Phantom_k9
Songster
Hello all,
In light of a recent hawk attack, I have been scrambling to find ideas / solutions / preventives when it comes to hawks. Out of the solutions given to me, the most "appealing" would be getting a guard dog (takes a lot of time and money), decoy crows / owls, or guinea fowl. Yes, I do understand that guinea fowl are not going to "defend" the flock per say, but they are an excellent early warning system (better than our roo).
However, guineas are a lot different from chickens, and I want to have a bit of information about them before I make any decisions.
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Concerning our existing chicken flock, how would Guineas interact with them? Would we have to worry about them fighting or evening killing any of our chickens? Would our rooster fight with the guineas, and would our "aggressive" hen fight with them? If so, what should I expect?
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When it comes to taking care of them, what resources would we have to provide? They would have about 1.5 acres of open field to forage in, and .5 acres of shaded landscape (at least in our yard). We already have water stations for our chickens, so im not worried about that. Do guineas need nesters like chickens do, and do they need a more permanent place to roost? I have heard that they roost in trees at night, so im not sure how that would work.
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How do they mix with dogs and cows? two doors down we have a guy with a herd of cattle, and across the street we have someone with a herd of sheep with sheep dogs. Pretty much all our neighbors have dogs as well, so what could we expect?
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We would probably be getting 3-4, is it a good idea to buy them as chicks / hatch our own batch and raise them like baby chicks OR should we just buy older birds? We already do have a solid flock half a mile from our place, would we loose any birds we get who join another flock? This ones a bit of a dumb question; Do guinea varieties do well with other guinea varieties? I.E. could we have 2 pearl and 1 lavender without any issues (i've seen this with chickens, and different breeds)?
-
I know that is a lot, but I want to go into this with as much knowledge as possible. With that, I figured that I would be wise to ask those who probably have guineas! Thanks in advance for the tips!
In light of a recent hawk attack, I have been scrambling to find ideas / solutions / preventives when it comes to hawks. Out of the solutions given to me, the most "appealing" would be getting a guard dog (takes a lot of time and money), decoy crows / owls, or guinea fowl. Yes, I do understand that guinea fowl are not going to "defend" the flock per say, but they are an excellent early warning system (better than our roo).
However, guineas are a lot different from chickens, and I want to have a bit of information about them before I make any decisions.
-
Concerning our existing chicken flock, how would Guineas interact with them? Would we have to worry about them fighting or evening killing any of our chickens? Would our rooster fight with the guineas, and would our "aggressive" hen fight with them? If so, what should I expect?
-
When it comes to taking care of them, what resources would we have to provide? They would have about 1.5 acres of open field to forage in, and .5 acres of shaded landscape (at least in our yard). We already have water stations for our chickens, so im not worried about that. Do guineas need nesters like chickens do, and do they need a more permanent place to roost? I have heard that they roost in trees at night, so im not sure how that would work.
-
How do they mix with dogs and cows? two doors down we have a guy with a herd of cattle, and across the street we have someone with a herd of sheep with sheep dogs. Pretty much all our neighbors have dogs as well, so what could we expect?
-
We would probably be getting 3-4, is it a good idea to buy them as chicks / hatch our own batch and raise them like baby chicks OR should we just buy older birds? We already do have a solid flock half a mile from our place, would we loose any birds we get who join another flock? This ones a bit of a dumb question; Do guinea varieties do well with other guinea varieties? I.E. could we have 2 pearl and 1 lavender without any issues (i've seen this with chickens, and different breeds)?
-
I know that is a lot, but I want to go into this with as much knowledge as possible. With that, I figured that I would be wise to ask those who probably have guineas! Thanks in advance for the tips!
