Does anyone know what they eat?
We have some that have been wandering around in our Christmas tree field and the neighbors berry field for the past 4 months. I think they must belong to someone. There were like 15 or so of them to start out. Now they have dwindled down to 8 or 9. The coyotes probably got them and I can see why to. They sure make a racket when they are searching for food and they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. ;) They are pretty entertaining to watch as they scurry around. Kinda neat bird really. I might throw out a little bit of food over the winter but not sure what.

They look like these guys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guineafowl


Tia

They should eat Turkey/Pheasant feed, but if you have chickens, chicken feed is fine also. Our neighbors have Guinea Hens, and they come through our property every day. I love the noise they make!

Lori

QN, I was wondering if chicken feed would work! That is basically cracked corn right? It took me until yesterday to figure out what kind of bird they are. :rolleyes: They do make a different sound. I am sure the coyotes can here them coming from a long way off. Listening to their kackel [?] makes me think they are lost. It sounds a little confused to me if that makes sense.
They seem to be pretty skitterish. I don't think I can get close to them at all so maybe they are quite a dim whitted as I thought. ;)
tia

Guinea fowl are omnivores like chickens and turkeys. They will eat most seeds, insects, arachnids, worms, fruits, grains, and so on. In the warm months, bugs are their favorites. Some people buy them to control ticks since they like to eat those. In the cold months, they mostly eat seeds and fruit. You can offer them the same things to eat as you would offer to chickens and turkeys. My chickens have three favorites - mealworms, multi-grain bread, and grapes (cut in half).

I found out a few months back that guineas can actually produce young with chickens or peafowl even though they are different species. I assume the young are sterile like mules.

Here's a link on guineas:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas/BRKGuineas.html

Here is the page on the hybrids:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas...GuinHybrid.html
Yikes, some of those birds are spooky!

They're cool looking birds! I agree with Robyn, some were pretty spooky!

If you guys have coyotes, and the guinea hens are loose, I'm surprised there are any left!

There are less than a few months ago. Somebodys getting them. You know we just had thanksgiving here maybe some neighbors had Guinea instead of turkey.
I can't believe someone hasn't come looking for them.

From the looks of some of the cross breds young lets hope they are sterile. ;)