Why would anyone in their right mind own a Guinea?

[Keisha]

They keep the bug population down, and are good watch dogs, even if they arent very smart. I got used to the noise .. Mine just free range and roost in the barn at night.

 

[Beekissed]

Anybody ever eat them? Are they good? Much meat?

Ditto on the noise factor....couldn't stand that at all! And ugly? Nasty ugly! Eggs are small and hard shelled, difficult to crack.

 

[Beekissed]

deleted double post

 

[Keisha]

Ive never ate them myself but ive been told that they are good and taste like a pheasant and are all dark meat.

The eggs are edible. We have egg buyers that request our guinea eggs if we have any fresh ones because they say they taste better than chicken eggs. Ive never ate them myself. But I have cracked them open and in my opionion arent any more difficult to crack open than the chicken eggs are.

 

[Bammony]

I haven't got them yet....but I'm way excited! Thanks again for all the info. If ya'll had to say the best and worst things about ur guinea's.....what would they be?

 

[Keisha]

The worst:
The noise they make
and they are terrible mothers

The best:
They eat bugs so the dogs and us have less ticks & fleas when we have the guineas
and they are pretty hillarous to watch them running and flying around the yard together. we call ours the squaud since they look like little army helmets running around.

 

[Bec]

They tend to wander pretty far. If you are getting an adult, make sure you pen him in for a good while. They wander further than chickens do. All 4 of mine left. I raised 4 babies and kept them penned for 12 weeks, I let them out to free range and one by one they left within 2 weeks of letting them out. They have a tendency of wandering off and finding a quite place in tall weeds to lay their eggs. Then they go broody and come back with babies, but if you have 1 boy then you won't have to worry about that! They boys are very good alarms...I know everyone else said the noise is a problem, but I actually liked the sounds that my guineas made! Even the alarm sound. I definitely knew when someone or something was here that shouldn't be.

There are some really good guinea forums.

Good Luck!!!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have a total of 8, three roos, two hens, and 3 babies. They do try and bully the chickens somewhat, but only when it's feeding time. I feed mine the same as I feed my chickens, which is chick starter (unmedicated), flock raiser, and cracked corn. They also free range all day, and they (the adults) have decided to roost in the trees.

Mine don't make too much noise, and they also don't wander too far. They usually stay closer to the barn than the chickens do, who are always in the woods. I read that about 90% of their diet is bugs, so that is #1 reason why I got mine. We had a huge tick problem, and haven't seen 1 for about a month. I have only had my guineas for about 6 weeks, so that's pretty good!

Ask the1much or Miss Prissy about eating guineas. I know the1much has, and pretty sure Miss Prissy was the 1 who told him how to fix them. As for me, mine are just watch dogs, and pest controllers. Plus they are pretty funny to watch.

I would say you would probably need two of them, since they are a bit wilder, and have different habits than chickens do. They usually hang out with their own kind.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

The best:

Awesome at protecting the other animals they live with
great at eating bugs
great snake attackers
friendly (mine are)
durable (meaning--very strong)
pretty

Worst:

Poops alot
Sharp claws (be careful picking them up by hand)