We're getting our eight hens this weekend. I'm trying to decide whether to include a guinea(s). I've heard great things about their ability to control mosquitoes around a property (and we have plenty in MN) and do bug/slug control in the garden. However, I think these birds are going to be confined to our coop and pen. Which brings me to another question: will a guinea stick around if it's released for a short time to free range in the garden or yard area, assuming someone's around to keep an eye on the bird? Are guineas aggressive to other hens? As, you can tell, I'm a novice in the poultry area! Trisha, if you're out there, feel free to respond too.

thanks.

-- Cathy in MN (logholm@rangenet.com), October 23, 2001

Answers

I can't speak for other folks' birds, but mine live with my chickens and eat with them at feeding time (I have 2). They choose to roost outside though and their favorite hobby is patrolling the roof of the chicken coop and truck shed. They are good fliers and are able to leave for wide open spaces but stick close with the chickens. I will say they seem to have done a number on the ticks this past season as I can recall only seeing one early on.

-- Walt (kraterkrew@lcsys.net), October 23, 2001.

Those screeching little birds are good for tick control, not mosquitos. Put up bat houses for misquitos; I have seen guenias freerange 24-7 as long as the feed gets there on time.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), October 23, 2001.

We have 12 guineas and about 15 hens. They all live quite happily together, although we let them all free-range. They all go into the coop at feeding time and at bedtime, and we don't lock them in. We have 18 acres, the chickens roam around on about 2 acres, rarely venture any further than that, while the guineas take off all over the place, but always come home. CJ

-- CJ (cjtinkle@getgoin.net), October 25, 2001.

I think guineas will free range if they was raised there. I pened 5 adults up for 2 months and took good care of them. When I let them out they lined up and marched North never to be seen again.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), October 25, 2001.

Hey Mel! Maybe they resented being penned up and flew the coop! Ours join the chickens for food and also enjoy patrolling the chicken house roof. However they usually free range together as a group and only do we hear them when there is a reason. At night they roost in one of the barn rafters. We consider them "food on hoof" however we have yet to eat them. They worked great this summer on our red ants. Best year ever. Ron in Eastern Wa.

-- Ron Fila (Ron@Verizon.com), October 25, 2001.

Mel, penning up ADULT guineas will not guarantee that they will stick around when you let them loose to free range. Training guineas to free range and return home to your place at night only works if you start with babies (keets). Keep the keets penned up for about 6 weeks before releasing them. We currently have 30 guineas and wouldn't live in the country without them! They are absolutely phenomenal tick-eaters.

-- Liz Rhein (merhein@shentel.net), October 25, 2001.

This is absolutely THE best site for Guinea info

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/9463/

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 25, 2001.

Definately need to start with keets. Tryed both ways several times in my life time and only keets raised on the homestead stayed on the homestead when released. I do like them for tick control. Once released I have never had much luck with shutting them up at night, as they seem to prefer to roost in the trees.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), October 25, 2001.

I don't find the guineas any better at insect control than my chooks. I'd say they're equal. I recently got rid of all my guineas except those being used for an experiment. I don't have any neighbors to worry about, but I just couldn't take the noise anymore! They are L-O-U-D!

I was told by a hatchery that raises guineas that this has worked for him, so I'm trying it. A chook hen hatched the guinea eggs and is raising the keets. The keets will be free ranging during the day with the rest of the chook flock as soon as they have all their feathers, so I'll see if it worked!

I had heard on some Lists that guineas can't be kept with Chook roosters, but it's evidently only so on these Lists! -G- I have a bunch of roosters and also had plenty of male guineas (plus the hens of both species) and I never had a problem. No one I know with both species has problems.

Guineas, like chooks, can be trained to return to the pens at dusk to roost. There's too many night time predators where I live to leave any of the birds out at night. The owls will pluck them right from the trees if that's where the guineas are roosting.

3 weeks in the pen, feed always available. My old flock can see the new birds thru my wire pens, and vice versa. When the new birds are turned out 3 weeks later, they mingle with the old flock. All the birds return to the pens at dusk to roost. I've never had to chase down a bird.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), October 25, 2001.

We're new to raising guineas this year, started with 16 keets, now down to 9. Yes, they are loud, but these come to get feed from me near the chicken pen when I call them every morning and evening. They roost on top of the gates by the goats and on top of the chicken house. I have a friend who had chickens and guineas, and the guinea roosters would not let the chicken roosters mate with the chicken hens, but ours all seem to get along with the exception of one hen that chases the guineas away from the feed occasionally. The guinea flock did punish one of their own, for some known only to them transgression, tho. For about two weeks, they would not let one hen hang around with them, eat with them, etc. Don't know what she did, or what mended the situation, but they are all back together now. It was pretty odd for a while, watching her keeping her distance, trying to join them, and being driven away! They really did a number on the bugs in the garden, tho. I'm sold on them, noise or not. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), October 25, 2001.

I free range my chickens and guineas and they return to the same coop to roost together at night. To keep new guineas from leaving as soon as you let them loose, just let one loose at a time. Let one loose for a couple of days and he will keep coming back to the coop to be with the rest of the flock. Make sure you feed him at the coop. In a couple of days let another loose, and so on. They keep returning to the coop to be with the flock and to be fed. By the time you have set them all loose, they are trained to return to the coop for food. This works great for adult guineas. I keep my chickens, guineas, and ducks in the same coop at night and they free range during the day. I have had no problems with this method. Hope this helps!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

I had a bad experience with guineas. I got them as keets and had no trouble keeping them on the property. In fact, they were quite attached to humans and seemed to consider themselves part of the family - following us wherever we went. At first, this was quite entertaining and fun.

My first troubles began when they began terrorizing my hens. Why they did this I have no idea. I saw them doing it so I knew they were the culprits. They killed two hens and almost killed a third who miraculously survived. After this experience I kept them seperate from my chickens. I still wanted to keep them for pest control in my garden. However, after I began planting my spring garden they dug up all the seeds in my rows. Didn't eat them - just tasted them and spit them out. Must have thought they were bugs. This did not go over well and they were history by the end of the day. The next day I had to replant all my peas, cabbage, broccolli etc. They made real mess of my rows and raised beds, mixing seeds in the rows etc.

Not to mention they were very very loud. They also liked to roost by any entryway to our home - as I said they were attached to us - so they often hung out by our doors leaving a HUGE poopy mess everywhere. Sorry, I cannot be more encouraging about guineas, but I will never own them again.

-- Tiffani (cappello@alltel.net), October 27, 2001.