To cut a long story short, I have a broody chicken who has successfully raised chicks in the past and it is Guinea season here in Perth, WA. I was thinking or giving her some keats or eggs and letting her do her thing, but have been told from elsewhere in the forum to look here as they are an acquired taste!
I have 3 heavy breed hens and one heavy breed juvenile rooster who are in a 10m X 15m electrified pen (foxes have been a problem) and have a small coop for night (must build a bigger one!). I'm paranoid about getting more chicks as no one sexes them here and I am a veggie and will not eat the roos or sell to eat. So I thought I could give her Guineas and create a new flock which will ultimately free range on the property (12 acres). We have a lot of ants and ticks, so I'm thinking they'd help with this.
So I guess my main questions are:
1: is there a problem with keeping all Keats regardless of sex - i.e. Can I have multiple males without issue (I don't want to have to re-home or eat any birds)
2. I've read they can terrorist chickens, but my girls & boy are massive (Orpington, Australorp and Sussex). Are they still likely to be an issue?
3. How many eggs/ Keats should I give her. They sell eggs by the dozen which sounds like a lot to me.
4. I'm about to get a bee hive, so I'm hoping the Guineas will eat the ants that threaten the hive. But will they also eat the bees (probably a stupid question).
5. For all you Aussies out there - how noisy are they really? We live in the bush with v noisy frogs & kookaburras, so constant noise all around. Are they worse? Do they shout through the night?
Sorry so many questions,
Cheers heaps,
Julia
I think whether or not people like guineas is a personal thing. We had them for several years. I loved them. My husband says "Never again." I didn't think they were noisy but they certainly sound the alarm when something is going on. They're excellent eaters of ticks and other bugs although the chickens aren't bad. We never had a problem with the sexes, but if you had a big overabundance of males it could be a problem. We had close to an even number, maybe a few more girls.
I guess what my husband didn't like is that they wanted to roost on the roof instead of the coop and they loved being on our deck which made a mess. Other than the occasional bantam the chickens stay off the roof and they don't go on the deck so my husband much prefers them and the ducks. And everyone goes to bed in their coops.
I would say try a few and see what you think. We have several neighbors with guineas (and chickens) and I wouldn't mind having a few again. Their eggs are fine to eat. Maybe 3 guinea eggs equals 2 chicken eggs.
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