Tell me about Guinea's

[speckledhen]

Mine were pretty darn tame as you can see in the photo below, which made it very emotionally difficult to rehome them. We spent lots of time taming these goonie-birds:

 

[NicInNC]

Quote:
The majority of our backyard is fenced in. Could they still fly over a 4 foot fence with their wings clipped?

 

[NicInNC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvEzD5r6njA

OMG. My neighbors would have a FIT if I had this many.

 

[TammyTX]

Our neighbors (technically) have 5 Guineas but they never stay on the neighbors property.

They forage all day long and they spend 90% of their time on our 7 acres. BUT I don't mind at all. They keep the grasshopper population down but they do nothing for the fire ants. So maybe your neighbors won't mind either. They do like to take dust baths in my garden/flowers though!

The other day I heard them roosting in one of our cedar elms out front, so maybe they are MY Guineas now.

 

[froggie71]

Quote:
The majority of our backyard is fenced in. Could they still fly over a 4 foot fence with their wings clipped?

Our friend's fence is 4 ft and it keeps their guineas with the clipped wings in their yard, no problem.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Quote:
Much luckier then I. I would have been able to handle them better if I had acctually been able to hold them with out getting my arms clawed up.

 

[NicInNC]

Quote:
My neighbor has a bird phobia, so I KNOW they would mind. She's petrified of birds. I just can't wrap my brain around that.

 

[rooster0209]

I am impressed Speckledhen, you tamed Guinea's, I bow to you.

I have 17 running all over the farm. They have done an excellent job decreasing the tick population. They are noisy but I have 7 acreas in the yard and its not that bad. They travel about 1/2 to 3/4 mile down the road ditch and back. I have raised mine w/the chickens for 3 years and have yet to have problems. In the summer they decide to roost in the trees instead of the coop, which is fine by me...less poop to clean up. In the summer I barely feed them at all. The feeders are full, they just eat lots of bugs & seeds while free ranging.

They are very cautious birds. When a hawk or eagle fly over they make lots of noise as they head for the trees. The chickens will also run for cover when the noise starts! They do separate from the chickens during the day and roam in packs of 4-6 birds.

They are comical and not too smart but I wouldnt get rid of them. They are really low maintenance compared to chickens. At least in my opinion.

 

[speckledhen]

I miss mine still. They are unique critters. One day, I think I'll have them again, but they do better with chickens if they are their own flock, separate from the chickens, and there are not even numbers of guineas and chickens. Mine were with the chickens from the time they were 4 weeks old till they were almost 16 weeks old or so. Then, the trouble started suddenly. I've told the story here so you can find it if you do a search.