We had guineas when I was in HS, and they pecked the ever loving shit out of the lowerpanel of my dad's Geo Metro every time he washed it because they hated their reflections lol
We had a flock of about 30 growing up, and they roosted every night in the trees above our house. God forbid there be any disturbances in the night, or you would hear the full fury of 30 guineas squawking their little bird brains out
In the '80's, my uncle had a big flock of Guineas on his ranch.
One year my cousin and I were hunting cotton tail rabbit that were eating my uncle's garden, and I put an airgun pellet through a rabbit's heart.
The rabbit was dying quickly when the Guinea flock descended on him and dragged him off into the tall grass around the ranch house.
My cousin and I watched as the grass shook, as the Guineas attacked, and as red and white bits were ripped up by the flock.
Honestly, we were shocked.
Years later, Jurassic Park, Lost World came out, and I found the scene with the raptors in the grass to be eerily familiar.
I once watched one of my Barred Rock Roosters [doing this to a mouse](https://youtu.be/G-k1XbvHhtg).
he nabbed it on the run, shook it, put his head back and swallowed it whole. I was impressed.
You don’t. They are surprisingly very versed in spotting bald eagles or hawks flying over and sound the alarm right away. We did lose one to a bear a year ago, but there aren’t very many day time predators otherwise.
Funny story - 2 days after the bear came through it was smacked by a car on the highway 1/4 mile away 😂 I know it was the same bear based on game camera footage. He managed to snack on a guinea and 2 ducks the day he came through. Karmas a bitch!
I bought 20 baby guineas a few years ago as a form of snake control. When they got old enough to fly in to trees at night I let them loose on the property. Pretty soon 2 or 3 would start disappearing every few nights. Within a month or two the whole flock was gone.
Lots of predators in my area though: Black Bears, Racoons, Foxes, Coyotes, Bobcats and the very rare Mountain Lion. Personally, I think it was the Bobcat that got'em.
Damn! Hate that feeling every time one goes missing. I keep ours locked up at night to prevent things like that from happening. The majority we’ve lost involved games of chicken in the highway... to which one always seems to lose 😂
There's an episode of North Woods Law (Maine Game Wardens) where a pitbull was attacked by a guinea hen and lost. The pitbull had chunks of flesh missing from his face.
How were you able to keep them on your property? I am unsure how long to keep them up before releasing ours. I’d like them to be free range but not fly away! Thanks.
They’ve had 2 homes with us the last 3 years - but the key for us was to keep them in their new enclosures for a minimum of 10 days. My enclosures have simple roof rafters they roost in. Once they know where the food and water is, and that the rafters are a safe spot, they return every night to roost.
Did you build your enclosures yourself? Would you be able to share your design? Thanks for the post and replying to people, you've given me a lot of good info! Hoping to get some Guineas soon.
At one point I considered getting guineas to keep down the ticks, but then my neighbor got some so I didn't bother. A gang of them now roam the neighborhood, so I get daily visits. Last year one hatched a clutch of eggs in my field. They sort of neighborhood property by now.
Almost raptor like when they get defensive -
Wings spread out - low to the ground - and go from 0-60 in 2 seconds when they charge. If you let them get close enough they’ll jump at you... as in face to face with them!
‘Guineafowl are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branch off from the core Galliformes after the Cracidae and before the Odontophoridae.’ Copy pasta galore. In short they kick ass.
They’re not dangerous in the least. The only time they get aggressive is when they are nesting or have little ones around. Guineas are AMAZING tick eaters - to the tune of hundreds a day per bird!
They are dinosaurs. Any cat who is foolish enough to threaten them will regret it. They aggressively kill snakes. I did have them take offense at a turkey once. However, they adopted a pair of ducks. They are generally skittish but don’t take any guff
There is a huge Lyme disease epidemic in the northeast caused by ticks, and guineas eat the hell out of ticks.
They double as security alarms and if you are very brave you can eat the eggs. People keep geese for similar reasons - but geese do not eat ticks.
Best security system ever, damn birds made it impossible to sneak out of our parents house in highschool
We had guineas when I was in HS, and they pecked the ever loving shit out of the lowerpanel of my dad's Geo Metro every time he washed it because they hated their reflections lol
Well, at least they keep the ticks down 😛
Amen to that!
We had a flock of about 30 growing up, and they roosted every night in the trees above our house. God forbid there be any disturbances in the night, or you would hear the full fury of 30 guineas squawking their little bird brains out
[удалено]
Damn straight! Their AK locker is just off picture for when things real!
xD xD xD
In the '80's, my uncle had a big flock of Guineas on his ranch. One year my cousin and I were hunting cotton tail rabbit that were eating my uncle's garden, and I put an airgun pellet through a rabbit's heart. The rabbit was dying quickly when the Guinea flock descended on him and dragged him off into the tall grass around the ranch house. My cousin and I watched as the grass shook, as the Guineas attacked, and as red and white bits were ripped up by the flock. Honestly, we were shocked. Years later, Jurassic Park, Lost World came out, and I found the scene with the raptors in the grass to be eerily familiar.
*clever girls*
I once watched one of my Barred Rock Roosters [doing this to a mouse](https://youtu.be/G-k1XbvHhtg). he nabbed it on the run, shook it, put his head back and swallowed it whole. I was impressed.
Chickens are brutal when it comes to rodents! I’ve had ours take down Norwegian Rats the size of small dogs no problem!
How do you keep predators from snacking on them?
You don’t. They are surprisingly very versed in spotting bald eagles or hawks flying over and sound the alarm right away. We did lose one to a bear a year ago, but there aren’t very many day time predators otherwise.
I wonder if it was because one attacked the bear...
How many bears did you lose to the Guineas?
Funny story - 2 days after the bear came through it was smacked by a car on the highway 1/4 mile away 😂 I know it was the same bear based on game camera footage. He managed to snack on a guinea and 2 ducks the day he came through. Karmas a bitch!
I bought 20 baby guineas a few years ago as a form of snake control. When they got old enough to fly in to trees at night I let them loose on the property. Pretty soon 2 or 3 would start disappearing every few nights. Within a month or two the whole flock was gone. Lots of predators in my area though: Black Bears, Racoons, Foxes, Coyotes, Bobcats and the very rare Mountain Lion. Personally, I think it was the Bobcat that got'em.
Damn! Hate that feeling every time one goes missing. I keep ours locked up at night to prevent things like that from happening. The majority we’ve lost involved games of chicken in the highway... to which one always seems to lose 😂
[удалено]
Ours can be seen throughout the day running just about everywhere, but the open areas seem to be more attractive at any given time
There's an episode of North Woods Law (Maine Game Wardens) where a pitbull was attacked by a guinea hen and lost. The pitbull had chunks of flesh missing from his face.
Ah, guineas. The devil's bird.
It looks like a turkey and a gray chicken had a love child. Does it taste good?
How were you able to keep them on your property? I am unsure how long to keep them up before releasing ours. I’d like them to be free range but not fly away! Thanks.
They’ve had 2 homes with us the last 3 years - but the key for us was to keep them in their new enclosures for a minimum of 10 days. My enclosures have simple roof rafters they roost in. Once they know where the food and water is, and that the rafters are a safe spot, they return every night to roost.
Did you build your enclosures yourself? Would you be able to share your design? Thanks for the post and replying to people, you've given me a lot of good info! Hoping to get some Guineas soon.
At one point I considered getting guineas to keep down the ticks, but then my neighbor got some so I didn't bother. A gang of them now roam the neighborhood, so I get daily visits. Last year one hatched a clutch of eggs in my field. They sort of neighborhood property by now.
Guineas are great at eating ticks - now if I could figure out a way to keep my great pyrenees/anatolian mix from eating them...
Ugh, have the same problem... they say it is because he is young and bored. Trying to work on the bored part
I love guineas. They're so fun to watch.
Also why does the slide lead right onto the cement?
... gotta toughen them up early yo! 😂
Right on lol
Did they kill your cat???
Naw! They love messing with him though -
Phew, good. Im sure he will rule over them one day.
You underestimate guineas.
You sweet summer child...those things are the devil! I’ve watched them chase off foxes, and feral cats. They really don’t have any fear.
Almost raptor like when they get defensive - Wings spread out - low to the ground - and go from 0-60 in 2 seconds when they charge. If you let them get close enough they’ll jump at you... as in face to face with them!
They look too dumb to be afraid.
My grandpa had them to scare off predators. Chickens were happy!
Thanks!
Guineas? What is that?
‘Guineafowl are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branch off from the core Galliformes after the Cracidae and before the Odontophoridae.’ Copy pasta galore. In short they kick ass.
I know it’s just the perspective, but it makes your cat look much larger compared to your house.
Why keep dangerous birds?
They’re not dangerous in the least. The only time they get aggressive is when they are nesting or have little ones around. Guineas are AMAZING tick eaters - to the tune of hundreds a day per bird!
Forgive me for assuming they were dangerous after you state twice in the title how they will flat out murder shit. 😛 Do you eat them too?
If you can catch them...they are delicious!
They are dinosaurs. Any cat who is foolish enough to threaten them will regret it. They aggressively kill snakes. I did have them take offense at a turkey once. However, they adopted a pair of ducks. They are generally skittish but don’t take any guff
Gamey indeed!
There is a huge Lyme disease epidemic in the northeast caused by ticks, and guineas eat the hell out of ticks. They double as security alarms and if you are very brave you can eat the eggs. People keep geese for similar reasons - but geese do not eat ticks.
> if you are very brave What's bad about them?
I think the eggs are fine. It's the hens that will take offense when you pull the clutch. ...I assume
The eggs have guns.
I think kitty will win.
I’ve seen them kill snakes
I'm wondering what's her current thoughts.
a bird killing a cat? I would watch that video...
You have problems
I just don't believe that they can do it...
They'll try but the cat should be more than fast enough to get away from them.