What is a good "guard dog"?

[ScoobyRoo]

How do you tell if the are male or female? Need to do more homework.

 

[Wildsky]

Henry'schickens :

How do you tell if the are male or female? Need to do more homework.

By the noise they make. The males just screech. the females make a two sylable sound that sounds like they're saying "BUCK-WHEAT"​

 

[ScoobyRoo]

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By the noise they make. The males just screech. the females make a two sylable sound that sounds like they're saying "BUCK-WHEAT"

That is right. I remember now. Are they normally mean to the chickens or like you say, you think because you have mostly males.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Henry'schickens :

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I plan on it if they have the colors I want. On a side note I also do 'not want to go' there because of what we have seen when we picked up our very first pullets last year. Not a pretty sight.

Oh, then don't buy from them!!!! I have been all over the hatchery down the road from me and it is the cleanest nicest place. I wonder if you can get a smaller minimum from mypet chicken?
I also second the goose thing, when I had them they were the best watchdogs ever.​

 

[walkswithdog]

We have 12 OMG the racket but they're beloved. They DO notice everything. The whole horde on the roof of the house yelling and thundering around is hilarious. Our chickens pick on THEM. The go running around in a school like fishes or a flock of flighted birds except that they look like the little helmeted, turtle monsters from Super Mario Brothers. I wouldn't trade them for the world. Noise or not. I'd like a one or a pair of Toulouse geese as well eventually. We've had far less predator loss between their addition and the Pyrs. Guineas see danger coming a mile off - okay, change, noon, high tide, breeze, full moon, still air also set them off but once you're used to the noise you can tell when something is wrong. And that's flat useful...

 

[becky3086]

I had them but won't get them again. The noise was not really bothersome to me but I am not sure how they would make a good guard dog since they do shreek at all sorts of things and then they just stand there looking up, so anything that wanted to eat anything could just come get it anyway. Mine layed real poorly, I had a hard time hatching their eggs and they fought/chased each other constantly.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

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Did they free range? I don't care if they lay or not. Just wanted the addition to the flock. I'm still hem-hawing though.

 

[walkswithdog]

I got mine as tick eaters, they free range the whole property, don't quarrel with the other birds, whether turkeys or chickens, some lay in my coop, some don't. Mine yell and run for the chicken yard if something starts to happen or fly into either the goat or the main yard for protection. Or up on the house, where they run around like talkative thunder til things calm down. They alert the pyrs and the other birds and we have lost fewer overall since getting them. I don't have a problem hatching guinea eggs, they pop out like determined quail.

Maybe if they weren't free range they'd be a pain but they sleep in the goat shed, and spread out in the morning. I want to have about 20 or thirty eventually. There are a LOT of deer here and a serious scary ton of erlichia carrying deer ticks. I already had to take anti-biotics once this year for a bullseye rash. And they're already helping with the numbers of ticks and other bugs we're seeing.

 

[Junkmanme]

IF guineas were "mousers"............I'd get 2 dozen of 'em!

 

[Wildsky]

Henry'schickens :

Quote:
Did they free range? I don't care if they lay or not. Just wanted the addition to the flock. I'm still hem-hawing though.

Mine free-range, I don't understand why mine seem to be the only ones here that pick on the chickens, and bully and chase them around.
My guinea's all go into the coop at night, we had to start chasing them through an internal door into another smaller shed because they wouldn't let the chickens up on the roost!

Edit to add: My guinea's were hatched by the chickens and grew up with them, so I'm not sure why they're running around now like a gang!​