OP
Kyle_in_Tex
Super Star Member
Update on Guinea hens.
Went to coop and bought the last 5 chicks they had. This was early May and the guy estimated the chicks to be already 4 or 5 weeks old. So we did not have to put them in a warm box. I ended up putting in our chain link kennel only to find out they could fit between the wire squares if excited enough. After feeding and caring for them for a month, they have taken to me and my daughter. I call my daughter the "Guinea whisperer".
Now that she's out of school, she lets them out a few times a day to eat. They are funner to watch than a bug zapper. Chasing grasshoppers and wolfing down as many as they can catch. Right now I wish I had about a hundred of them as our fields are full of hoppers. The 5 birds stick close together and search and destroy. They did scratch a small "nest" area about 2' in diameter near the house in the backyard. otherwise, they don't scratch the grass or eat the garden vegetables. My daughter "herds" them into my very small corn patch in the corner of the garden and they get after it. Grasshopper eating machines. I was worried that buying them so old that they wouldn't imprint on our location and might leave, but so far so good. When they get spooked, they fly up on my metal barn for safety. All in all, I would highly recommend them. We put them back into the kennel for safety each night. I guess I should set out traps to get rid of the possums and coons before I let them roost overnight in trees.
Went to coop and bought the last 5 chicks they had. This was early May and the guy estimated the chicks to be already 4 or 5 weeks old. So we did not have to put them in a warm box. I ended up putting in our chain link kennel only to find out they could fit between the wire squares if excited enough. After feeding and caring for them for a month, they have taken to me and my daughter. I call my daughter the "Guinea whisperer".
Now that she's out of school, she lets them out a few times a day to eat. They are funner to watch than a bug zapper. Chasing grasshoppers and wolfing down as many as they can catch. Right now I wish I had about a hundred of them as our fields are full of hoppers. The 5 birds stick close together and search and destroy. They did scratch a small "nest" area about 2' in diameter near the house in the backyard. otherwise, they don't scratch the grass or eat the garden vegetables. My daughter "herds" them into my very small corn patch in the corner of the garden and they get after it. Grasshopper eating machines. I was worried that buying them so old that they wouldn't imprint on our location and might leave, but so far so good. When they get spooked, they fly up on my metal barn for safety. All in all, I would highly recommend them. We put them back into the kennel for safety each night. I guess I should set out traps to get rid of the possums and coons before I let them roost overnight in trees.