Questions about guineas

[2manyhats]

Hi all, hope some of you guinea owners can help. I am considering guineas as a way to control garden pests. Do they dig up gardens and eat plants the way chickens do? Will they come home to roost at night if free ranged? Is there anything I should know about raising them before I get any?
Any helpful info would be appreciated.

 

[Yadichick81]

Well they eat all sorts of fruits and veggies, they need multi vitamins, and chew stuff like no one buisness they are smililar to rabits in behavior. They do not need washing and love to hide. They need a routine and if U put them outside THEY WILL ESCAPE! or die of a heat stroke of cold..they do not do good with extreme whether changes..My friend let hers out for a while in their pen and went do a quick errand and found them dead on top of each other..they were hot and were trying to hide> You can get more info on: PECTCO.COM click on care sheets under small animals. Hope this info helops.

 

[Cara]

Quote:
She means Guinea FOWL not Guinea PIGS.

 

[Chirpy]

Ok, that was a good laugh... yes, she's asking about Guinea Fowl... not Guinea Pigs. But, she did just say Guineas so I can understand the confusion.

Anyway, I'd suggest using the Search feature at the top of the page and type in "Guineas" - you'll get lots of great info on them from different threads.

If you want them to come back to the chicken coop to roost each night you will want to keep them locked in there for at least 2 months before letting them free range. Then, some people say to just let part of them out to free range while keeping some others locked in the run so that the free ranging ones will stay close by and come back. I just let mine all out at the same time with my chickens (who they have been raised with) and they always stay close BUT... mine are only a couple of months old so I don't have good long-term experience yet.

 

[jkcove08]

No guineas do not tear up your garden or eat your veggies.. They will like to dust bathe in the open dirt but they will also go through and eat the bugs off your veggie plants. If you get them and see them in the garden that will be what they are doing. If free ranging they will come back to a place they feel safe or open to roost. They like to roost in the open to watch for predators but can still be taken. They will range about a 1/4 mile or more so if you dont want them in the road or the neighbors you will have to keep them penned up if either of those are close by. Mine love to go across the road to the neighbors. I have lost a couple to being hit on the road but what good are they if they cant free range to eat the bugs... Good luck, Jenn

 

[2manyhats]

Thanks for your advice. What kind of housing do they need?

 

[Chirpy]

Mine are sharing the chicken coop with my chickens so far. I'm hoping they continue to do so as they get older.

 

[wranglerFB]

I have had guineas for several years now all my free range guineas started off penned an once turned loose come back to roost for awhile anyhow but it never fails once one of them decides to roost in a tree all of them will be .........now mine roost next to the pen but they never return to the pen at all now an up until this last month or so ever thing was fine for nearly a year but I have loss close to half my flock to a owl recently .......I bought the night guard lights an haven't had any trouble since (knock on wood) hahahahahaha

As to the garden an bugs an such well mine do good in keeping the bugs down once in awhile I find a mark on a tomatoe where one has grabbed at a bug an left a peck mark in one and they love the loose dirt in the garden to bath in mine scattered a whole setting of onions when they was put out trying to dust bath but a simple rack over the onions to let sun in an keep birds out worked just fine for us ........................overall guineas in my opinion can not be beat for yard control of bugs an snakes..........