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Barnyard Buddies:  Guinea Hens and peacocks  |
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nampafarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
494 Posts
Kim
Nampa
ID
USA
494 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 10:07:51 AM
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Does anyone have Guinea Hens? My husband wants some running around our pasture area. What do they do? Do they need to be in a fenced area? There is a cat who lives next door. Guess who's house he hangs out at? I know I have seen them available for order thru McMurrays.
I was also thinking of the possibility of a peacock. (yes a male)I have heard they are loud, but how much louder could they be then a rooster? I would love to hear comments from those who know before I commit to this (these) adventure(s) .
Kim |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 10:18:14 AM
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Guinea Hens are awful loud dirty and all around worthless. They are suppose to eat snakes had them for about a year and never saw them eat a snake. They also bully Chickens and roost in trees and are so dirty. I gave mine away as soon as some one said they wanted them.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 4:42:31 PM
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Peacocks are very loud. Louder than a rooster. They are beautiful birds. Once a peacock chased me at a camping site. I have never in my life heard anything so loud. I don't know what it wanted to do with me once it caught me, but I found out pretty fast that I could still run. Good luck with the peacocks and guinea hens.
Marly |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 6:21:20 PM
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Hmmm...not sure about guinea hens. I hear that they are supposed to eat bugs, but people seem to have varying responses as to how affective they are at this job.
And yes, peacocks ARE loud. I remember volunteering at an mini zoo (vet tech training) and clear across two ACRES, you could still hear the peacock males on the other side of the property. They seem to have a series of ongoing WAILS that are rather high pitched and plaintive. They are definitely pretty, though.
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 6:58:59 PM
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Oh my gosh! Male Peacocks are SOOO noisy! One day I was coming home from my job at a horse ranch and I was driving down this sweet country road. I was driving my old 1971 VW Bug with a busted muffler so it was quite loud. And suddenly I head this child scream for help! I slowed down and heard it again. So I backed up the lane trying to find this child, my heart thumping all the while. Only to see a male Peacock sitting on a shed SCREAMING his head off.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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Mag
True Blue Farmgirl
144 Posts
Margaret
Mount Vernon
OH
USA
144 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 7:47:20 PM
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I have had guinea hens for 4 years. They are noisy and they do kind of bully the chickens but mine are great at taking care of ticks. We keep them in with the chickens because our chickens are full size so not easily bullied. If you do get them you should buy them as keets since adults will tend to run away but if you raise them they will come home to roost at your place. They are also very blind at night which makes them susceptable to predators so I always lock mine up. As long as you raise them to come into a stucture like a coop or barn they will do this for life. They can roost in trees, just be prepared for the predator factor if you do let them. All in all mine are no more messy than the chickens and do take care of ticks like nobody's business. Good luck!
peace
mag |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 8:20:30 PM
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I wish I could add a positive note to what has been said, and I'm really trying. A neighbor's guinea hen decided she liked our house better, but she was a messy, noisy, unwelcome guest. She laid I don't know how many eggs and we couldn't move them because she'd come running and squawking at us and we were afraid (I was 13). Then we were afraid the eggs would break, as they were never fertilized. I don't have direct experience with peacocks, but my grandmother hated the ones that lived down the street from her, and she was a cheerful wonderful lady. I think it would be great to have peacocks to kill rattlesnakes, but then my DH rolls his eyes and I think about how Grandma hated them, and so I just have a few feathers in a vase and call it good. And we don't really have rattlesnakes at our place anyway, so it's just silly on my part.
We make a difference. |
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eskimobirdlady
True Blue Farmgirl
700 Posts
connie
fairbanks
ak
USA
700 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2008 : 11:44:50 PM
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i loved my guineas. they are great watch dogs and hey do eat keep snakes out of the yard. mine did tend to roost in the trees and i never had a predator get one (lived in michigan at the time). i dearly loved my guys.
peacocks are loud but i think their beauty outweighs that. i guess it depends on what you can and will tolerate. i ahve 9 parrots in a 24X24 cabin and yes they get loud but its worth it! lol. peace connie in alaska |
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nampafarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
494 Posts
Kim
Nampa
ID
USA
494 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2008 : 2:32:22 PM
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| Thank you all for your input. I really do appreciate it. |
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paradiseplantation
True Blue Farmgirl
1277 Posts
julie
social springs community
Louisiana
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - Jul 30 2008 : 05:25:40 AM
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We love our guineas. We've had as many as 40 to 50. Right now, we only have 8, and are planning on getting more. yes, they can be loud, but their good points outway their bad. They do eat ticks, and keep the other bug population down. They eat the bugs in your garden, they eat baby snakes and chase away the big ones. Mine also roost in the trees, which frees up space in the chicken house for our chickens. And we absolutely LOVE sitting in the yard and watching them chase each other! And they're some of the best watch dogs. Let an unwelcomed critter (coyote, possum, raccoon, snake) come into the yard, or a car pull up, and they'll sound off like bandits being hauled to jail. Oh, yeah. We love our guineas, and hopefully soon, I'll have a brooder full of keets!
from the hearts of paradise... |
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - Jul 30 2008 : 06:19:48 AM
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I love guineas and peafowl! We've had several guinea fowl but our last one died earlier this year but we are going to get more. We let them run freely but they never strayed very far and yes, they like to roost in trees. They can be a bit chatty, but they make an excellent alarm and they eat bugs and ticks which is a big plus to me. They will let you know when someone comes to visit. We had one guinea that would come to meet us at the car when we came home and would come and 'say' goodnight every night before he went to roost. We also have a peacock, hen, and older chick. I think peafowl are noble creatures, very interesting to observe. They can be a bit 'chatty' as well, especially during mating season. But I think they have an exotic sound and we got used to them in a short time after we first got them. Our neighbors were already used to them because we bought them from the previous owner of our house. One thing about peafowl is that they can live a very long life, even up to 40 years +. So this might be something that you want to consider beforehand. Here's a site where you can find more info about peafowl- http://www.peafowl.org/ Personally I really enjoy having both peafowl and guineas around so I recommend them highly.
Farmgirl Sister #25
http://countrygirldreams.blogspot.com/ |
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countrygal56
True Blue Farmgirl
221 Posts
Barbara
Dickson
Tennessee
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - Jul 30 2008 : 07:16:40 AM
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| My neighbor across the field has 9 guinea hens. They come to visit my farm everyday. My husband and I love them. They don't seem to bully our chickens, but we do have 4 roosters, so they may be intimidated by them. They eat the bugs in our garden. Yes, they are loud, but they're fun to watch too. |
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MullersLaneFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
596 Posts
Rock Falls
IL
596 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2008 : 1:59:12 PM
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Another lover of all things feathered (except ducks that aren't Muscovy).
We can't hear our peahen calling over the peacock wails. Can't hear the peacock wails over the geese honking. Can't hear the geese honking over the guineas screeching. Can't hear the guineas screeching ove the roosters crowing. Can't hear the roosters crowing over the turkeys gobbling. Can't hear the turkeys gobbling over the peahen calling.
But the Muscovies make a wonderful little hissss!
Cyndi
Muller's Lane Farm http://www.mullerslanefarm.com
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nampafarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
494 Posts
Kim
Nampa
ID
USA
494 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2008 : 09:58:02 AM
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Cyndi, can you hear me howling over any of them? This was terribly funny.....
Kim
PS I was thinking a Turkey may be another creature that may have to come to my little farm. |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2008 : 12:05:03 PM
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| We have had both guineas and peacocks. We didn't have very good luck with the guineas. What managed to live to adulthood, got ate by the owls. The peacocks were beautiful. But they wanted to live on the deck, stand on the back of the deck furnitue and watch themselves in the kitchen window. Well you know what happens. The deck chair became a pottie chair. Then the peacocks started terrorizing the chickens. When I went out to give the hens their treat and gather the eggs, the peacocks flew into the pen and chased away the hens. The best thing about the peacocks, other than they are soooo beautiful, is that they eat squash bugs. We finally found someone that wanted them so we don't have them anymore. The hens are happy but so are the squash bugs. |
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NadKnitBlog
True Blue Farmgirl
72 Posts
Nadine
Nalbach
Saarland
Germany
72 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2008 : 07:19:11 AM
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I have very fond memories of the peacocks my great uncle had when I was a little kid. But they were loudish. A neighbour opposite my goat pasture has two guinea hens and they are quirky but... now that his rooster (he also has chickens there) is gone the two squawk all day long. The neighbourhood isn't too happy- the problem is that it is a very monotonous sound and not that pleasing.
Nadine is Farmgirl Sister #262 (the only one in Europe so far!) and she blogs at http://nadsknittingblog.blogspot.com/ and knits on Ravelry as Nadknitblog and on Plurk she is NadKnitBlog too! |
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DairySue
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
Sue
Connecticut
67 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2008 : 06:00:05 AM
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My grandmother had about 25 Guinea hens. She loved them as they kept her gardens bug free and were great at protecting the property. I thought they wee known for being loud and aggressive toward strangers. I know they would chase my sister and I a bit when we'd first arrive.
Two weeks ago, all the neighbors were talking about the peacock that was strolling from the woods into their yards. Not sure where it came from, but they all say it looked healthly. That would be a very rare sighting around here. Sorry I missed it. |
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RoseRed
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Karen
Virginia
USA
19 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2008 : 6:56:01 PM
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| I know nothing about guineas. Peacocks, though, that's another matter. Yes, they're loud. But they make those noises for a reason--they are the best "watch" animals ever! Any unusual noise, and your peacock is on it, letting you know something is amiss. Now, they will also catch sight of themselves in a window and make the special "I see another male peacock" sound at six in the morning, right in front of your guest room (ask chickabella!), but, hey, as long as it's not *your* bedroom... :) Our peacock likes to look at himself in mirrors. Sometimes he wanders inside and we find him in front of the full length mirror in the bathroom. He has a mirror on the front porch so he can preen! |
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gwennym
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Gwen
Edwardsville
IL
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2008 : 08:11:58 AM
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Hi Kim --
My mom has had guineas and peacocks for many years on her farm (35 acres). The guineas were eaten by whatever predators were around. They're loud but kinda cool looking. They also do a bang-up job eating bugs. Peacocks ARE beautiful, however, if you love your flower/vegetable gardens, DON'T get peacocks. They eat everything under the sun. Mom hasn't had a decent flower garden since she's had peacocks, and Dad has "trained" one of the dogs to chase them out of the vegetable garden.
I'd like to have all kinds of barnyard fowl, just as long as they keep their beaks out of my flowers!
Gwen |
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Barnyard Buddies: Guinea Hens and peacocks |
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Guinea Hens and peacocks
