North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: Message

I think that keeping poultry in an orchard is a smart move because it really reduces the number of insect pests.

 

I kept a flock of guineas for a number of years until I graduated from college.  They were delightful birds, full of spunk, and we enjoyed their antics and peculiarities as well as their delicious eggs and meat.

 

Although it was not the case on our farm (because of the distance involved), guineas will roam widely as they forage and look for a suitable nesting site and are as likely to want to explore a neighbor's property as their own.  Keeping them confined is not easy, unless one pinions them as keets, clips the flight feathers of one wing, or has a fence over 8 feet or so high.

 

I never minded the racket, but it was our experience (and that of friends to whom I gave some stock) that some of the females repeated their two-syllable each morning as they stood under an open window of our home.  Perhaps they were looking for love.  At any rate, it seems the hens are more likely to be preoccupied with guinea business and more content if one keeps a male for every one or two hens (although a male can successfully cover at least four hens).  Otherwise, the unpaired hens seem to be "odd man out" and roam around, calling for a mate.

 

Guineas prefer to steal their nests out, in the weeds and brush if possible.  Varmints usually are not a problem unless a female is incubating or the young (keets) are not yet able to fly (that is, if they're under 1 month of age).  Dogs would probably only be a danger to very young birds.  The females drag their young through the grass and weeds as they forage, which tires the keets and often gives them a deadly chill from the dew.  That's generally not a problem on the African savannahs that are the guinea's natural habitat, but it is in the more humid United States.  So, plan to hatch some under a hen or in an incubator if you want to raise successfully.

 

You'll definitely have tamer guineas and a flock that's more likely to return to the coop or other shelter each night (where you can keep them in protective custody until morning) if you feed some sorghum, cracked corn or other scratch grain in the coop in the evening.  This is a nice complement to the insects and weed seeds that they find each day.

 

Will your neighbors find your guineas noisy?  Undoubtedly.  But they may also enjoy them, particularly if you share some eggs or a dressed young bird or two with them each year.

 

If I were looking for poultry to help eradicate insects in an orchard, I'd definitely keep guineas.  Muscovy ducks would be another top pick because they are quiet (they do not quack), will get a lot of their diet by grazing (but will not strip leaves and bark from the trees as geese sometimes do).  They also are good fly and bug catchers and superb sitters and mothers.  Muscovies have dark meat that is very lean and a little wild tasting.  Delicious! -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jwlehman@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2005 7:05 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] guinea fowl noise reports?

----- Original Message 
-----
From: Charles paradise [mailto:machelp@attglobal.net]
There's 
reports of guineas being susceptible to roaming house cats, but I only see one 
house cat occasionally, and occasional losses would be 
sustainable.     
>
Kept guineas for maybe 8 years or so.   
 Loved em!     Best watch 
dog ever.    Anything moved they sounded the 
alarm.    So yes, if in a populated area someone 
would likely complain of their noise.   My neighbors never 
complained.  

They did roost in my small chicken coop along with the 
chickens.    Their biggest problem is nesting out 
doors on the ground.    Never 
successfully hatched a clutch of eggs except one year I found a partial nest on 
the ground, moved it into the chicken coop where they added eggs then hatched a 
brood.    My experience was they clustered, that 
is several hens would lay eggs in the same nest then one incubated them.  

Based on our experience I don't see how a dog or cat would pose a 
threat. First guinea to spot one would alarm all the others. They are excellent 
fliers and into the trees they go.    As Lucky wrote, the biggest threat 
is to the young on the ground.

Chick-walk, chick-walk.

Jerry