Well I just wrote a really long post and then it said I wasn't logged in so it deleted it. But long story short here !! I am moving to a new home in Northern Indiana... with 10 acres. I am new to birds in general... but been reading on here for quite some time. And I think I have a solid game plan.. Just looking for tips or advice that I am over looking. My goal is to have brown eggs daily.... and have help with insect control on my property. I am thinking 5 rhode island reds and 5-10 guinea fowl. Will the guinea be enough for protection if I free range the birds? Or should I get a rooster also?? My plan is to get pullets have a chicken coop with a run & nesting boxes house them in there for 2-4wks so they establish a home. And then free range them from then on. Locking them up at night I will be near lots of night time predators. Just wondering if you guys think this is a good plan? To ambitious for a beginner?? Should I diversify my flock??? Should l get a rooster??? a peacock? goose??? Don't want my birds to be dinner for any critters. Thanks for any tips!!! Looking forward to reading and learning more.
Hi and welcome from Oregon! I'm no an expert, but it's my understanding that guinea fowl and chickens "don't mix" well. With that said, as you live in an area with lots of predators neither guinea fowl or roosters are a 100% guarantee against them....at all. I personally do not favor free-ranging, so on that part of your question(s) I can't help you. But if, like you say, you "...don't want my birds to be dinner for any critters" ... then please use only 1/2" hardware cloth screwed in with fender washers only everywhere....Using field fencing (2x3 or 2x4) or plain chicken wire is totally useless. Predators will tear through it like it was butter. Be sure to "apron" your coop and run around the entire perimeter something like these example pics: This will help with digging predators such as raccoon, weasel, dogs, etc. I wish you all the very best, and do post pics of your progress as you start your build!!
thanks for the tip will definitely do my best to make my run and coop predator proof.... kinda bummed to hear that chickens and guinea dont get along... I read different elsewhere. Anyone have any "secret" birds that will blend with the flock and help keep day time predators at bay?
GF and Chickens can coexist just fine in many instances.....but.... GF are incredibly LOUD!! GF are hard to 'home' and tend to wander off, where chickens will come back to their coop once homed to it. No bird, secret or otherwise, will keep a daytime predators away...all birds taste good to predators if they can catch them. Now I have read that some roosters and some geese might act as 'alarm guardians'. Free ranging comes with risk of loss, period. For a beginner I'd suggest that you get a solid, predator proof coop and run as large as possible...you can free range but having a run in case you need it cannot be over stressed. Then get yourself 6-12 chickens and see how it goes...get over the learning curves of owning birds for a year, then think about other bird species you might enjoy.