First Time for everything..

SteveA · 06-27-2012, 02:38 PM

I wandered out to check on my garden... look who was nibbling on my pepper plants...

This is the first Guinea Hen I've ever seen, it's a big bird!

I read up a little on them, they are being used by people to eliminate Ticks.. seems like they like to eat ticks. Strange!

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Name: guinea_hen_1.jpg
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Size: 74.3 KB

hilltopper · 06-28-2012, 07:32 AM

How big is this bird? Are you aware of neighbors that have some?

My Mother keeps telling me I need to get chickens becuase she has a friend that has some and they really control the tick population. Where I live though, I'm afraid all I'd be doing is feeding the coyotes and foxes.

SteveA · 06-28-2012, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilltopper

How big is this bird? Are you aware of neighbors that have some?

Bigger than a chicken.. smaller than a turkey. My neighbor told me he saw a "bunch" of them in his yard at about the same time I saw the one in my yard.

rick35 · 06-28-2012, 07:13 PM

I had one of these in my back yard a couple of years ago. Whenever I was working around the edge of the woods it came out and was very aggressive. I shushed her away back into the woods and she came right back to where I was working. Very strange especially where I had no idea what it was.

Rattlesnake Gal · 06-29-2012, 07:19 AM

Lucky catch! Now I know what I've been seeing back home. Too bad they aren't found on the island because they are good for eating ticks. Sorry it was nibbling on your peppers - I'd call that a fowl!

Pineedles · 06-29-2012, 08:27 AM

Guinea hens are typically "owned" by people who breed and keep them. I would suspect that this flock escaped from some neighbor's yard. They will tear up your yard in their search for bugs.

jmen24 · 06-29-2012, 09:52 AM

Guinea hens are very good at keeping your yard pest numbers down. The birds we had would eat anything that fit in their mouth, including but not limited to: slugs, grubs, catapilars, moths, frogs, small mice, small snakes (quite interesting to see that happen for the first time), etc.

You can get a single bird to keep the amount of yard tear up down (but in general they are not that destructive). We had 3 to start with on the farm and that number was slowly knocked down to 1. My father installed a small mirror on the side of the barn and that kept that single bird happy for well over a year. They prefer to be in flocks, but in a pinch, apparently they can be tricked into thinking they are part of one.

Far hardier than a chicken, ours had free range of the yard.

rick35 · 06-29-2012, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

Guinea hens are typically "owned" by people who breed and keep them. I would suspect that this flock escaped from some neighbor's yard. They will tear up your yard in their search for bugs.

Maybe the one I saw thought I was going to feed it.

Pineedles · 06-29-2012, 01:13 PM

I did mean a flock would tear it up, not a single one. A doctor in our neighborhood has a menagerie which includes a flock of Guinea Hens. They occasionally get loose and the neighbor next door seems to be their destination every time. The owner of the perfectly manicured lawn keeps threatening to have one of the birds for dinner. I haven't seen it happen yet but I did ask to be invited over for dinner, if he makes good on his threat.

06-27-2012, 02:38 PM	#1
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	First Time for everything.. I wandered out to check on my garden... look who was nibbling on my pepper plants... This is the first Guinea Hen I've ever seen, it's a big bird! I read up a little on them, they are being used by people to eliminate Ticks.. seems like they like to eat ticks. Strange! __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

06-29-2012, 07:19 AM	#5
Rattlesnake Gal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Central NH Posts: 5,252 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,451 Thanked 1,349 Times in 475 Posts	Thanks! Lucky catch! Now I know what I've been seeing back home. Too bad they aren't found on the island because they are good for eating ticks. Sorry it was nibbling on your peppers - I'd call that a fowl!

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to SteveA For This Useful Post:
jetlag100 (06-28-2012), trfour (06-27-2012)

06-28-2012, 07:32 AM	#2
hilltopper Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 724 Thanks: 25 Thanked 107 Times in 68 Posts	How big is this bird? Are you aware of neighbors that have some? My Mother keeps telling me I need to get chickens becuase she has a friend that has some and they really control the tick population. Where I live though, I'm afraid all I'd be doing is feeding the coyotes and foxes.

06-28-2012, 07:13 PM	#4
rick35 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bear Island/Merrimack Posts: 807 Thanks: 58 Thanked 203 Times in 130 Posts	I had one of these in my back yard a couple of years ago. Whenever I was working around the edge of the woods it came out and was very aggressive. I shushed her away back into the woods and she came right back to where I was working. Very strange especially where I had no idea what it was.

The Following User Says Thank You to Rattlesnake Gal For This Useful Post:
SteveA (07-23-2012)

06-29-2012, 08:27 AM	#6
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,541 Thanks: 1,071 Thanked 667 Times in 366 Posts	Guinea hens are typically "owned" by people who breed and keep them. I would suspect that this flock escaped from some neighbor's yard. They will tear up your yard in their search for bugs.

06-29-2012, 09:52 AM	#7
jmen24 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,139 Thanks: 223 Thanked 319 Times in 181 Posts	Guinea hens are very good at keeping your yard pest numbers down. The birds we had would eat anything that fit in their mouth, including but not limited to: slugs, grubs, catapilars, moths, frogs, small mice, small snakes (quite interesting to see that happen for the first time), etc. You can get a single bird to keep the amount of yard tear up down (but in general they are not that destructive). We had 3 to start with on the farm and that number was slowly knocked down to 1. My father installed a small mirror on the side of the barn and that kept that single bird happy for well over a year. They prefer to be in flocks, but in a pinch, apparently they can be tricked into thinking they are part of one. Far hardier than a chicken, ours had free range of the yard.

The Following User Says Thank You to jmen24 For This Useful Post:
Rattlesnake Gal (06-29-2012)

06-29-2012, 01:13 PM	#9
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,541 Thanks: 1,071 Thanked 667 Times in 366 Posts	I did mean a flock would tear it up, not a single one. A doctor in our neighborhood has a menagerie which includes a flock of Guinea Hens. They occasionally get loose and the neighbor next door seems to be their destination every time. The owner of the perfectly manicured lawn keeps threatening to have one of the birds for dinner. I haven't seen it happen yet but I did ask to be invited over for dinner, if he makes good on his threat.