How many to get???

[Rivers Edge Homestead]

I am trying to decide how many guineas to order. The more the merrier in my opinion as far as ticks and other pests are concerned (we’re pretty deep in the woods). The plan is to move from brooder to fully free range once old enough and keep them hanging around for treats. Is it possible to overpopulate a property with them? We sit on about 16 acres.

 

[R2elk]

The Guinea Farm has a minimum order of 20 keets. It's a good place to start.

I recommend that you provide a secure coop for night time lock up of your guineas. If you turn them loose on their own and do not provide supplemental food and water, you will probably need to start over every year.

If the guineas don't have a "home base", those that survive predators will probably relocate themselves.

Good luck.

 

[southwind00]

I am trying to decide how many guineas to order. The more the merrier in my opinion as far as ticks and other pests are concerned (we’re pretty deep in the woods). The plan is to move from brooder to fully free range once old enough and keep them hanging around for treats. Is it possible to overpopulate a property with them? We sit on about 16 acres.

As previously stated, a secure coop is the number one thing that is needed for long term guinea survival. With out it your attrition rate will be very high. The more the guineas free range the more scent they leave around which only attracts more predators to your area. And the more predators find easy meals the closer they will start coming to your yard. It is a vicious cycle.

Lots of people figure their free ranging birds with take care of huge tick populations. What I have learned is 15 or so birds do well on about two acres of land, any more than that and it becomes just to much area and the place you really want tick free is your yards,fields and garden areas near your house and not 1000 feet away where you are rarely at.

And lastly, your birds will take time learning where the ticks and bugs are and where they are the most prevalent. Guineas are opportunists and will eat what there are a lot of , just because you want them to eat ticks, if something is easier and more available, that's where they will be. And you will have young guineas with no older birds showing them where the best food sources are and the timing. Tick population wax and wane as they go through four life cycles , my guineas have learned that and I now know by watching when the ticks are in their feeding modes. Guineas are long term, no instant gratification, flock dynamics take a while. Good luck.

 

[Rivers Edge Homestead]

As previously stated, a secure coop is the number one thing that is needed for long term guinea survival. With out it your attrition rate will be very high. The more the guineas free range the more scent they leave around which only attracts more predators to your area. And the more predators find easy meals the closer they will start coming to your yard. It is a vicious cycle.

Lots of people figure their free ranging birds with take care of huge tick populations. What I have learned is 15 or so birds do well on about two acres of land, any more than that and it becomes just to much area and the place you really want tick free is your yards,fields and garden areas near your house and not 1000 feet away where you are rarely at.

And lastly, your birds will take time learning where the ticks and bugs are and where they are the most prevalent. Guineas are opportunists and will eat what there are a lot of , just because you want them to eat ticks, if something is easier and more available, that's where they will be. And you will have young guineas with no older birds showing them where the best food sources are and the timing. Tick population wax and wane as they go through four life cycles , my guineas have learned that and I now know by watching when the ticks are in their feeding modes. Guineas are long term, no instant gratification, flock dynamics take a while. Good luck.

Lots of good points…… We have a massive unchecked tick population because the previous owner was elderly and let the property go for several years. Doing what we need to for success of a guinea flock will be worth it. So far I’ve been shocked that we haven’t lost any of our chickens, guess the older rooster is doing a good job on hawk watch and the nighttime critters can’t get to them in their coop.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I am trying to decide how many guineas to order. The more the merrier in my opinion as far as ticks and other pests are concerned (we’re pretty deep in the woods). The plan is to move from brooder to fully free range once old enough and keep them hanging around for treats. Is it possible to overpopulate a property with them? We sit on about 16 acres.

We have ten acres and 28 guineas. My usual problems are keeping the guineas on our property and dealing with their nesting obsession. We also have a gazillion ticks. Hubby and I have often had debates about how much the guineas contribute to tick control. I remember the two years before we had them as being severely tick infested, but he doesn’t and tells me we just don’t have many ticks here.

In normal years, the guineas lose tick control for about one month around March-April, where we get a few ticks on us if we go into unmowed areas. I would guess guineas aren’t as much on tick patrol then due to breeding season obsessions, including leaving the property to look for new nesting sites. Then ticks are back under control for the rest of the year, that is I rarely find a tick on me, even if I walk through bushes and tall grass. Surprisingly, I think that they also help with chiggers.

So anyway, this current year, i kept all birds locked up for six weeks due to avian influenza. Yesterday was the first day that guineas were out in a long time. Let me tell you, our tick population has absolutely exploded. Ticks are so bad that I get them on me even if I stay in mowed and maintained areas. I’ve been spraying myself with horse permethrin when I go outside, the ticks are so bad. Permethrin helps but I still constantly find ticks on me. I think even my hubby is agreeing with me now that the guineas are greatly contributing to tick control. He half jokingly told me a week ago that I need to let the birds out to save him from the ticks. I don’t know how long it will take the guineas to reduce this incredible tick population we now have but I’m praying it’s quick!!!! When I let them out yesterday, they immediately spread around their coop, eating something small and making contented chirping noises that they use when they find something yummy. Hoping that they were chowing down on those ticks!

 

[Rivers Edge Homestead]

We have ten acres and 28 guineas. My usual problems are keeping the guineas on our property and dealing with their nesting obsession. We also have a gazillion ticks. Hubby and I have often had debates about how much the guineas contribute to tick control. I remember the two years before we had them as being severely tick infested, but he doesn’t and tells me we just don’t have many ticks here.

In normal years, the guineas lose tick control for about one month around March-April, where we get a few ticks on us if we go into unmowed areas. I would guess guineas aren’t as much on tick patrol then due to breeding season obsessions, including leaving the property to look for new nesting sites. Then ticks are back under control for the rest of the year, that is I rarely find a tick on me, even if I walk through bushes and tall grass. Surprisingly, I think that they also help with chiggers.

So anyway, this current year, i kept all birds locked up for six weeks due to avian influenza. Yesterday was the first day that guineas were out in a long time. Let me tell you, our tick population has absolutely exploded. Ticks are so bad that I get them on me even if I stay in mowed and maintained areas. I’ve been spraying myself with horse permethrin when I go outside, the ticks are so bad. Permethrin helps but I still constantly find ticks on me. I think even my hubby is agreeing with me now that the guineas are greatly contributing to tick control. He half jokingly told me a week ago that I need to let the birds out to save him from the ticks. I don’t know how long it will take the guineas to reduce this incredible tick population we now have but I’m praying it’s quick!!!! When I let them out yesterday, they immediately spread around their coop, eating something small and making contented chirping noises that they use when they find something yummy. Hoping that they were chowing down on those ticks!

Hopefully they eat’em up fast for you! Right now I basically take my kids for walks on the gravel driveway and tell them to stay out of the grass We’ve only been in the south for a little while and are still getting used to it. My husband has gotten lots of ticks on him (including hundreds of seed ticks last fall) but I have yet to find any on myself or the kids. Guineas for a couple seasons will give me some peace of mind.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hopefully they eat’em up fast for you! Right now I basically take my kids for walks on the gravel driveway and tell them to stay out of the grass We’ve only been in the south for a little while and are still getting used to it. My husband has gotten lots of ticks on him (including hundreds of seed ticks last fall) but I have yet to find any on myself or the kids. Guineas for a couple seasons will give me some peace of mind.

Guineas don’t eliminate them but I think that they greatly reduce them. With deer and other hosts constantly walking through, there are constant tick inputs. It’s the tiny seed ticks that usually make their appearance here in March or April then mostly disappear. Right now, we also could only walk in gravel if we want to avoid the ticks and we now have both tiny and adult stages of Lonestar ticks.

 

[NatJ]

You can catch ticks, and offer them to guineas when they are young in the brooder. I have read that this will teach them ticks are good, so they go for them right away once they start free ranging.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

You can catch ticks, and offer them to guineas when they are young in the brooder. I have read that this will teach them ticks are good, so they go for them right away once they start free ranging.

I wanted to do that last year, but we had few ticks so I would have had to set up a CO2 trap. I started it but didn’t finish… Right now I could catch plenty of ticks just by picking them off me! I’m covered in bites that are so itchy and look just awful. We had farm workers out today, and I gave them permethrin for their clothes, plus Off spray for exposed skin. I still saw them pulling ticks off of each other after working a few hours. I am really reminded of how much I despise ticks and of what an amazing job our guineas must have been doing in previous years.

 

[Sydney65]

I wanted to do that last year, but we had few ticks so I would have had to set up a CO2 trap. I started it but didn’t finish… Right now I could catch plenty of ticks just by picking them off me! I’m covered in bites that are so itchy and look just awful. We had farm workers out today, and I gave them permethrin for their clothes, plus Off spray for exposed skin. I still saw them pulling ticks off of each other after working a few hours. I am really reminded of how much I despise ticks and of what an amazing job our guineas must have been doing in previous years.

We have family members dealing w/long term affects of Lyme Disease in diff parts of country so I'm not even ashamed to admit that if I see one tick, it's straight inside to the shower. - one year was so bad that we couldn't go in the garden w/o coming out w/3 or 4 atleast- enter the guineas.
The 1st 2 years we saw a drastic reduction just w/the 6 guineas. Last year there was an uptick in tic population, despite that brief guinea population explosion.
"Coincidentally" there was also a rabbit population explosion nesting everywhere between our property & the neighbor's. Under decks,sheds, coops, in the flower beds. Seriously, everytime I walked through the garden path I was spooking bunnies. We've already had one birth 2 babies in the garden this year before it was even grown enough to provide adequate cover. We heard screams one night, & bunnies are no more.
Anyway, came to conclusion that there must be a connection between the 2 populations, like mice and fleas.