Raising Guinea Fowl in Suburbia has many advantages

Photo by Leslie K. Ray

Why raise guinea fowl? It’s a question that isn’t as uncommon as one might think these days. The short answer is: for their unique and beneficial qualities. Or, maybe, it’s just for the fun of it.

Guineas are gaining in popularity because they are excellent at insect control. Allow them to free range in the yard, and they will eat just about any insect in their path. Grasshoppers, crickets, ants, Japanese beetles, June bugs, even the dreaded tick. It’s with this fact in mind that many newcomers to the “backyard chicken” world start their hobby. Why use an exterminator when the guineas can eat the bugs?

It’s important to note that guineas are not chickens. Helmeted guinea fowl, or guineas, as they’re more commonly known, are unquestionably odd-looking. They are native to Africa, but they have been somewhat domesticated, and introduced outside their natural range. They can be found in many countries, including the United States, France, and the West Indies. In nature, guineas are social, and can usually be found living in small groups. If raised together, they become quite bonded to each other, and try to stay in close range of each other when grazing.
 

Photo by Leslie K. Ray

Insects and seeds are what guineas mainly feed on. For this reason, they are employed extensively as insect control in French and English gardens. Unlike chickens, they do not destroy the plants. They will eat grass shoots and grass seeds, however, and they find ticks quite a delicacy!

Aside from their propensity for eating large quantities of insects, guinea fowl have other benefits. They are often used by farmers as a sort of security alarm system. Guineas frighten easily, and are always alert for intruders, whether predators or simply strangers. They become familiar with their caretakers and with other animals they are raised with. But, an unknown person in their midst can send them into paroxysms of loud, high-pitched cackling and screeching. It is this behavior that makes guineas particularly useful as a warning system. Unfamiliar people tresspassing in the backyard, for instance, will create such a cacophony of sounds that one would think the sky was falling.

Guinea fowl, like chickens, lay eggs, and these, though smaller than chicken eggs, are edible. The problem faced by most guinea hobbyists is finding the eggs. Free ranging guineas have a tendency to lay their eggs in a secluded spot in the woods or tall weeds, as opposed to the coop.  If guineas free range in the backyard, one might find their eggs hidden under a bush or even a seldom-used trampoline. Unless guineas are confined to a coop and fenced yard, their owners may well find themselves engaged in a daily egg hunt.

Photo by Leslie K. Ray

Aside from the obvious advantages of having guineas, there is the pleasure of their company. As babies, they tend to imprint themselves on their human “parents” and will follow them around. However, they are not an entirely domestic fowl, so they must be handled frequently when young, in order to tame them. Young guineas, or “keets”, as they are referred to, are adorable and comical. They are social from the very start, tending to huddle together when cold, and flock to the feeder en masse. When sleeping or just resting, they often stretch their legs out behind them, a habit that may leave one wondering if they have expired. But, just a tiny noise will cause them to scramble to their feet, peeping and craning their little necks in curiosity.

As they grow, guineas develop fascinating characteristics--their plumage replaces down, their heads become bald and their wattles grow from both sides of their neck, and they begin to develop a bizarre point, or “helmet” on their head. Peeping gives way to weird clucking and cackling that sounds like no other animal. It can be terrifying to anyone, man or beast, who has never heard it before.

Yet, many people love their guineas, freakish as they may seem to everyone else. There is nothing more serene than a cluster of guineas relaxing in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day. And, there is something awe-inspiring about watching a flock of guineas flying to greet their human caretaker, who waits patiently with a handful of millet seed.

It is all these things that engender a kind of kinship among guinea owners, and attracts a new “following” of suburban hobbyists these days. With the current economy still far from recovery, people everywhere are doing what they can to be self-sufficient again. Gardens have sprouted up on balconies and tiny patios, local governments are passing ordinances allowing ownership of barnyard fowl within city limits. Raising guineas is a very rewarding pastime, and more so in this day and age. It harkens back to a simpler time, when people grew their own crops and brought up their own livestock. It is no big surprise that people should want to feel self-sufficient, particularly when finances are strained.

While guineas may not be a good choice for an urban coop, they are turning up in suburban neighborhoods more frequently. They are quirky pets, effective burglar alarms, and exterminators bar none.