Guinea Hens & Wildlife

[TheHighlandChick01]

We are thinking about getting some Guinea Hens & we’re wondering if they would go after (chase, hurt or scare away) wildlife in our yard including wild bunnies & birds. Thoughts?

 

[Crystal37]

There was a squirrel that use to come into my front yard just to torment my guineas I think. They would chase it around yelling at it and it would act like they weren't even there. Sometimes it would sit up on top a fence post as they stood on the ground still yelling at him. If he moved towards them they would run the other way. But would be right back after him when he turned around. I've never seen them be mean towards anything. The one guinea I have now acts as the lookout for the pig when he's on the loose and getting into everything.

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

Yikes! Squirrels can be mean sometimes that’s for sure!
It’s good to know Guineas won’t go after wildlife! Thank you for your reply!

 

[Crystal37]

Yikes! Squirrels can be mean sometimes that’s for sure!
It’s good to know Guineas won’t go after wildlife! Thank you for your reply!

There may be others come along who have had different experiences, but I personally have never had an issue with guineas being aggressive towards anything. I had never seen the squirrel be aggressive either. It was like a little game or something? I always thought it was kinda funny. This fat little squirrel just running around the yard with 12 guineas right behind it yelling at it for being out of its tree? They definitely let you know if something is different. My kids put a chair in the yard the other day,
My guinea spent like 20 minutes out there yelling at it.

 

[TheHighlandChick01]

That’s really funny! It sounds like having Guineas will be fun!
Do you have an opinion as to how many we should have?

 

[Crystal37]

That’s really funny! It sounds like having Guineas will be fun!
Do you have an opinion as to how many we should have?

I was advised that it's best to have at least 5-6.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Guineas will, however, kill every lizard, frog, toad, and small snake that they find. They may gang up on and violently kill larger snakes, and will probably have a go at mice and maybe even newborn rabbits if they find any. Vicious little dinosaurs.

 

[Crystal37]

Guineas will, however, kill every lizard, frog, toad, and small snake that they find. They may gang up on and violently kill larger snakes, and will probably have a go at mice and maybe even newborn rabbits if they find any. Vicious little dinosaurs.

Thank you @Fishkeeper! This is true.... I didn't even think about those. I was thinking birds and bunnies.

 

[varidgerunner]

Ours attracted more wildlife with their yummy meat, than they scared off with their incessant screeching that everything within five miles heard non-stop and got used to. I swear, predators came for miles just to shut the things up, and I wasn't too upset by their decision.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

We are thinking about getting some Guinea Hens & we’re wondering if they would go after (chase, hurt or scare away) wildlife in our yard including wild bunnies & birds. Thoughts?

We live on area just outside of town and have a lot of wildlife. My husband is a birder who attracts wild birds and deer with feed (probably why we need the guineas to eat the ticks, ha ha). We got our guineas last summer and started free ranging them in fall. At first, we saw few birds and deer and my husband was about ready to shoot our guineas as he was convinced that they chased them off with their constant noise. Deer, birds, and squirrels did eventually come back, but the guineas will run off the deer sometimes. They mostly ignore the birds and squirrels. I think that they will ignore the deer once they are sure that they aren’t dangerous. Just yesterday, I heard the guineas alarm calling (their “Machine gun” call) in the woods and ran over to see what was up. They had surrounded a rabbit and were yelling at it. I showed them that the bunny wasn’t dangerous, then they lost interest and left it alone.