Pastured guineas and chickens in rotation?

[LaurelC]

Thanks! We have ~100 acres, however, the primary pasture area is about 40, after that, you get into woods and harder to access fields that I'm far less concerned with tick populations.

We may end up building a small secure coop on stilts or into a tree stand of some sort adjacent to our garden/pond/shop/house site which is where I'm most concerned with ticks. I didn't expect the netting to keep the guineas in, but the hope was that they'd know to return to home base or get behind it if danger arrived. We do not plan to have a LGD, however we do have a pet dog (who I believe strongly will learn respect for the guineas if we raise them from little ones), and when we add sheep and cattle to the farm, we'll get a guard donkey.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thanks! We have ~100 acres, however, the primary pasture area is about 40, after that, you get into woods and harder to access fields that I'm far less concerned with tick populations.

We may end up building a small secure coop on stilts or into a tree stand of some sort adjacent to our garden/pond/shop/house site which is where I'm most concerned with ticks. I didn't expect the netting to keep the guineas in, but the hope was that they'd know to return to home base or get behind it if danger arrived. We do not plan to have a LGD, however we do have a pet dog (who I believe strongly will learn respect for the guineas if we raise them from little ones), and when we add sheep and cattle to the farm, we'll get a guard donkey.

Wow - 40 acres with electric netting is amazing! I think your overall plan for your property sounds great for guineas and that they will add a lot to your farm. In that case, yes I’d just put the Guinea coop as a permanent structure somewhere in the 40 acre pasture. Train the guineas to come when called for snacks, then you can call them to the area you want them to focus on, sprinkle some scratch around, and they will spend some time foraging there, eating whatever else they find. In that much space, especially once you have your other animals, the guineas won’t need much commercial feed.

There will no doubt be drama as some guineas will get over the fence and some will be stuck on the other side, so you’ll want some plan to reunite and get them back over. Guineas are remarkably bad at remembering that they can fly over a fence (unless you don’t want them too!). R2elk has his guineas trained not to cross the fence, so that’s an idea too. If you can have some gates and you’ve trained the guineas to be herded, herding them through the gate works. People have made lots of structures work for Guinea coops, but most are somewhat tall (6 ft high roosts work for mine) and more spacious than for an equal number of chickens. There are multiple threads on this forum about Guinea coops, but here are a few. Good luck and I hope you’ll keep us posted on your exciting new venture!

Guinea coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/23033298

https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25016895