Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[harley587]

They are. When I first got them they scared me with their night noises. I was use to turkeys and Chickens that do not say a peep at night. Guineas never shut up. Ever. It becomes reassuring after a while. I am convinced they would take on a bear if one came into the coop. They have no fear of anything.

100% agree with you. I can't imagine not hearing them!! I think you're correct about the bear too!! I would miss my guineas if anything ever happened to them and I don't think that I will ever go without them. I live in a sandy area where we have tons of bugs, sand fleas, ticks, nuclear wolf spiders (like a good 4 to 5'' in size)..... you name it!

 

[guineapeeps]

I recently found out that my DH used to raise Guineas as a boy. He has no problem if i want to raise a few myself.
From the sound of it he left them to roost in the trees and be mostly wild. I have a barn i use to house my chickens and could easily house them in there as well.
I have been told that you can allow Guineas to range in your garden and they will leave your plants alone. Is this true? If so I may have to get a couple of these birds immediately.

My Guineas do a fantastic job cleaning up garden pests. They move through and pick off only the bugs from the plants. I have never had any of my Guineas eat a single plant, vegetable, or fruit. The worst they have done is layed eggs in my patch of squash. Before I got my Guineas, we had a terrible problem with ticks, grasshoppers and crickets. After 3 years, I rarely see any. Mine will even occasionally kill mice and snakes, although they won't eat them. If you're needing bug and pest control, I would highly recommend getting Guineas. (They are a great watchbirds and will let you know if there is a new animal or person on your property.)

 

[guineapeeps]

I recently found out that my DH used to raise Guineas as a boy. He has no problem if i want to raise a few myself.
From the sound of it he left them to roost in the trees and be mostly wild. I have a barn i use to house my chickens and could easily house them in there as well.
I have been told that you can allow Guineas to range in your garden and they will leave your plants alone. Is this true? If so I may have to get a couple of these birds immediately.

FYI....not sure what part of Nebraska you are in but I am in Southeastern Iowa. (Some parts of Nebraska is only a few hours from me.) I will be overrun with Guinea keets in a few weeks, so if you are anywhere near me and are interested in any, I would be more than happy to part with some. Right now I have pearl grays, buff dundottes, pearl gray pied, light lavenders, and porcelain, so the keets will be some sort of combination of these colors.

 

[Kmac1]

This is really a good informative thread. A lot of questions I've needed to ask have been answered here. Thanks Willie

 

[cabinchicky]

ok question for you more Guinea experienced folk. Mine are just over 2 months old, they have adopted the b. australorp pullets and they run together constantly. Problem is you turn them out of the run and they will not go farther than 8 ft from the run and constantly head back into it. Help! Want them to roam but they are scared to leave the run.

 

[guineapeeps]

ok question for you more Guinea experienced folk. Mine are just over 2 months old, they have adopted the b. australorp pullets and they run together constantly. Problem is you turn them out of the run and they will not go farther than 8 ft from the run and constantly head back into it. Help! Want them to roam but they are scared to leave the run.

I usually let my hens hatch and raise their own keets, but the few times I've hatched them in an incubator/kept them in a brooder, they were scared to death of everything when they graduated to the coop. I had a flock of keets that wouldn't go out of the coop or eat any bugs for the whole spring and summer. I was beginning to think they were going to be crazy vegetarian Guineas. Luckily, they finally did start to roam a bit and eat a few bugs towards the end of fall. One year later, they are completely normal Guineas....roaming my whole property and eating every bug in sight. I would give it a little more time; I bet they will come around and eventually roam farther and farther away.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I recently found out that my DH used to raise Guineas as a boy. He has no problem if i want to raise a few myself.
From the sound of it he left them to roost in the trees and be mostly wild. I have a barn i use to house my chickens and could easily house them in there as well.
I have been told that you can allow Guineas to range in your garden and they will leave your plants alone. Is this true? If so I may have to get a couple of these birds immediately.

FYI....not sure what part of Nebraska you are in but I am in Southeastern Iowa. (Some parts of Nebraska is only a few hours from me.) I will be overrun with Guinea keets in a few weeks, so if you are anywhere near me and are interested in any, I would be more than happy to part with some. Right now I have pearl grays, buff dundottes, pearl gray pied, light lavenders, and porcelain, so the keets will be some sort of combination of these colors.

I would love that but we are a good 3hours from Iowa. DH wants to get the Guineas off of an auction. We will see what happens

 

[guineapeeps]

I would love that but we are a good 3hours from Iowa. DH wants to get the Guineas off of an auction. We will see what happens

Good luck! I think that you will be happy with them. Mine have been invaluable for pest control! I was resistant to getting them at first and thought they were pretty homely looking birds, but have really gotten attached to them. I enjoy their quirky personality and actually find them to be pretty now....so many different colors and their feathers are beautiful (and the babies/keets are so adorable)!

 

[perchie.girl]

ok question for you more Guinea experienced folk. Mine are just over 2 months old, they have adopted the b. australorp pullets and they run together constantly. Problem is you turn them out of the run and they will not go farther than 8 ft from the run and constantly head back into it. Help! Want them to roam but they are scared to leave the run.

give em time. Guineas are creatures of habit and very tentative about expanding their horizons at first. They will need to learn they can fly very high and how to get back in the yard when they do.....

deb

 

[duluthralphie]

give em time.  Guineas are creatures of habit and very tentative about expanding their horizons at first.  They will need to learn they can fly very high and how to get back in the yard when they do.....

deb

Correct, no one has ever said Guineas were overly intelligent.