The Best Rattlesnake Control Workers

My son, Eric, has a soft spot for Guinea Fowl.  He has 22 of them.  He was down to 2 this summer, and some broody hens hatched  26 keets.  A few died but the rest grew up. If you have never been around guineas, then you are in for a treat.  They are bigger than  most chickens, loud, and interesting. They “alert” (rather loudly) the rest of the flock if one gets alarmed.  The males alarm call sounds different from the females.  That is how I tell them apart.  They do everything in a tight nit group. I think they are interesting and cute.  I love it when they all perch in the pine tree next to the house.

If one flies, they all fly.  But what I like BEST about guineas is…they kill snakes!  Including RATTLESNAKES.  We haven’t had many and I wonder if it is because of the guineas.  Two years ago, a guinea started hissing at us, a sound I had never heard from them before. It was sitting on a nest of eggs next to a board propped in a corner.  I thought maybe the guinea was just “broody”.  The next day, when she was off the nest, my daughter walked over there to check the eggs and behind that board was a rattlesnake!  Apparently the guinea was hissing because of the snake.  Marshall killed the snake and there hasn’t been another in the barn area since.

That incident has forever endeared me to the guineas.  They have some faults (like dumb and NOISY), but I can overlook ANYTHING if they take care of the snakes.

The other day, after we got 7 inches of snow, Eric (bless his heart) shoveled snow “roads” for the guineas and the chickens to walk on.  He made roads all over the yard for their convenience.

Another thing we discovered about guineas is they seem to be cold hardy. The “gang” sleep on the roof of the barn, exposed to the elements.  Eric has tried to move them to better roosting spots but they return to the exposed roof.  Even in the single digit weather.

One draw back though is they like to go down in the ravine next to the barn. We call it “Eric’s yard”.  There are a lot of bushes and brush there. A nice place for coyotes to hide.  Four guineas  disappeared there last summer.  Including Eric’s grand champion one from the previous year’s county fair, which was a heart breaker. But all in all, if you are going to living in a snake area, I recommend guinea fowl for snake patrol and entertainment.

Related posts:

1. New Guinea Fowl Gang
2. Off Grid Chicken Surprises
3. Jackie’s fright turns into Ondra’s delight
4. Chicken Herding, Livestock Guarding Dog
5. Driveway stories snowmobiles and Cougar!