blackfishfin
Chirping
- May 16, 2019
- 77
- 98
- 88
We are actually pretty new to raising guinea fowl, but we LOVE THEM. They are good layers and do wonderful with our bannie chickens. I thought I might post a forum on whether a person should get guineas or not because they definitely aren't for everyone.
Cons:
1) Guineas require a lot of space and can be very aggressive. If they are kept in too small of a coop, they will torture the poor chickens in there with them. Guineas do best free-range.
2) You might be surprised how fast they will turn on a chick. They'll kill the chicks if their mother isn't watching and it's horrible to hear. I strongly recommend only introducing the chicks when they are old enough to run/fly. We have not had a problem with this so far, but other guinea owners I know have.
3) They are loud. This can also be a pro. If there's anything funky going on, they will scream bloody murder. If there's a car driving by that they don't know or a stranger in the yard, you will definitely know. The only problem is that the guineas will scream if a rock gets kicked slightly out of place, or if a blade of grass moves the wrong way. I personally like their noises, but other people find them extremely annoying.
4) Guineas are horrible mothers. They might be good at hatching their eggs, but they forget shortly after that they have chicks. If you aren't willing to do most of the parenting for the guinea hen, then I don't recommend getting guineas that will breed.
5) They are ridiculously dumb. It's like the entire flock of guineas only has one brain and only one guinea gets to use it at a time.
Pros:
1) They kill ALL the bugs. You won't have hardly any ticks by the time the guineas are done.
2) They will protect the house and chickens from small snakes. Guineas usually do not attack large snakes unless the snake is attacking someone else. They will do a little parade around the snake to see what is going on and move on. If, though, the snake tries to strike at them or grabs hold of a guinea, it's as good as dead. They'll rip the poor thing to shreds. This has proved very useful in the past when one of our guineas killed a small snake that was trying to grab hold of our hen's eggs.
3) Most people think that they are ugly, but I love how their little waddles wiggle whenever the guineas run. They are so goofy and dumb and I love to watch their ugly little bodies struggle to identify a rock on the ground.
4) They can be surprisingly sweet. One of the guineas will stretch out its face and close its eyes and the others will peck all the dirt or food off of its face. It's very sweet. They also like to lie down and fluff up the dirt together and they form strong bonds with specific guineas. You can see which ones are best friends and I love it.
5) If you have a garden, the guineas will most likely leave your plants alone. If you have strawberries or something, the guineas will get them and they might dig a hole in the flower bed to dust in, but tomatoes and beans will do great with guineas. They are very gentle when plucking off bugs that try to eat the plants.
6) They rarely attack people. I haven't heard of any guineas being mean to people, but I'm sure it happens. We have never had a problem with guinea aggression.
Cons:
1) Guineas require a lot of space and can be very aggressive. If they are kept in too small of a coop, they will torture the poor chickens in there with them. Guineas do best free-range.
2) You might be surprised how fast they will turn on a chick. They'll kill the chicks if their mother isn't watching and it's horrible to hear. I strongly recommend only introducing the chicks when they are old enough to run/fly. We have not had a problem with this so far, but other guinea owners I know have.
3) They are loud. This can also be a pro. If there's anything funky going on, they will scream bloody murder. If there's a car driving by that they don't know or a stranger in the yard, you will definitely know. The only problem is that the guineas will scream if a rock gets kicked slightly out of place, or if a blade of grass moves the wrong way. I personally like their noises, but other people find them extremely annoying.
4) Guineas are horrible mothers. They might be good at hatching their eggs, but they forget shortly after that they have chicks. If you aren't willing to do most of the parenting for the guinea hen, then I don't recommend getting guineas that will breed.
5) They are ridiculously dumb. It's like the entire flock of guineas only has one brain and only one guinea gets to use it at a time.
Pros:
1) They kill ALL the bugs. You won't have hardly any ticks by the time the guineas are done.
2) They will protect the house and chickens from small snakes. Guineas usually do not attack large snakes unless the snake is attacking someone else. They will do a little parade around the snake to see what is going on and move on. If, though, the snake tries to strike at them or grabs hold of a guinea, it's as good as dead. They'll rip the poor thing to shreds. This has proved very useful in the past when one of our guineas killed a small snake that was trying to grab hold of our hen's eggs.
3) Most people think that they are ugly, but I love how their little waddles wiggle whenever the guineas run. They are so goofy and dumb and I love to watch their ugly little bodies struggle to identify a rock on the ground.
4) They can be surprisingly sweet. One of the guineas will stretch out its face and close its eyes and the others will peck all the dirt or food off of its face. It's very sweet. They also like to lie down and fluff up the dirt together and they form strong bonds with specific guineas. You can see which ones are best friends and I love it.
5) If you have a garden, the guineas will most likely leave your plants alone. If you have strawberries or something, the guineas will get them and they might dig a hole in the flower bed to dust in, but tomatoes and beans will do great with guineas. They are very gentle when plucking off bugs that try to eat the plants.
6) They rarely attack people. I haven't heard of any guineas being mean to people, but I'm sure it happens. We have never had a problem with guinea aggression.
