Go Ahead, Get Guineas
(Page 4 of 4)
October/November 2003
By Nancy Smith
To better manage the flood of inquiries, Ferguson set up a message board on the Web site, founded the Guinea Fowl Breeders Association and, finally, in desperation, she says, wrote her book, Gardening with Guineas.
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Despite guineas' positive traits, they aren't without their faults. "The No. 1 problem guinea-owners with neighbors have," she says, "is unhappy neighbors. The birds' alarm call is why they're called 'the farmer's watch dog.' When one starts, the whole flock follows suit." Female guineas are noisier than the guinea cocks, who have a one-syllable call, "Che, che, che" or "Tut, tut, tut," and tend to chatter less when alarmed than the other sex.
"Before buying birds, discuss your intentions of getting guineas with any close neighbors," says Ferguson. "Give them a bit of history on the bird and share with them the value of these voracious bug eaters." She also advises new owners to start with day-old keets, which are easier to train, and to stay with those birds, rather than introducing new birds to the flock. As the birds mature and become more familiar with their surroundings, they quiet.
In Connecticut, Bender's neighbor has a swimming pool that backs up to her fence; she keeps his goodwill by selling off most of her wintertime flock, which can number as high as 30 birds. Even with as few as five adult birds on tick patrol in the summertime, Bender says, she worries less about Lyme disease and feels free to garden and to let her grandchildren play in the yard.
For additional mail-order hatcheries that sell guinea keets, or for more stories about guineas on pest patrol, visit MOTHER'S Web site at http://www.motherearthnews.com . To order Gardening with Guineas, see MOTHER'S Bookshelf, Page 120. Specialty guinea sites on the Web include www.guineafowl.com and the Guinea Fowl Breeders Association's www.gfba.org. A new British publication on guineas, Guineafowl, Past and Present, focuses on guinea history and guineas as meat birds, and is sold by Murry McMurray Hatchery ( www.mcmurrayhatchery.com ).
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