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guinea fowl

Had a stray thought about Guinea Hens, but how loud are they?

Eric Hanson

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posted 3 months ago

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I definitely live in tick country and I would LOVE a way to control them—something eating them sounds great! I have heard that Guinea Hens are ideal for controlling ticks, mosquitoes, grubs, etc. But I have two basic questions:

1. How loud are they? I have heard that they are quite loud.

2. What goes in to their upkeep. They would be as free range as I could get them to be.

Thanks in advance!

Eric

Some places need to be wild

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 3 months ago

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we got them for those same reasons.
They did not survive predation here though.
The ones we bought were cage raised.
Later we found someone who had a flock that free ranged and was large enough (30+) and hatched out a brood often enough to keep up with losses. They also had better instincts than cage raised.

Our 6 guineas made it less than a year.
I loved their sound and did not find it loud or annoying and they were really entertaining.

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Timothy Norton

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posted 3 months ago

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Even if they are a bit loud, they sound neat!

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Eric Hanson

Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms

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posted 3 months ago

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Judith, I had a bad feeling about predation. I do have a dog who looks after the cats and has chased off the raccoons and opossums. But I don’t know if she will instinctively go after the hens and even then, she can’t be everywhere at once.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get predators to go after ticks?

Eric

Some places need to be wild

Judith Browning

Posts: 9617

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 3 months ago

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haha!
I think the 'possum eating ticks' myth has finally wound down and that leaves nothing but guineas 🫤

The predators combined with no survival instinct in the guineas was our experience.

A neighbor's dog walked right up to one and picked it off....no noise, did not try to run or fly away...same with a fox one night....others we did not see but they would come back fewer every time.

We had kept them up for a few weeks before letting them roam so they did come back in the evening but into dusk when they were of course at risk to predation.

I would get them again if I thought it wasn't putting them at risk.

and they loved grasshoppers!
and stripped and ate bermuda grass seeds from stems!
and the eggs are tasty!
so many good things about them.....

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
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Nancy Reading

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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 3 months ago

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One of our neighbours at the shop has a couple of guinea fowl that free range - they like to sit in the bus shelter to catch the morning sun. They do cluck a bit but they are such little clowns I find it quite a cheerful noise. I'm told they survived a mink attach that caused the loss of most of the chickens, because they prefer to roost in the trees than use the hen house (which was broken into overnight).

Edit - oh, and apparently the feathers can fetch quite a bit of £ from fly tying fishermen.

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Donna Ratliff

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Location: Lookout mountain Northeast Alabama

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posted 3 months ago

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Muscovy ducks also love to eat ticks and they are extremely quiet birds. I love mine and prefer them over chickens any day. They're eggs are fantastic. I wouldn't trade them for anything. If you have chickens that won't sit on eggs? No worries muscovy hens will sit until on them until they hatch along with some of thier own eggs and they take care of them as they were their own. Yep, love muscovy ducks. Oh and they go inside in the evening by themselves I've found better than chickens. They're extremely easy to raise, also comical and I haven't had any tick issues since having them. Give them a try.

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Lisa Sture

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I bought a pair once. I was told that if I kept them with my chickens they would sound the alarm when a fox came. I took them home and put them in the enclosure with the chickens. As I put them down, they flew up and off ... never to be seen again!!! I felt very foolish

I'm a market gardener in Wales, UK and live in the Radnor Hills. I live and work on land that is part of a rewilding farm owned by a Wildlife Trust. Loving my new polytunnel!

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