Keeping guineas makes me question my sanity!

[NancyP1]

I have 21 of the screaming demons! Had a lady come to the farm to look at a pony I am trying to sell. Normally a pretty good pony....until the guineas flew up onto the coop roof and screamed bloody murder. Well, Norman tolerates the guineas on the ground, however on the coop roof was not to his liking at all. I'll just say the pony thought he would try and fly too. Long story short, I still have a pony for sale. Stupid guineas. Whenever I have company and we are outside, they just have to hang around squawking until we can't even hear ourselves think! Trying to get them all in the coop at night is just a joke. I was ready to get the chainsaw a couple of nights ago and cut down the trees they decided to roost in. Stupid guineas. Why do they fly when you don't want them to, but when they are stuck in my garden fence they just pace back and forth for hours....(screaming the whole time of course). It snowed yesterday and last nite, got about a foot of it. Well, spoiled birds will now not come out of the coop until I shovel a place in their yard for them. Had a fed ex delivery the other day....hear the driver laying on the horn...yup, the guineas had surrounded the truck like a flock of geese and he was terrified! I really question why I keep them. Are everyones guineas like this or am I just lucky?

 

[GuineaMama]

Oh my! I feel your pain. Mine are the same way with the N O I S E. They are even noisey at night. Though they did get really quiet last night when hubby shot a 'possum that had managed to get inside their pen. After that Guineas cowered in the corner under the chicken coop for a while then quietly got back on their perch for the rest of the night.

But if someone comes up our driveway, they are greated with BUCKWHEATS and SCREAMS.

 

[BritinMO]

LOLLLLLLLL! I really do wonder why I have my flock as well, they are absolutely crazy and drive me insane most days - BUT - oh soooooo funny! Sorry about the pony 'non' sale, we are thinking about selling our house at the moment and I'm still trying to find a realtor who is willing to take us on. The last guy that came to appraise the house was horrified when he was in the house as ALL the guineas got on the roof and screamed as loudly as possible, he left pretty quickly

They never 'normally' get on the house roof - the barn roof, yes - but not the house, I swear they did it on purpose!

 

[MrsMoonCat]

You are all making me start rethinking my plan to get keets this spring! The truth comes out

 

[PeepsCA]

LMAO... sorry for laughing, couldn't hold it in tho

Been there done that with the vet, the horse shoer, keet sales etc. No worries, you are not alone in all your suffering, believe me... too bad they don't make Ritalin for Guineas huh? They do tend to quiet down as they mature/age more, but I swear some keets just hatch with a preprogramed hatch-wish to make our lives miserable

Perfect examples of why it's always a good idea to build their coop/run as far away from the house as possible (facing the OTHER way, lol) and train them to come when you call them for food so you can pen trick/bribe them back into their pen and get them out of your face for a while if you need to, lol.

I normally try to plan my appointments around the times when I'll be letting all my birds out to free range, or I'll keep them penned a little longer than normal on the days I have something going on out here at the ranch and let them out last minute, or right when the people are pulling in thru the gates... cuz once the birds first get let out they vanish and are so preoccupied free ranging for a while that I typically have an hour or 2 peace

(See, there's always some sort of method to my madness, lol... at least that's what I keep telling myself!).

As nutty as my flocks make me at times... the pros still outweigh the cons, (most days). And I'd miss them if they were all gone, lol. It would be creepy quiet here!

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

LMAO! I have 16 but mine are trained (from very young) to go into their house along with a few chickens. Yes, they can stir up a racket when someone strange comes along but what better alarm system? My neighbor's boston terrier no longer comes on my property because they chase him away--he's petrified of them! They all pack together and when they march back to their home turf, there's a steady stream of "footballs with necks and heads" in a row doing their little low-rider walk or swooping down from the about 10' up in a flock. The advantages outway the noise--I don't have any ticks for the first time in 20 years so my fear of lyme disease is a minimum.

Hang in there!

 

[NancyP1]

They are nuts for sure. Today with the 14" of fresh snow, they would not leave their run, and would only go where I shoveled. So locking them up tonite should be a breeze. I really do love their antics, but sometimes I just want to eat them. I keep them for tick control and entertainment I guess. They usually come running when I call them, that too is quite a site. Sometimes I think all of them put together don't have a whole brain. They can always figure out how to fly over the fence to get out, but get back in....forget it...gotta love them guineas!

 

[terrilhb]

No you are not the only one with loud guinea's. Anytime anyone comes to my house they scream(guinea's). They are fantastic alarms. Mine make noise at night too. Some days they make me want to pull my hair out. But over all I love them so much. I would miss them horribly if they were gone. My guinea's also go over the fence and than act like they don't know how to go back in. I think they do it so I will hold the gate open for them. But I do have 1 guinea that flies over the fence and than flies back in. The only one. LOL Good luck.

 

[BritinMO]

"I will hold the gate open for them"...............................me too! We have a small gate inbetween us and a neighbor, there is one guinea who goes over the fence and always decides that it cannot possibly get back over the fence - so I go and 'rescue' it by proping the gate open and herding the one guinea back - by which time the rest of the flock have decided to come and help me out and come pouring through the gate into next doors property................with me waving arms and legs trying to stop them, and its at that point I give up, only to repeat the next time it happens, the insanity is endless.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Do you know what they call a bunch of Guinea Fowl together ? They call it a "rasp". A rasp is
is the sound that a Guinea Fowl makes. The alarm sound I am guessing.

I had two little kids show up on my property a while back with thier little ankle bitter dog.
The guineas came down for a looksie and proceded to "rasp" at the poor little hound.
Needless to say all i saw was a tail and fast moving little hind legs.
The kids were beside themselves and apparently frozen in place.
I went and got some bread and called the group off.
I told them they were welcome to come back any time (we have mini horses and that is why they were up here).
Haven't seen them since.
I love my Guineas, they keep my world private.
BTW, my UPS guy brings a couple pieces of bread when he delivers here.
Oh, and Lord save us if some one comes up with shiney chrome wheels.
I have Guineas all over them screaming their heads off.

Mine go into the barn every night. Problem is they wait until the last possible ray of sun light.
They also LOVE to get on top of the tin roof and run like banshies.