STEEM-POWERED GUINEAS ON THE LOOSE!!!
Big thanks to @matthewtiii and @vcelier for this one!
With the onslaught of bugs as of late, it became time to release the Guineas! These were originally purchased for us by @vcelier and @matthewtiii, and some of the originals plus some of the next generation are now hard at work on our homestead. They've got a job to do and pest control is the name of the game. It's so excellent to see them running all over the place and hanging out with the sheep too! Check these photos out!
STEEM-POWERED GUINEAS
Until next time…
THANKS GUYS!
Awnnnn.
Are Guineas and turkeys the same?
No, guineafowl are an entirely different species, are native to Africa, and they are more closely related to pheasants than turkeys.
They are among the oldest of the Galliformes, and have now been introduced as domestic birds all over the world, raised primarily for food and pest control.
They are also LOUD.
As in extraordinarily loud, which makes them great watch birds, as they'll let you know immediately if there's anyone (or anything) new on your place.
So are heritage breeds of turkeys, so you're right in that they share a similar niche on the homestead, though turkeys are considerably larger. Turkeys are also great at pest control, at acting as living alarms, and are typically great moms.
Both guineas and turkeys are typically good at foraging their own food, at raising their babies in spite of predators, and can be formidable foes for such predators as stray dogs and cats, though they still require proper protection and fencing to keep predators at bay.
We're hoping to ultimately have both on our place.
Lovely!
We need proper fencing before we can bring guineas onto our place, not to mention warning our neighbors in advance, due to the noise level.
There's a side of me that wants to stick with turkeys and geese for pest control, due to the guineas' noise level, but then Marek eventually wants peacocks, so at that point the noise level becomes moot.
My neighbor Brenda's mom used to raise guineas, and Brenda swore that she never would, though I know from experience that you can get used to anything.
Good luck with your guineas! I do envy the tick control. ;-)
How many guineas do you have at this point?
At this point we have 11, plus eggs. Hopefully they'll be sitting soon enough and making more.
Sounds like a good round number. ;-)
I hope they do well for you, and that you have lots of babies in the near future.
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AH the bug eating expendable commodity!