Raising guinea fowl?

[skfullgun]

Who has experience? What do I need? Difficult? Will a 6x10x6 roofed and fenced area suffice for 1/2 dozen birds if I provide roosts?

I have acreage, a pond, dogs, and a couple of barn cats.
You may have seen my recent recent thread on being plaugued with copperheads this year (15 killed so far). And, the grandkids were here this weekend, and two of them ended up with ticks.

Got me to thinking about guineas. I'm told they are great help with pests, will help rid the yard of snakes, and make pretty darn good watch dogs.

I have an open pole barn where I store equipment. Will they take up roost on the rafters and poop all over my equipment?

Like I said before, this is my go-to place for all sorts of information. You folks seem to know it all - from kotex to cotton candy!

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

They are loud when someone approaches, like good watch dogs. Try peacocks, the are noisy also.

 

[skfullgun]

I looked into raising peacocks. It seems like they are more trouble than I care to put into the project. Guineas, on the other hand, appear to be a rather hands-off endeavor - at least from the little bit of research I've conducted up until this point.

 

[mdf9183]

I used to raise guineas and it is quite challenging. I hatched them from eggs and kept the keats penned up until they were adults. I learned that the hard way as I had hatched about 15 of them and turned them loose when they were just large enough to fly. When I let them out they took off in every direction, never did see any of them again. By the same token I was sitting on my patio one day watching my herd of guineas eat bugs and heard a squawk and up walked 9 guineas and joined my herd. I never did find out where they came from a neighbor I suspect. As far as snakes they were in the yard one day and a rat snake came along was slithering through the herd and they never made a sound they would just hop over him as he went by.

 

[justmax]

I had a friend in the Hill Country that had a few running around. He treated them like feral barn cats. Some old plywood for an open front and bottom shelter. he just fed them there a couple of times week to keep them around.

 

[baboon]

My only experiences with them was in Africa. Noisy as phuc! They would come to water twice a day spooking everything off the water hole. Animals would return and then they spooked off. Never ate one. Yardbirds seem more practical for meat & eggs.

Had a lone one show up at the old house inside the loop in Houston.

 

[skfullgun]

I went to the Angelina Farmer's Market last Saturday to look for guineas. There were chickens of all types, geese, ducks, and peafowl. No guineas, and those who were familiar with them told me enough to know I was moving on the wrong direction.
The older lady with the peacocks was most helpful. She offered to sell one for $30, two for $50 or five for $100. I passed.
We went to grab some lunch and I decided to go back by the market to ask her a couple more questions. When we got there, she has sold all but six of the peafowl. We chatted a while and I thanked her and started to leave.
She then offered me the last six peafowl for $100.
The 6x12 dog kennel has been reinforced with poultry netting and I've added a large dog crate (inside the kennel) to offer them more protection at night.
I'm feeding them Gamebirds Starter and poultry scratch.
Any further suggestions for my fledgling flock?

 

[gdr_11]

Trick is to let out all the guineas but one to patrol the property. If you keep one penned up, it will start calling at the end of the day and the rest will come back to the pen. Otherwise your guineas become everyone else’s guineas for a two mile radius.

They are great for snake control plus their eggs and the meat of young ones make for good eating

 

[Texasgordo]

Don't know sheyat about peacocks so I'm subbed. Never bought any because I always figured they were expensive turkeys.

 

[ScorpionHunter]

I went to the Angelina Farmer's Market last Saturday to look for guineas. There were chickens of all types, geese, ducks, and peafowl. No guineas, and those who were familiar with them told me enough to know I was moving on the wrong direction.
The older lady with the peacocks was most helpful. She offered to sell one for $30, two for $50 or five for $100. I passed.
We went to grab some lunch and I decided to go back by the market to ask her a couple more questions. When we got there, she has sold all but six of the peafowl. We chatted a while and I thanked her and started to leave.
She then offered me the last six peafowl for $100.
The 6x12 dog kennel has been reinforced with poultry netting and I've added a large dog crate (inside the kennel) to offer them more protection at night.
I'm feeding them Gamebirds Starter and poultry scratch.
Any further suggestions for my fledgling flock?

A few years ago my wife bought two peacock chicks for a lot more money per bird than you did. So, good job on that. We probably fed them the same brand of gamebird starter you're using, and they grew fairly quickly. The mistake we made is not having a completely enclosed run for them. When ours got bigger (not yet adult) they took to roosting in trees overnight. After not too long they became an expensive dinner for raccoons. I don't know how much space they need, but if you could build a fenced in area that's also covered with net, that would slow down the predators a bit. Also, I think if you put the top net like a circus tent with peaks in the middle, that would let you put higher roosts for them. Good luck your flock. Your post is making me think about giving them another try.

 

[Nightwatch]

We've got coyotes here and hawks that've cut down on any chickens that're loose...skunks and other critters will get in on them if they have a chance...they're great to let you know someone's coming. We never ate them, but kept a few around.

 

[Glenn B]

.

Got me to thinking about guineas. I'm told they are great help with pests, will help rid the yard of snakes, and make pretty darn good watch dogs.

My uncle kept Guinea Fowl with his chickens for years in upstate NY. As far as I am aware, he did nothing special for them with the possible exception of diet, than he did for the chickens. Noisy dumb arse birds are they but still pretty cool. They do keep pests down where they roam.

 

[billtool]

I bought dumb ones I guess. Paid dearly for a couple dozen, raised them in a coop but let them wander when they were young and I was with them. Let them roam when they got full size and the yotes ate every last damn one of them inside of a month. Never did see any of them in a tree. My old bull terrier, Shovelhead, crunched on a couple of the little guys when I brought them home as well. Just leaned down and woofed one or two. Couldn't help himself. I have impulse control issues sometimes myself.

 

[TxStetson]

You don’t need birds to take care of the snakes, you need donkeys. They’ll cure your snake problem, your coyote problem, and your stray dog problem.

 

[skfullgun]

All have survived, and at a little less than 4 months old I'm thinking I've got four males and two females.
They have gone from chick size to turkey size in 3 months.
Feathers are becoming iridescent. Tail feathers are growing longer. Amazing creatures, these.

 

[Sasquatch]

My grandparents have peacocks and peahens, they have an enclosure probably 15-20 feet on a side, and about as tall. The buggers always seem to be up in the rafters. They didn't do a damn thing about the snakes that got into their enclosure to eat the eggs. My granddad killed a five foot long rat snake in the enclosure last spring that had consumed 2 of the eggs, judging by the bulges in its body.

Neat birds. If you know anyone who fly fishes, they'll no doubt appreciate any of the swords or eyes the birds shed. Peacock herl (the fibers that make up the feathers) is used in hundreds of fishing fly patterns. Its great stuff.

 

[jonevill]

I've never raised peacocks but had a flock of guineas for a while. Didn't do anything special for them. Just let them run loose after they got grown.

TxStetson has the right answer. I raised a few Mexican burros. They kept everything at bay.

 

[kbaxter60]

Trick is to let out all the guineas but one to patrol the property. If you keep one penned up, it will start calling at the end of the day and the rest will come back to the pen. Otherwise your guineas become everyone else’s guineas for a two mile radius.

Much truth here. My mom kept a small flock for years. One day, they just wandered off to the neighboring farm. This was after several years of living on mom's place. A few did come back months later.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

4’x4’ plywood platform and a 10’ post.
Raising Guinea foul.

 

[TX OMFS]

As far as snakes they were in the yard one day and a rat snake came along was slithering through the herd and they never made a sound they would just hop over him as he went by.

Same here. Not impressed w/ their snake killing abilities.