unless someone talks me out of it...

[ohiofarmgirl]

i'm gettin' guineas!

anyone? anyone? any reason NOT to get them??

i've been nillynalling around about it for 2 years and i'm really wanting to take the plunge. we already have all manner of poultry - live far enough for the neighbors that (hopefully) they wont cause any problems ... and man i need some relief from the ticks and jap beetles and squash bugs... com' on folks - any regrets? anything i need to know??

i realize that by getting them now (a guy has 2 week old keets) that i'll have to overwinter them - but i'm carving out a space for them with the turkeys and i'd like to know now if they are going to work out or not so i can stop obsessing over them.

ready set screech??

 

[Soccer Mom]

Do eeeeeeeeeeeet!

doitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoit!

What? You thought people on the guinea forum would try to talk you out of it?

 

[Soccer Mom]

Okay, serious post. They are hilarious to watch and that bug problem will go bye-bye! Be prepared to contain them for a couple of months so that they know your property is home. They won't ever be tame in the same way other fowl are. There aren't any snuggly guineas.

But they are DOOM on the bug and snake population, great watch dogs (They sound a mighty hawk alarm), and are incredibly tough and hardy once grown.

Screeeeeeeeeeech!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yay! thanks soccer mom! hee hee hee and yes i was hoping for encouragement. but just didnt know if there were any gotcha

as for the snugglin' - we have a saying here 'dont snuggle the help!' hee hee lest they end up in the stew pot and all

;-)

one question i have is - to clip or not to clip their wings?? keep them grounded or give them the ability to get away?? or will they just end up on the roof?

 

[Soccer Mom]

Guineas are great roamers, regardless of clipped wings and I'm a big believer in allowing things the ability to evade predators. The way to keep them from leaving is to contain them for months. Then let out part of your guineas, but not all. This keeps the loose ones from running off. They won't desert their flock.

You will have some who fly into the trees and refuse to come down at night. I figure they are on their own if they choose. Fortunately, my guineas have always proven pretty hardy to being left out. The numbers gradually thin over the years due to predation and then I restock. I'm in a restocking phase right now. I have 28 in an outdoor pen.

BTW: The eggs are tasty and the meat is really good. Sometimes you get a guinea who simply cannot play well with others. He will be delicious. It's all dark meat and very good roasted.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

great info - especially on letting some but not all out...aaaahaaaaa i might be about to outwit the poultry!



i'm waiting for the guy to call me back...whee!

 

[Chickens n' more]

I just got my first 8 guineas a few weeks ago!

4 of them are now 3 weeks old and the other 4 are 1 week old today. They are so funny to watch and very frightened of everything!! My first 4 were already 2 weeks old when I got my 4 little lavenders (1 day old) and for lack of anywhere else to keep the new babies, I had to put them in with the older ones. I was amazed and very entertained for about the first 4 hours. The older ones were terrified of the babies!

I do believe the babies were just as entertained by chasing them! By the next morning, they were all cuddling up together.

I am planning to keep mine penned up until early next spring and then hope for the best. We REALLY need some tick and snake relief around here!!

 

[Buckhorn Farm]

GET THEM......I have 20, that are 11 weeks old....my first. I am in love with these crazy birds. They are so funny!!!!!

Just do it!!

 

[Mahlzeit]

I don't know what kind of guineas I got but they certainly are not roamers and I have not seen them eat very many bugs. All they try to do since I let them out is run back and forth around the fence line trying to get in with the chickens. It has been a couple weeks now too.

 

[wegotchickens]

DH saw some guineas at the fair Saturday, just in time to hear them start their wide range of noises. After we could hear again he said, with solid finality in his voice, "We will NEVER own any of those."