guinea hens? NEED info, please

[dana]

Any information you guys can share with me about guinea hens? and i mean EVERYTHING there is to know about them.

we took the two kids (dogs) to the vet's on wed for spring shots, heartworm, frontline, rabies, etc.

kirby (who we just got last nov) tested a high positive for Lyme's. but the real shocker was our other rescue, that we got 3 years ago, tested positive for Lyme's and anaplasmosis (ehrlichia equii-previous name)
so . . . . since she's been vaccinated for Lyme's the last three years and we use the frontline religiously, we were shocked to say the least.

everyone i've talked to says get guinea's. so i looked at two different websites yesterday but still have ALOT of questions.

i have no place to house them. what do they require? anything i could come up with for $200?
how do you get them to STAY at your house and not the neighbors.
what kind of outside temps can they withstand?
Predators? i've been told they've been called a "pea fowl" due to the size of their brains. :-) but i've also heard nothing is better to get rid of the ticks.
any suggestions? i sure would take anything you could offer at this point.

thanks, Guys! [/code]

[Terry Wallace]

Weeellll..if you get chicks..they need to be kept at about 100 degrees so you need a brooder light for them for a while...

After they get bigger, you won't need the brooder light when temps are good. They DO need a safe haven...a place to go that is dog proof, cat proof etc....when they get older they will roost in trees also.

Predators love Guineas...cats, dogs..you name it...and mostly the Guineas run along the ground a bit before they take off..so sometimes they are easy targets...they are VERY noisey...they breed prolifically and it won't be uncommon to have hens with big hatches of chicks following them around.

When we had them..it was in New Mexico..cold weather was not a concern once they got their first feathers, no need to brood them with a heat light anymore.

They will POO everywhere they go...messy...YES.
cats will stalk them....dogs will love chasing them...you will know where they are as they are quite noisey? Oh...and did I say they were NOISEY? :D

I was thinking of getting some here too...but never did yet... I would think it would be an expensive hassle to keep their "house" warm all of the long, hard Colorado winter.... and as for pea brains...YEP....not much room in those itty bitty heads! JMO

It was fun chasing them on ponies when we were kids! But then...we also chased roadrunners as they stay on the ground mostly!

[Mellifluous]

The most frightening thing I have ever encountered while out riding was a pack of guineas. There had to be 30 or so of them. I heard them before I saw them "pertrack pertrack pertrack" The came over the hill toward me and my horse. It was strange. The whole group moved as one big herd, much like those little fish that school so closely to confuse predators. That group of guineas chased my horse! It was frightening because it was like all of their pea brains had merged into one evil attack mode brain!

[Terry Wallace]

Yep..thats true! They do "flock together".. :D

[Pinto Paso]

Ours LOVED our horses - as a matter of fact the last one we had needed to go with HIS horse when we sold her... they tried to pen him away from her and he would escape and go hang out with his horse...

our last two Stewie (as in chicken stew) and Dumplin (as in chicken dumplings) were raised from a young age and did fine in their pen, one ended up for lunch as an owl (midnight snack) the other went with the horse.... Yes everything loves to snack on them - they do roost in trees when a bit older. It is hard to round them up to go in the pen once they are old enough to look for food on their own...

My husband really likes them but hates that they are easy targets to get eaten so get lots and dont get attached to them.....

Ours used to yell as soon as they would see our cars pull in and come running to meet us... :roll: needless to say we didnt have enough of them and got attached :mad: stupid birds.....

[SandyMM]

Guinea fowl are the quintessential 'dumb clucks! They have less room for brains than a frog, and are so noisy you can't hear yourself think.... We started with 10 late last summer and lost one within 2 weeks to a 'neurological disorder', 2 just droppped dead in their pen as chicks, one ran into our dog's mouth - who promptly spit it out - but the damage was done, and the 5th one got chased by another dog and died of fright - we think - because the dog never laid a tooth on it....
:shock: :roll:

You must train little children to run _at_ the guinea flock - or the birds will chase them everywhere with all parties involved screaming at +/- 7 bajillion decibels....

As soon as I had to start chasing them back to the coop at night, I left them out to roost in the trees - even in the low teen temps - and quit feeding them. They have been fat and sassy and appear to think they have become sexually mature - no chicks yet, though... That may or may not be a good thing.... :roll:

Did anybody else say they are LOUD!?!?!?!
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I should slap myself now for thinking we need more!

[Monty]

Did anyone mention they are noisy ,messy and stupid ? :lol: Neighbors had them and they were always at my bird feeders - I would get chickens rather than pea fowl! I assume you are getting them to clear out the ticks -
Naturally they are blaming climate change for increase of Lyme disease -
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=9316

[SandyMM]

(Pssst - climate changes have been happening for - oh - billions of years... nobody cared until people showed up....) :roll: ;-)

In the meantime - go for the guineas! We could start an alternate livestock forum for 'medically approved assistance fowl'...

[PasoJoy]

I ended up shooting the last two we had... :evil: it was VERY satisfying... :twisted:
My dog never bothered them, neither did the cat, but foxes loved them..if you get any try to get just males, they aren't as noisy as the females...who will NEVER shut up...
plus side, yup, no bugs and they don't 'scratch up' your gardens and flowers like chickens do and their poo is not as disgusting,
but they DON'T SHUT UP ever and yes will stand right out in the middle of the road with traffic and won't have a clue they will get flattened, or maybe they don't care, and maybe it is just the males with that death wish to get away from the females who DON'T SHUT UP ever....

[Terry Wallace]

Just making sure you understand that they are NOISEY!!!!!!!

They never SHUT_UP !!!

Just so you know Dana!!! :D :D

[Pinto Paso]

Hey you're back... feeling better?
That is too funny "getting away from the females who wont shut up"

Well I guess I'm just an animal nut cause I like the stupid things.... I like all living things except bugs ESPECIALLY ticks so I'm gonna go get some more noisy birds.

[dana]

Okay . . . . so are you guys trying to tell me that they're NOISY? :D

after a vet bill on wed for $456 i think i could put up with some noise for the summer and make stew out of them before winter. Sigh . . . .

[PasoJoy]

I'm feeling a little better Steph, thanks! I do also agree with you about the Guinea's....I always thought they were SO ugly they were cute...and their feathers are beautiful....I just wish there was a way to CUT their vocal cords...if there was I'd have them again...
oh and Dana, they are very good eating....all dark meat and no fat though so cook them wrapped in bacon.. :twisted:

[Red Ryder]

I've had guinna's I love them, just can't keep the wild critters from feasting on them, they will let you know in a heart beat when something abnormal is happening.

they will keep down ticks, and flies, as will banty chickens. Banty are more messy than the guinnas.BUT they seem better able to avoid preditors.

I'm going to try and get some guinnas in a few days

Love to hear their pot-o-rack

[LynnG]

what about peacocks?

[appyday]

I had to get rid of mine they pecked out the neighbors screens to their windows..and my neighbors are not real close to my house.. :-?

[Terry Wallace]

what about peacocks?

Even NOISEY-ER Than Guineas.....talk about LOUD....try peacocks....we had a couple of those too!

AND boy oh boy do their cries ever carry!! You can hear those in the next county!

One benefit...FREE beautiful feathers is you have a male peacock and like to put feathers in pots of flowers or make wall hangings!

Home-grown peacock feathers in ART!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/twobarwpaso/EgyptianSkullBB.jpg

one more...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/twobarwpaso/BreastplatehangingBB.jpg

[dana]

Just Simply AWESOME, Terry! what wonderful work you do!! you should be doing one of those for Secret Santa!

and i "could" tell you a peacock story but Mitch would hunt me down and . . . . . ?

[Terry Wallace]

Dana... those hang in my "Egyptian" spare bedroom! Along with papyrus paintings and such...I love Egyptian design.... but....me thinks Paso People would rather have PASO type art..so that is what I always do...
I love doing horse wall hangings.... BEST!

[Pasogirlz]

Peacocks! :shock: Those things sound like a woman being murdered when they get going. A lot of ppl in Miami have them at the farms, but they get on my nerves. One of the neighboring farms even has a white one. Very pretty, but equally as loud as the regular colored ones. :lol:

[andrea]

Hope you have better luck then what I did. About 2 miles down the road a friend had to get rid of her G's. Because they were so loud the neighbors were complaining. I told them to catch them and go ahead and put them in my barn. So they did. And the G"s walked right out of the horse door. Scaring my horses to death. They high tailed it to the end of the field. Snorting and tails up. The G's went down the d-way and down the road to a neighbors dairy farm. Took up residence in there barn. They had a cattle dog that had a ball killing them. So, i got some amish and rounded them up. Marched them down the road , down the driveway and into the barn. Well, you can not close the horse door. So out the door they went again. Down the road to the dairy farm. Dog killed a few more. I got the amish again to help me get them home. I was going to put them in cages. What was left. Got them down the road, Down the driveway. To the door of the barn and off they went flying away. Of course to the dairy farm. Dog got the rest of them.

Things i did wrong. I got older ones and my place was not there home. I should of put them in cages for a couple of weeks.
I had barn cats that thought i was bringing them dinner. They were not afraid of them at all. They killed one.

And yes they are very stupid and loud and pooped all over in the barn and on the hay. No, I will never get any again.

[Terry Wallace]

Yep...you really need to raise them to have them know where home is and stick around...

If anybody wants Guineas or other types of poultry...here is a good website to order if you cannot find any in your neighborhood... go to....

www.privetthatchery.com