Guinea Fowl Hatching Eggs, Assorted Pieds and Colors

[FireTigeris]

I hear they are too loud for a rural residential area.

 

[JHorn91180]

I live in a rural area as well and have had the same neighbors for years. Good people. We all have big yards and when I had them b4 only 2 neighbors were actually close enough that the guineas wondered in their yards but never got on their porches and vehicles but may have been an issue with noise.

Guineas can b very noisy at times especially a flock. I decided to talk to these neighbors and ask them what they thought about me getting some again. To my surprise the neighbors with a mental and physically disabled daughter sd they would love for me to get more. Stating they have noticed an explosion in ticks in the past couple years since the guineas have been gone and cant even mow the lawn with out getting covered in them even when they use the riding mower. My state is home to 5 of the most venomous snakes in the US along with black widows and brown recluse spiders. They sd in the past couple years they have found a timber rattler under the swing where their daughter plays. A copperhead under his wife's car and another in the flower bed by the front porch steps.

My other neighbors were also all about it. Same complaint with ticks but also have several rose bushes in their yard along with a small grape vineyard and sd they used to watch the guineas come down and pick the japanese beetles off their roses and grape vines. They also stated the large pond that separates our property has had water moccasins(cotton mouths) on their side of the pond where they mow sunning themselves on the top and side of dam. They have not been letting the grand kids play on that side of the yard when they visit because of this or fish in the pond. So they sd the noise they made don't outweigh their benefits.

Both neighbors did say they were loud but the noise wasn't an issue and usually when they did get loud they were fighting and killing snakes playing tug-o-war with them. They sd they got used to the noise and it didn't bother them. So maybe talk to your neighbors about the benefits to the community and see what they think before u get them. I have never had one or even heard of one attacking people or children and if they have a dog they will probably stay away from that yard anyways after being chased a few times. They r good flyers but never seen them on the neighbors homes just our barn and in trees. We don't have this issue here but have also heard they can be a great benefit to properties that have fire ant hills.

 

[PeepsCA]

Having 69 adults, some days their noise really gets to me... but my property is tick free, flea free, snake free, grass hopper free, big hairy wolf spider free, the fly population is well controlled and the snakes are taken care of!!! The benefits of Guineas definitely outweighs the noise they make.

Guinea eggs are plentiful right now on the BST section, but you don't find many sources for Mixed Colors and Mixed Pieds out here in CA. Even ordering from hatcheries you typically can't get the variety I am offering... plus you can see from my pics what's hatching

Another perk about ordering eggs from me is that my mixed orders are all collected from 2 unrelated flocks so you are starting your flock off with 2 separate gene pools, or adding 2 unrelated lines to your existing flock

 

[FireTigeris]

Isn't mixed or strange colors a detriment to free range birds? We have hawks- or are they really that much smarter then chickens, doves and ducks...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/album/view/id/6177963/user_id/44847

However I just got a 'free' dog

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/661881/fl-bent-creek-swap-dog-who-adopted-us

so I need to really wait before getting any new critters. (especially if they will be loose...)

Myself and two of my three residential neighbors are attempting to get our zoning changed to Arg1

 

[PeepsCA]

The lighter colors can be easier targets for predators, but really if a predator smells a meal, color doesn't matter lol.

I'd kinda like to think (in a perfect world) that anyone that goes thru all the trouble of incubating and hatching a bunch of pretty colored keets from my eggs would keep an eye on their flock while they are out free ranging

. One can hope anyway!

 

[FireTigeris]

An eye isn't going to deter the hawks, they fly faster then I run, assuming the flock is in one place and not subdivided...

And keeping them in a pen defeats what I need...

Hawks hunt by sight mostly and those are what I'm worried about, (Red tail, red shoulder, coopers- among others) most everything else would be out at night when they are at roost in the safe pen.

-Just talking out loud-

 

[PeepsCA]

I wasn't suggesting penning your birds. My birds free range, not all of them are out 24/7 but even the light colors and Pieds are out there and visible each day... I've never lost a light bird (or a dark bird) to a hawk attack. To owls yes, hawks no. Maybe it's because I have goats,horses and a live stock guardian burro roaming the 10 acres of pastures my birds range in, I dunno, but my flocks all alert each other to hawks or any other large bird in the sky, and instinctually all run for cover (while screaming like banshees). I work from home, so I'm around a lot to keep a close eye on my birds, and when I hear my birds alerting I'll go see whats up... sometimes it's a hawk, sometimes it's a raven, sometimes it's a turkey vulture, sometimes it's a flock of wild geese honking away as they fly over. In 7 yrs tho, I have not one had single hawk attack or had to chase any hawks off. That's how it is here where I breed and raise my Guineas in CA anyway, (which is where I'm selling my eggs BTW, lol).

Maybe the hawks are hungrier or more brazen over in Florida than they are in CA. But if you have a bad hawk load in your area, then by all means, go with dark birds if that's what you prefer.

A lot of people like variety in their flocks tho and frequently request it, which is what I'm offering, variety

 

[FireTigeris]

I'd love them and they are beautiful, but in the end I had half my flock lost to hawks when I first started, all the SLW none of the GLW- the Hawks here can pick up on a silver or white feather from a great distance. I'd hate to lose birds just because they are soo pretty.

But maybe they are much smarter then the chickens too- I have no animal protection but lots of cover, under the main coop, under the deck, under the azalea bushes...

Hummmm-

 

[JHorn91180]

I just wanted to add that the male guineas act as sentinels always on the lookout for potential danger and r the first to sound the alarm if a hawk is spotted. Other fowl such as chickens and ducks learn that when they hear this call to scatter and head for cover as well so they may b a benefit to some that have that problem. Male turkeys seem to do the same and I have noticed hawks wont attempt a catch if an adult gobbler is around. They seem to b afraid of them for some reason or see them as too much of a risk to fight for a meal. Not sure why. There r many threads on here where people use Turkeys as a hawk deterrent and Guinea fowl as an early warning system to cut down on losses. Guineas r best for pest control tho. That sd my farm has lots of cover and not vast open fields either. Guineas spot the hawks probably b4 they even get a chance to choose a target, giving everything a chance to get away. They also have very good vision.

Also wanted to add I have been priceing and searching for guineas alot her lately. This seller only ships to CA for legal reasons with in her state. The cheapest I have found for similar mixes of all the very rare colors this seller has, adding price to shipping on all my searches. I have found one other seller that has all these colors and for a mixed dozen(not 2 dozen) its about $5 cheaper then this add. That sd, with this seller u get an additional dozen (2 dozen total) and with the other seller another dozen would run around $40 more with the combined shipping break bringing the total to around $85. This seller offers a huge price break for those in CA. Wish they were able to send to my state then I would b done guinea egg shopping. I want a unique flock as well as I also plan to sell eggs and keets. Just another added benefit.

 

[FireTigeris]

Yes and I'm in FL but doing research it also moves up her add too- so I hope she doesn't mind

IF so I'll stop.