Never thought I would love this socalled ugly bird

[Tacampbell1973]

I was introduced to Guineas when I moved to my current house 5 years ago.My neighbor has about20 or so free ranging guineas. I can distinctly remember telling my husband" my gosh those are ugly birds, why would someone want a bird that looks like that" Well i guess now i can eat my words as i now have 11 of these beautiful intelligent creatures.They are so much fun to watch.They remind me of a school of fish as they move around the yard as one unit. The babies started so small and fuzzy that they would have vied any baby chick for cuteness. Their dad Gru used to come to my porch window and "knock"" when he wanted a treat. Yesterday I thought I heard a noise and went outside to find several of Gru's offspring tapping on the glass waiting for a treat. History repeating itself I guess..

Gru last summer

Gru junior a month and a half ago.

 

[Shabana]

Haha !! Great story !
Love my guinea to bits, I definitely need a little boy for her next year
Gru junior is very very cute

 

[Hotcookie]

How true!! Until you actually own guineas and see how they interact with each other & their owners, people will never know the pleasure they can provide. I agree - the babies are adorable......and it's so interesting to see them mature into "lovely" adulthood - with their helmets sprouting before your eyes. Everybody always says what terrible mothers they are, but my females are anything but. I was lucky enough for them to lay their eggs inside their coop several times now...and a female always rose to the occasion & laid on the nest close to a month, until they hatched. I have a female currently inside now with 8 babies....and she's teaching them all the things they need to know for the present. In a few more weeks, I'll let them outside....where they will follow her around to learn about the great outdoors. It really is delightful to watch the whole process.....she'll bring them over to where I have treats....& they'll learn to eat out of my hand. Gosh, I just love my guineas!!!

 

[PioneerPrincess]

Haha !! Great story !
Love my guinea to bits, I definitely need a little boy for her next year

Gru junior is very very cute

How true!! Until you actually own guineas and see how they interact with each other & their owners, people will never know the pleasure they can provide. I agree - the babies are adorable......and it's so interesting to see them mature into "lovely" adulthood - with their helmets sprouting before your eyes. Everybody always says what terrible mothers they are, but my females are anything but. I was lucky enough for them to lay their eggs inside their coop several times now...and a female always rose to the occasion & laid on the nest close to a month, until they hatched. I have a female currently inside now with 8 babies....and she's teaching them all the things they need to know for the present. In a few more weeks, I'll let them outside....where they will follow her around to learn about the great outdoors. It really is delightful to watch the whole process.....she'll bring them over to where I have treats....& they'll learn to eat out of my hand. Gosh, I just love my guineas!!!

I agree with y'all. I never really thought I'd enjoy our guineas as much as I do now. They are one of my top favourite birds. I can't imagine a yard / homestead without them. : )

 

[Tacampbell1973]

I find myself thinking that the Guineas have evened out my yard, It is more balanced with them in it, like they completed my family. They are sort of the goofballs right now, but they are also a source of great entertainment, not just for me, but for my chickens and my dog as well. My dog takes an active role in helping me "find the babies" and going out to feed them with me. I tell her that they are her babies and so she feels involved. She does like to try to herd themthough and I have tried to convince her that they don't need to be herded. They definitely are a help with the pruning and keeping the yard bug free, eventually they will step up to their role as the backyard neighborhood watch.

 

[mellcrowl]

I still think they're rather ugly up close but I love my guineas! They are such marvelous little characters and they do very well with my chickens. This is my first year raising them and I think I'll definitely get more next spring. I don't having any regrets about them

 

[Tacampbell1973]

I agree about the ugly part. But somehow they manage tobe a cute kind of ugly. Something about a faceonly a mother could love comes to mind, My keets are just startingto lose their fuzzy faces and get the leathery white face a little. Itried to explain to my dad in Arkansas what they look like and the bestI could do is that they look like a cross between a turkey and a vulture for a body and the face looks like it has clown paint with white face and blue eyes and really red beak...still though I love my birds...

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Guinea Fowl are a strange and wonderful creature. Keets are so dang cute that you can not stand to go a year without hatching out a crowd.
ALL my 28 Adults have been hatched and raised this year. I had to give away my "rasp" this summer when my wife decided to get a Dog.
He started eating my Guineas and I was forced to save their lives by taking them off the farm.
She just could not understand why I was so radical about the whole thing.
The new ones are in the barn away from the dog. He is locked up during the day and let out at night.
When the chickens come out, he is in his pin. When they are safe and roosting he gets out.
Sucks for him, but he IS a Murdering *&%#@+. The wife just lloovveess him. I think he needs to go see the Vet and a syringe full of death.
No denying that he kills and eats my birds WHOLE ! The wife has lost a good number of her layers and could not understand just how
they went missing.; Duh.

I enjoy the chickens, but the Guineas are a whimsical and mysterious group. Glad there are others that appreciate their "beauty".

 

[Tacampbell1973]

Guinea Fowl are a strange and wonderful creature. Keets are so dang cute that you can not stand to go a year without hatching out a crowd.
ALL my 28 Adults have been hatched and raised this year. I had to give away my "rasp" this summer when my wife decided to get a Dog.
He started eating my Guineas and I was forced to save their lives by taking them off the farm.
She just could not understand why I was so radical about the whole thing.
The new ones are in the barn away from the dog. He is locked up during the day and let out at night.
When the chickens come out, he is in his pin. When they are safe and roosting he gets out.
Sucks for him, but he IS a Murdering *&%#@+. The wife just lloovveess him. I think he needs to go see the Vet and a syringe full of death.
No denying that he kills and eats my birds WHOLE ! The wife has lost a good number of her layers and could not understand just how
they went missing.; Duh.

I enjoy the chickens, but the Guineas are a whimsical and mysterious group. Glad there are others that appreciate their "beauty".

That just sucks about the dog. Fortunately my dog is too busy being terrified of the birds to try anything. Although when she hears the flapping of wings she gets excited and because she is a Pitbull TERRIER I don't give her the chance. I thought that I had lost my babies the other day. They are free ranging most of the day now. I had fallen asleep for my afternoon nap, I need it after two hours of chicken chores and two of house chores....and went out to check on the birds. Couldn't find them anywhere. Mind you it was semifrozen outside. I leave the barn (mini chicken barn for the keets only) open with the warmer light on all day. I grabbed my coffee and my turkey call and hiked all overthe property, up the cat trails and everywhere i figured 11 half grown keets could hide. Nothing. I thought man they are gone, something got them and Im never gonna see them again. I was really sad. I didn't realize just how much they had grown on me til then. So Iwent back in the house for a few to pout.I spent the next two hours looking out every window searchingfor any clue or hint of them.Finally I went outside, maybe three hours after the initial first time and there they were begging for dinner... unbelievable. I was thrilled. Likewise, two nights ago, I found out they were night blind. We are still in the middle of a cold snap and all my birds bring themselves back to roost for the night..all except for the babies, I found out. It was just past dusk, the yard was pitch black except for the lights coming from the chicken coop and the "mini guinea barn" - a beacon in the night for the birds, or so I thought. The 9 chickens were all in their perch so I locked them in and said goodnight. Looked in to the unusually quiet mini barn and not a soul in it. I panicked. I ran into the house and grabbed a flashlite. I shined it up into all the trees in the yard thinking they couldn't have gotten far..I hope. Heard them peeping and darn near stepped on them . The little morons were hunched up in a ball on the cold grass. Apparently they just stopped where they were when they couldn't see anymore. I hastily scooped one under each arm and trucked them in under their warmer light. After i made two trips across the yard with as many keets as I could carry the remaining ones finally got the clue and started heading after their siblings. But I learned a valuable lesson. 1. They are not old enough to tuck themselves in and 2. most importantly I couldn't live with myself if sonething happened to them. They are going to age me before my time.

 

[mellcrowl]

Took these pictures today and thought I would share. The hen is the pied guinea and the cock is the lavender. I got pretty lucky getting one male and one female I have to admit. These two are wonderful. They were adopted by my Delaware hen and never stray further than a couple feet from the little white americana x pullet they were raised with. They get along great with my flock and I absolutely adore their sweet personalities. The hen is very curious and vocal, and will get pretty close to me if I remain still or have bread. She is also fairly independent. The cock however, is very quiet and reserved. He never leaves his adopted sister's (x pullet) side and is very possessive of her, even more so than the guinea hen. They are very fun to watch and I will definitely be adding more to the flock this spring