Ya know we thought of having them in our flock, we have a net up along their run, we don't want hawk's swooping down for their daily meal.. Still thinking about them..
I have 7 guineas and 4 chickens and I do believe they keep the flock safer. Anything flying in the sky and they let everyone know of the danger and they and the chickens run for cover. Also alerts my dog and he will go find out what all the fuss is about. We have every predator under the sun, on land and in air, as we live rural in the Sierra Nevada mountains bordering the national forest. I love my guineas. Not only do they help make my flock safer, they cover my 3 acres pretty well and eat every bug in site, snakes and other creepies too. Haven't had any ticks on us or the dog since we got them. And mine only make noise when they see something they aren't familiar or comfortable with and certainly anything threatening. So for us their noise hasnt been any problem. Seem to keep deer at bay, as well, and out of my garden, which is a HUGE plus for me, have not had any losses due to deer in my garden. Actually witnessed them chase off a deer once and see no more evidence of deer within my property, ei poop, tracks, eaten vegetation. And we have a small orchard of 100 apple trees that, prior to getting guineas, seemed to attract every deer in the county!