Loud guineas

[polishserb]

Thinking of purchasing guineas to help with the ticks but I have heard a lot about how loud they are. Does anyone know or have had experience with them scaring off the deer and turkeys?

 

[Donna4200]

Thinking of purchasing guineas to help with the ticks but I have heard a lot about how loud they are. Does anyone know or have had experience with them scaring off the deer and turkeys?

Yes they are loud but they do run off the Turkeys mine did and for the deer, they seem to come onto my property at night and my guineas are put to bed so they can't at night. Our dog will run the deer off but I keep her inside at night also because we have coyotes and I have herd that they will lure her out and kill her so I keep her in. If I had another dog I might leave them out at night but then you have to worry about them going off and getting into trouble so there you go don't know what to do. I do know since we have the chicken and the guineas we don't have very many bugs around so they do help with the bugs. We have been lucky as far as ticks go we haven't seen any but we keep the grass down around the house because of the snakes, don't want them around if at all if possible.

 

[PeepsCA]

They may alert to deer in the daytime, but I doubt they'd chase them off.

They won't chase off Turkeys either, in fact they may end up wandering off with them.

 

[polishserb]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Donna4200]

Thanks for the responses.

Well I guess they are all different because the guineas I have try and chase everything off around here even the crows the birds in the bird bath and everything. When they chased the turkey of they surrounded him and squawked until he left. They made such a ruckus I went out to see what the heck was going on.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote: Yah.. it varies from flock to flock. I have one of the rare flocks that will kill snakes, and keep my property clear of them, others don't. Their Guineas just rubber neck at the snakes slithering by, lol.

 

[Donna4200]

Yah.. it varies from flock to flock. I have one of the rare flocks that will kill snakes, and keep my property clear of them, others don't. Their Guineas just rubber neck at the snakes slithering by, lol.

Well I hope mine do that, how big of a snake do they kill? I don't know what they are squawking about half the time, would be nice if it was a snake. I will have to watch them a little closer. If I
seen them kill a snake I would be the happest person in Texas I hate snakes!!!!!

I have noticed that they have either paired off or there are three males with the one female and they haved kicked one out, of the bunch of 5. I can't tell if there is one or two females and I haven't found any eggs yet either. Poor things got drenched today we had a down poor this afternoon everybody got wet had to blow dry my baby goslings before I put them to bed. When it rains down here it pours like no other and the thunder sounds like it is going to split the roof open.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote: My flocks will usually kill the smaller baby snakes pretty quickly... I'll see them running around with them, playing keep away from each other until what's left of the snake resembles a bloody string (eww)... but with the bigger snakes, its hard to say. My uphill flock killed a 4+ foot gopher snake that was close to their coop during laying season, and they've attacked rattlesnakes that were about 3 feet long or so (but I finished the job for them and took the snake away from them). Like I said tho, not all flocks will kill snakes, and not all flocks alert to snakes. Just check on your flock when they are sounding off, and take a shovel or a hoe (or gun) with you so you can dispatch a snake if you need to, lol.

 

[Donna4200]

My flocks will usually kill the smaller baby snakes pretty quickly... I'll see them running around with them, playing keep away from each other until what's left of the snake resembles a bloody string (eww)... but with the bigger snakes, its hard to say. My uphill flock killed a 4+ foot gopher snake that was close to their coop during laying season, and they've attacked rattlesnakes that were about 3 feet long or so (but I finished the job for them and took the snake away from them). Like I said tho, not all flocks will kill snakes, and not all flocks alert to snakes. Just check on your flock when they are sounding off, and take a shovel or a hoe (or gun) with you so you can dispatch a snake if you need to, lol.

maybe a gun don't think I could get close enough to use a shovel!! My DH grandmother lived in Oklahoma when she was a kid and told stories that she would get a snake by the tail and swing it around then give it a snap and snap its head right off. I won't even touch one when its dead!!! Lol I guess I just might turn into a gun packing Mama down here!! We have always lived on the coast and never had to worry about snakes except a garden snake and don't like them either. Where origanally from Humboldt county, but do say I love the weather down here.

 

[PeepsCA]

I'm right there with you on hating snakes, lol... I grew up in Mendocino County (Mendo and Ft Bragg, on the ocean). Skunks and raccoons were the only problem varmints there. Maybe an occasional mountain lion sighting, but that was IT. Then I move 200 miles inland and there's (poisonous) snakes, packs of coyotes, and an over abundance of foxes, bobcats AND aggressive hungry mountain lions here... wth!!!