So Far, I Hate Them!

[mrbstephens]

I let my 7 Guineas free range for the first time three days ago. All they do is make a ton of noise, destroy my plants, and poop on the driveway (and today my deck)! I got them to eat the ticks on my property. They haven't left the yard close to my house and won't venture out into the wooded area at all.

I'm really not enjoying them. Will they eventually chill out and start roaming more?

 

[JLeigh]

Can't say if they'll chill out with the noise, but it's likely they'll start to roam farther out. Give them a little time and things may settle down some. It could be they're more vocal because everything is new to them and they feel the need to sound an alarm. Sorry you aren't having a good experience so far.

PeepsCA has recommended hanging shiny bird tape, old CDs, that kind of thing, around the areas you want them to stay away from. If it were me, I'd start with my deck and driveway . That might encourage them to roam, too. Get an umbrella and when you see them on the drive or deck, take it out and open/close it as fast as you can. That might help. I haven't tried it on guineas, but I swear it worked after two times with my chickens.

My guess is in about a week, they'll calm down some and roam away from the driveway more. The woods are far more interesting to them than a driveway.

Good luck

 

[Kevin565]

Guineas don't aren't a inbetween species. Either you love em or you hate em. My Guineas did everything you stated until the day I found them a new home.

 

[KrisH]

We have found that they are very reactive the first year, and then they seem to get mostly quiet. IN the begining everything is new, and they are unsure to venture far away from their home. IN time they get braver and less reactive. As they venture further out they get quieter too.

Our 1 yr olds are mostly quiet unless there is a real threat, but we now have their keets and theose keets are just like them, noisey and reactive to everything. I forgot how much I was frustrated in the begining. I promise it does get better, but it takes time.

I hope you can be patient and just laugh at their silliness. Then they will be a joy. They really do a great job on the ticks and really help out our chickens to be safe from predators during the day.

 

[KrisH]

As Kris said, at about a year old, it was like someone hit the mute button, SO much quieter, almost overnight one day they just shut up. yes they sometimes make some noise, but much less.

ours took about 8 months to venture into the wooded area, so the new batch we are starting in a house in the wooded area.

RobertH

 

[mrbstephens]

Thank you! I just hope my husband can be patient. He hates them more than I do.

 

[Narragansett]

I just can't help but chuckle when I see people falling for this Guineas as tick predators propaganda. Sure, they do eat them, but so do chickens, ducks, turkeys and peafowl. Some time in the last 20 years some enterprising Guinea breeder hit on the idea of appealing to the gullible, spurned on by their heightened fears of things like Lyme disease, to promote this use as a way to sell more Guineas. They have their attraction, but let's face it, their uses are somewhat more limited than other poultry. The appearance and the noise don't help endear them to just the same type of people who are likey to fall for a good story like this. Do Guineas range further away from their coop while foraging, covering more ground? Maybe, but a similar sized flock of chickens will do the job just as well. Add a few more if you need more coverage, and you'll get more use out of them than any sized flock of Guineas. Don't get me wrong, I do like and keep Guineas, but I also like to think for myself. Does anyone know where there is more tick borne illness than anywhere else in the world? Africa. Does anyone know where Guineas originated, are still found in the wild, and are still kept domestically as we do? Africa. Hmmm, maybe I'm going to promote chickens there as tick predators. I'll make a killing. Their Guineas obviously haven't gotten the memo about what their job is supposed to be.

 

[KrisH]

guineas haven't gotten the memo that their wings work equally well to get back over the fence they flew over either!

ours are better now that they are a year old, but come on!

RobertH

 

[KrisH]

I just can't help but chuckle when I see people falling for this Guineas as tick predators propaganda. Sure, they do eat them, but so do chickens, ducks, turkeys and peafowl. Some time in the last 20 years some enterprising Guinea breeder hit on the idea of appealing to the gullible, spurned on by their heightened fears of things like Lyme disease, to promote this use as a way to sell more Guineas. They have their attraction, but let's face it, their uses are somewhat more limited than other poultry. The appearance and the noise don't help endear them to just the same type of people who are likey to fall for a good story like this. Do Guineas range further away from their coop while foraging, covering more ground? Maybe, but a similar sized flock of chickens will do the job just as well. Add a few more if you need more coverage, and you'll get more use out of them than any sized flock of Guineas. Don't get me wrong, I do like and keep Guineas, but I also like to think for myself. Does anyone know where there is more tick borne illness than anywhere else in the world? Africa. Does anyone know where Guineas originated, are still found in the wild, and are still kept domestically as we do? Africa. Hmmm, maybe I'm going to promote chickens there as tick predators. I'll make a killing. Their Guineas obviously haven't gotten the memo about what their job is supposed to be.

There is definitly truth in what you said, but I will say in our case, the guineas a better at covering way more property. Our Chickens, stay really close to the barn. The turkeys are just now out, and they stay fairly close too. I am sure in time they will venture further like the giuneas. I bet the reason the chickens stay close to home is their food is avalible all the time. They guineas prefere to wonder the whole property.

So in our case the guineas are better at tick control, since they venture the whole property.

 

[PeepsCA]

I just can't help but chuckle when I see people falling for this Guineas as tick predators propaganda. Sure, they do eat them, but so do chickens, ducks, turkeys and peafowl. Some time in the last 20 years some enterprising Guinea breeder hit on the idea of appealing to the gullible, spurned on by their heightened fears of things like Lyme disease, to promote this use as a way to sell more Guineas. They have their attraction, but let's face it, their uses are somewhat more limited than other poultry. The appearance and the noise don't help endear them to just the same type of people who are likey to fall for a good story like this. Do Guineas range further away from their coop while foraging, covering more ground? Maybe, but a similar sized flock of chickens will do the job just as well. Add a few more if you need more coverage, and you'll get more use out of them than any sized flock of Guineas. Don't get me wrong, I do like and keep Guineas, but I also like to think for myself. Does anyone know where there is more tick borne illness than anywhere else in the world? Africa. Does anyone know where Guineas originated, are still found in the wild, and are still kept domestically as we do? Africa. Hmmm, maybe I'm going to promote chickens there as tick predators. I'll make a killing. Their Guineas obviously haven't gotten the memo about what their job is supposed to be.

Have you ever owned Guineas?

Guineas eradicated my tick problem on 10+ acres within a couple years, ranging every square inch of it. Granted, it's not the wilds of Africa, but it was brushy and tick ridden when I bought the place. Tick free now, so am I, and so are all my horses, dogs and cats. Your opinion of Guineas being tick predators being "propaganda" is just that, an opinion. But its fact/reality to many.

Their uses are somewhat limited? LOL! Seriously? Free range eggs (for years longer than a typical chicken will productively lay), LEAN meat, keets, pest and weed control, alarm system? I beg to differ.

And don't most chickens just stick around close to the coop and wait for... oh, what's that junk they eat? Oh yah, scratch. Have ya seen the price of corn lately?

Those of us that actually own and raise Guineas know the facts about their benefits

And btw, my Guineas definitely got the memo, (all of the memos actually). They more than earn their keep on my land.