Guinea Hens

We got six free guinea hens yesterday. they are about a month old.

I've been thinking about getting guineas for awhile now, but hadn't taken the plunge as they tend to be quite expensive and have a few traits I'm not fond of. however, for free, I figured they were worth a try! If they don't work out, no big deal, I can simply sell them.

Guinea hens are related to turkeys and pheasants. Full grown they are about the size of a standard chicken. 

Good things about guineas;

- They eat tons and tons and tons of ticks, and I have tons and tons and tons of ticks here!

- They eat yellowjackets and ground bees, which I have tons of and get sting by several times a summer.

- They kill and eat rodents, including rats. I have a rat problem here.

- They are amazing watch dogs. 

- They are hilarious

Bad things about guineas:

- They are extremely noisy. From what I understand they'll make me geese look quiet.

- They are bad for roaming far from home.

- They are really stupid

- They are really bad moms

- They can be big bullies that hurt the other birds

- They are naturally very wild and are very hard to tame.

So, hoping for the best! We really have a lot of ticks around here, so if they can impact the tick population they will be worthwhile. They'd also be profitable to breed, as their babes, guinea keets, sell for $20-$40 each! Guineas are in high demand here in Nova Scotia due to the tick problem here. They are by far the best natural predator of ticks around!

Hopefully they'll work out! I'm super happy to have the opportunity to try them without having to purchase them!