nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio
List archive
- From: "Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>
 - To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
 - Subject: RE: [NAFEX] guinea fowl noise reports?
 - Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2005 16:15:26 -0500
 
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: 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?
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
- 
            
            Re: [NAFEX] guinea fowl noise reports?,
            , 06/02/2005
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
 - Re: [NAFEX] guinea fowl noise reports?, Jwlehman, 06/05/2005
 - RE: [NAFEX] guinea fowl noise reports?, Brungardt, Sam, 06/07/2005
 
 
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.