Help in Claremore Oklahoma

[soonerbills]

Hi all!
New here and I need help with some fowl questions please!
I have heard that guinea birds are great for controlling ticks and such.
Where can I find them locally? and does anyone have experience with these birds?
I have 4 acres,3 dogs no cats and just me and my wife so I have time to work with them(the birds) and am looking for another hobby(like I really need one)...
Thanks,
Soonerbills

 

[ozark hen]

Hi and welcome. We live in southwest Missouri and I have guineas. very easy to raise. But major thing.....keep them in an enclosed pen for at least a month or more. I would get some babies and keep them in a pen inside the coop and that way the chickens and guineas acclimate to each other. I then turn them loose with the chickens...they must be of some size to do this and that would be about six weeks or more. They free range with the chickens and come back to the coop every single night. Even if the chickens are in their run and the guineas fly out out of the run they always come back to the coop. They even lay their eggs inside the coop in the shavings. When they were small and kept separate I gave them wild game feed but once they join the flock they all eat the same thing and thrive on it.

 

[soonerbills]

Thank you for the response!
Do the guineas really eat ticks and such? i I spray for pests to protect my dogs will this affect the birds?
Also where do I find info on how to buils a coop that will work?
Finally, how many birds can live a couple of acres before they are a nuisance?
I know that is probably a subjective question but I have never had animals such as these before.
Thanks a bunch,
soonerbills

 

[ozark hen]

Hi, yes, the guineas eat ticks and bugs, I do not use pesticides around the poultry at all. I dust the coops,run areas, dusting bowls with D.E. but it must be food grade. I also dust my birds when they are at roost and put some in their food for internal pests.
Now for coop advie...please use the Index listed above. Many, many coop designs from the elaborate to the very simple but efficient coops. Use the Search button above in the blue bar also and type in words such as COOP and it will come up with tons of advice. Start with the Index and take your time reading. Lots and lots of detailed advice. Good luck with them. And remember everyone has different experiences so you can use what you think will suit your needs. No question is "dumb" we all had to start somewhere and I learn something every single day off this site.
Oh, I dust my dogs with D.E. never, ever use pesticides...they will kill your birds. I also raise Muscovie ducks who just happen to love every bad kind of insect there is out there. Mosquitoes are their favorite.

 

[soonerbills]

Thank you very much Ozark Hen! I think I better make a plan of action before I get some birds. I also need to find some one who sells them!

 

[ozark hen]

where do you live? I found mine in the local newspaper. There is usually someone near by. check out the "buy, sell, trade or give a ways" whatever it is called section under Index to see if there is someone near you. If not post a new topic there and be sure to put your state in the heading. do some reading and if you have any more questions lots of folks will be glad to help you, including myself. Have fun.

 

[pdsavage]

You can allso check and find a local or close livestock auction place.Usally they have once or twice a month a small animal sale.oh petfinder sometimes has poultry.

 

[summerwindsfarm]

Hi Soonerbills!

We have guineas and i LOVE them! Some ppl dont since they are pretty noisy but i like the way they sound. We let our guineas free range so they arent cooped at all. Whether or not you can do this will depend on your dogs and other wild predators. Our livestock guardian dogs keep all the predators away so i rarely have to worry about my birds. My guineas sleep high up in the trees at night and even the worst okie ice storm doesnt seem to phase them.

You mentioned that you had time to work with birds. Guineas arent too *workable*..no matter how much you handle them from keets on them stay wildish.

I have keets for sale and i deliver to the Tulsa area but i also have a waiting list right now and wont have more keets available til my penned guineas start laying again. Ive seen advertisements for keets lately on the Tulsa craigslist and on the yahoo farmanimalsforsale list.