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  • From: Shawnee Flowerfarmer <farmingflowers AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Guinea fowl in the Garden?
  • Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:49:45 -0600

To the text below I would add-if I can stop laughing long enough-that guinea hens, when running a fence perimeter in a useless panic will sometimes just drop dead-from heart failure I guess-and leave you with a guilt crack in your heart.  In the garden, they love to dust, just like chickens and although they can be part of Fun on the Farm, they were forbidden like all poultry to have free access to the garden/fields.  They are very good gleaners however and despite everything, I do like them.
They do keep your predator population fed which might save a few chickens.
Anybody with news to contribute regarding cucumber beetles?
Shawnee, zone 5


From: kampy AT grm.net
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:54:23 -0600
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Guinea fowl in the Garden?

Regards to the list:

 

What we have learned about keeping guineas:

 

They will eat every last green strawberry if given the chance.

They like to roost in trees and be eaten by owls.

They will peck every ripening tomato at least once.

They will jump up and pick off hornworms.

They do help decimate the tick population.

They like to roost on the roof and make it sound like there are elephants running around overhead.

They hide their nests and bring in maybe two dozen chicks at a time. If we don’t catch the chicks the first day, they’re impossible to get and the mother will let them die off within a few days.

If you catch the chicks and put them into a chicken tractor for protection, the mother will follow them in after she tried to kill you.

They are extremely noisy and make good watchdogs.

The males chase each other endlessly.

They will attack you if they perceive their young are at risk or you’re trying to catch them at night and tear deep rips in your arms with their toenails.

They are good weather forecasters: If they go into the chicken house for the night, you know the weather will be really bad that night.

If they’re in a penned area, they will run the perimeter endlessly, apparently not realizing they can fly out.

 

Marie in Missouri

 



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