCA]

I have two acres and a ton of tics this year, daily the dogs are bringing them in the house. I was thinking the chickens might work for just my small area, do you think I should get a couple of guineas? How many would I need for just 2 acres?

Guineas are not small area birds... they will want to roam/range over a lot of land (sometimes up to 1/4 mile away if they can). Fences mean nothing to Guineas, unless they get stuck on the other side of one, with a predator or loose dog chomping at their tail feathers... then they suddenly forget how to get back over.

Also just a couple of Guineas will not be happy, they are flock oriented birds and need plenty of their own kind to stay happy/content and focused on each other.

 

[hogster160]

Guineas are not small area birds... they will want to roam/range over a lot of land (sometimes up to 1/4 mile away if they can). Fences mean nothing to Guineas, unless they get stuck on the other side of one, with a predator or loose dog chomping at their tail feathers... then they suddenly forget how to get back over.

Also just a couple of Guineas will not be happy, they are flock oriented birds and need plenty of their own kind to stay happy/content and focused on each other.

Thanks for the info, that was the kind of information I was looking for. Hopefully the chickens will do a decent job of it! Thanks again!

Deb

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote: I don't raise chickens (well I have a flock of Silkies, but they don't really count as chickens, lol) but I do know some chicken breeds range better/farther than some/most. A friend of mine raises American Game Fowl, and she absolutely LOVES her Hens (not so much her roosters tho, lol) because they are great (vicious) Mommas and they kill gophers, moles, snakes and other critters as well as doing a great job at insect/tick patrol too. I don't know how they interact with other chicken breeds tho... because that's all she raises

 

[MuranoFarms]

I just found this thread so excuse my unorganized answers lol

Guineas are fine in small or large groups. Our first year we only had a trio and they were fine. They next year we had 6-9. Since then our freerange group has ranged from 10-15 and they usually break up into duo's or trios during the day before regrouping at night.

They have never lay in the road... but if the question was 'why did the guinea cross the road?' the answer is "because she put her nest on the other side"

Without protection you will probably loose every single female as she sits on her nest. The 28 day incubation period gives predators way too much time to find her and being unprotected at night just about guarantees she will be eaten.

They can absolutely live on bugs and grasses during the summer months. You will need to supplement with feed in the winter.

We had a really bad tick problem and when the guineas started visiting the neighbors we explained that they were looking for bugs. Since then the neighbors are thrilled to see them. More guinea=less bugs on their property too!

HTH!

 

[PeepsCA]

I just found this thread so excuse my unorganized answers lol

Guineas are fine in small or large groups. Our first year we only had a trio and they were fine. They next year we had 6-9. Since then our freerange group has ranged from 10-15 and they usually break up into duo's or trios during the day before regrouping at night.

Hate to have to disagree with you Murano Farms, but...
There are tons and tons of folks that have just a few Guineas in a mixed backyard flock that are posting that they are having nothing but issues with their small group of Guineas attacking or killing their chickens (or attacking their kids, dogs etc). Maybe just 3 Guineas worked out fine for you, your property and poultry set up... but it won't always and doesn't always work out that way for everyone/every flock. More often than not just a few Guineas will become chicken aggressive (especially during their first breeding season). They are hard-wired flock oriented birds, and need plenty of their own kind to keep themselves focused on each other and only act aggressively towards each other.

Like I said, I hate to disagree with you, you've contributed a ton of great info here over the years but I try not to paint a false picture of anything Guinea, ever. In the end it saves a lot of grief, dead chickens and Guineas that end up going to freezer camp.