Is it worth it ?????

[springchicken66]

Reading and thinking about raising guinea fowl. This looks like a very hard task. Do they lay eggs worth keeping to sell ? Thanks.

 

[R2elk]

Reading and thinking about raising guinea fowl. This looks like a very hard task. Do they lay eggs worth keeping to sell ? Thanks.

Guinea fowl are seasonal layers. It takes about 2 guinea eggs to equal one chicken egg. When they do lay, they normally lay every day. They prefer to make hidden nests which can make it an experience to collect their eggs.

In season, their eggs can be desired as hatching eggs.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Reading and thinking about raising guinea fowl. This looks like a very hard task. Do they lay eggs worth keeping to sell ? Thanks.

I started with guinea fowl for tick control, but I think I mostly raise them because I enjoy them. I’m pretty sure that my family would say: No, it’s not worth it. Worth it to me though!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Note to the wise, they talk. All. The. Time. But ESPECIALLY when they're upset or scared

 

[Sydney65]

Ah yes-the side glances and head shaking. "Why on earth-?!". And yet...my neighbor cried the day Bella died, the first thing out of most ppl's mouths when calling is "how are the birds?", and my mother calls every 2 days for an update on the eggs.-none of these are exaggerations. I worried abt how it wld go over when they started dust bathing in the neighbor's borders, and moved really quick once when I saw she was out on the deck w/a guest and they were marching across her yard.
She laughed and said, "they don't bother me, leave them alone.." She even calls sometimes to make sure they're ok because they're being quiet, or worried the storm upset them. When we were having the raccoon issues, I was 1/2 afraid I'd see an 85 y.o. lady prowling around w/a shot gun some night.

 

[Sydney65]

I don't think most keep them for the eggs, though they are healthier and considered a delicacy elsewhere. I wldnt know, my family refuses to eat them because they're part of the family. I think most start off for bug eating and alert system.

 

[My2butterflies]

Guineas to me are easy keepers. I got them to ease my way into poultry. Lol
Now me and my family are hooked on them. The farmer who rents my fields bought some babies I hatched and will ask about how mine are doing.
We love their eggs. I’ve only bought store chicken eggs a couple times this year when they stopped laying eggs in the winter. They give me so many eggs I often hand a couple dozen off to family members. They like the eggs too
I have yet to see hatching eggs, but might do that next year.

In short, yes. Guineas are definitely worth it *IF* you enjoy them and their uniqueness. I wouldn’t keep them if their sole purpose is to be money makers.

 

[springchicken66]

Hello everyone.
Thanks for your replies and comments. I think I`m going to give this a try. I am in a wheel chair but will be able to see them as the patio area is next to the coral. Which is fenced and with a night time shelter. Hubby will do any work involved and I can enjoy them and hopefully make friends. At least their `chatter` can keep me company.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hello everyone.
Thanks for your replies and comments. I think I`m going to give this a try. I am in a wheel chair but will be able to see them as the patio area is next to the coral. Which is fenced and with a night time shelter. Hubby will do any work involved and I can enjoy them and hopefully make friends. At least their `chatter` can keep me company.

Liking their chatter certainly helps! Best of luck - let us know how it goes!

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Hello everyone.
Thanks for your replies and comments. I think I`m going to give this a try. I am in a wheel chair but will be able to see them as the patio area is next to the coral. Which is fenced and with a night time shelter. Hubby will do any work involved and I can enjoy them and hopefully make friends. At least their `chatter` can keep me company.

White millet in a recycling bin plastic jar with holes drilled into the top helps to make friends - shake the jar and sprinkle millet like you shake salt out of a salt shaker and call them (when they are old enough to have treats) - they'll come running to you.

Be prepared for a labor of love, though, to keep them alive and comfortable. They need to bond to their coop and then be let out under supervision and trained to come home at night. Special issues are the noise (if you have neighbors or mind yourself), fighting if confined too much and sometimes even outside (need to manage the flock if there are bullies or bullied birds), and nests (hens tend to want to go away and nest outside, which most often results in a predator eating them if you cannot find the nest - and if you can, well, I spent many weeks fetching 2 of our girls in a net every night and carrying them home, to let them out and run back to the nest the next morning - they hated it but they are still with us today).