Thinking about getting guineas.... help/advice?

[sniper338]

We have a plant nursery business with blocks of landscape plants and multiple greenhouses out in the country on our ranch.

We were trying with the idea of getting 20-50 guineas to runs around the nursery to eat bugs, grasshoppers, snakes, let em do their thing... middle of a field, no trees. I suspect the birds would roost on top of greenhouses then and poke holes in the plastic. Also be ideal pickings for owls at night... so it seems like they wouldn't last....

Is there anything im missing here? I wouldn't think guineas would coop up.... and figure they want to be in tall trees...

 

[sniper338]

May be better off with chickens that will free range hard like leghorns or something...

 

[GuineaMania]

It depends. I've only had guineas for a year, but I got them as keets and hand raised them. They go to their coop every night on their own, although there are trees it seems they would roost on instead. If you have a secure coop that they are trained to go into at night, I would say go for it. What is the weather like? Is there enough shade for sun and rain protection? Chickens are pretty good bug eaters too, imo. Also they are big fans of ignoring small fences...

 

[R2elk]

We have a plant nursery business with blocks of landscape plants and multiple greenhouses out in the country on our ranch.

We were trying with the idea of getting 20-50 guineas to runs around the nursery to eat bugs, grasshoppers, snakes, let em do their thing... middle of a field, no trees. I suspect the birds would roost on top of greenhouses then and poke holes in the plastic. Also be ideal pickings for owls at night... so it seems like they wouldn't last....

Is there anything im missing here? I wouldn't think guineas would coop up.... and figure they want to be in tall trees...

Guineas can be trained to go in a coop at night. Some people use treats to lure them in. I taught mine to be herded and would escort them in every evening.