I want Guinea fowl but...

[Taj_MaChicken]

My boyfriend said no. We have some land. I want the girls to be safe when we eventually let them free range. He said no to a dog.

He called them "hell turkeys." Kept giving me scenarios like where they'd fly across the street and terrorize the neighbor (who's this tiny lady who walks 3 BIG dogs at once) while she's walking the dogs... all I could do is laugh.

How do I convince him?

 

[LRH97]

Hell turkeys .

Well, they're very good at pest control--ticks, snakes, and the like. Very good security alarms, although it doesn't take much to set them off. The wind could be blowing the wrong way and they'd holler about it. They also produce tasty eggs, and they aren't bad layers either. I have them for all those reasons, plus the fact that they are just quirky, entertaining birds.

My dad has always been a closet bird fancier. He hates snakes and I finally convinced him to get his own small flock of guineas under the pretense that they'd help keep them away from him. He does love them, whether he acts like it or not.

They can tend to wander and your neighbors may not like the noise, so do bear that in mind. That's about as close to terrorizing they'd get. Other than the positive qualities of the birds, I'm not sure how to actually convince him. Maybe take him to the feed store and show him some keets. They are cute. Or if you want to give him less of a choice, maybe the classic "Honey, look what I found on the side of the road!" thing. But I didn't suggest that...

 

[50-45-1]

Just so you know there is no "safe free ranging".
Guineas only help losses to preditors by being very good at look out. And alarming everyone within 3/4 of a mile to thw danger.
They also alarm at anything out of place or strange to them. A plastic bag in the tall grass, their reflection in the shiny hub caps of our vintage car, strange people and cars when they come in the yard for eggs......etc...
They range farther than chickens. They also are not impurvious to preditors and get eaten themselves.
2 weeks ago we came up our road and there was a truck at a stop, close to our driveway. When we got closer we saw 3 wild turkeys crossing to the other side with our group of guineas escourting them out the driveway. They did not stop yacking until the turkeys were out of sight.
I love my guineas, but many people will not. They are not for everyone.

 

[Taj_MaChicken]

We have 5 heavily wooded acres, and I'm not overly concerned with the neighbor aspect, as many of the neighborhoods have acreage as well. We mostly have snakes, spiders, the usual bugs, deer, some overhead traffic, but not too many on foot predators. And there's a farm right down the street that their cows get out on occasion, so it's not a big deal for there to be random animals in your yard lol

I know there'll never be a safe way to free range, but I'd feel better if they had something out there with them.

 

[Trimurtisan]

I was in a similar position as you with my wife. I already talked to a local farm who had Keets available, and just told my wife we were going to a bird farm. We already had a couple ducks, so going to a general bird farm was not that strange.

When we got there, she was able to see them in their own environment. Noticed that they where loud, but not af bad as she thought. Then I asked to see the day old keets, and they where cute.

I came home with 5 keets that morning and so far, fo not regret it. They are a blast to watch, and very quirky.