Helmeted Guinea Fowl | Our Tick Patrol | Springwater, Ontario

[FlosRdChicks]

OUR TICK PATROL

A friend brought us two 1-yr-old Helmeted Guinea Fowl after I was bitten by a tick on our property and got very sick w/ LYME DISEASE. What a couple of characters! We love the Guineas.

We weren't set up for them though, and being inexperienced, we couldn't train them to go into the coop with the hens. It was too small, really. At night, after the chickens were put away, the Guineas would perch high in this giant tree.

In October, it was fairly easy to trick them into a covered pen. We moved them into an enclosure in the barn with more space than a typical coop. The male guinea likes to pace sometimes, likes to move or run more. He could access the high beams in the barn.

Let me just say that with the 2 Guineas and 4 Chickens, we didn't see any ticks this summer. The Guineas roamed far and wide, whereas the chickens forage for insects closer to the gardens and buildings. However the Guinea male led the hens into the woods across from the coop and the girls started hanging out along the edge more.

Ticks tend to stick to the edge of the bush and they love leaf litter, so having the chickens roaming there is much appreciated. If you're looking for tick-eaters, the Guineas are the way to go.

The Guinea male also alerted us and all of the hens when there was a bird of prey, or any other threat, so they would take cover immediately.

Photo: Guinea Tree | Where they would perch every night...

 

[BillM2]

I got ours last year for tick control as well. I have Lyme along with many I know nearby. Because Guinea fowl can be rather noisy, I chose instead to get hardy foragers. The breeds are Barred Rock, Golden Wyandotte and Black Australops. They hunt and peck continuously. They started producing eggs in early fall and have weathered this unusually cold winter here in upstate NY. Though we live in a small town, there are plenty of deer. Mice are now considered a major carrier of ticks that harbor Lyme and numerous other tick borne diseases. So I also have setup numerous mouse bait stations along the perimeter of the house, in out buildings and areas near rock walls, etc. Keep them directly out of the weather and freshen as needed. That too will help, along with no bird feeders, keeping shrubbery at a minimum and not on the house, not allowing birds to nest near the house, no leaves around the house, along with dozens of other preventive measures. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled in the coop and run, and around dry areas at your home entrance ways is another.

If anyone else had some more tips, please share!