[Jay-N-Jete']

I got a pair of guinea fowl last autumn as chicks....it appears I have a male and a female (from the sounds they make)

From what I've read, they're GREAT for eating the bugs and stinging insects without scratching up the gardens, like the chickens so. So - the chickens are now delegated to a yard and the guineas have free run of the farm.

In the last few weeks they've gotten really vocal at dusk.

This week (I've been home sick) and the darned female NEVER SHUTS UP!! She's been hollering for most of the day. Will quiet for a few minutes and then gets going again.

Nothing has changed, other than the snow has melted mostly away...

I need ideas or the guinea fowl are going to have to go live at someone else's farm!!

Any ideas?

[BLBGP]

Try posting this on backyardchickens.com.

[Gloria]

My only suggestion is "ear plug".... Teenage guineas are extremely noisy, especially teenage female guineas....

They are at the stage that every thing excites them (yearling = teenage). When they get older (2~3 years old), they should quiet down a little bit... Another option is to butcher the female... Female will always be noisier than the male. But then your loneseome male might get too lonely and looks for another home...

[MistyBlue]

Crockpot.


Guinea fowl are excellent at getting rid of bugs we don't want around including ticks.
BUT...they're usually not worth it IMO.

Look on the bright side though...they're not peacocks and peahens. Ever have one of those blast off an alarm nearby? If you're not expecting it...you might have to go change your underwear.

[mroades]

I used to work at a farm that had guinea fowl AND peacocks.

I do not care how good they are at bug removal, between the poop and the noise...ARGGHHH

[EqTrainer]

Get.Rid.Of.Them.

[mustangtrailrider]

We have 4 guineas....I love them....

But they are noisy and ugly as sin! I think they are the ugliest creatures on earth....God has a cruel sense of humor!

I do love my guineas! Wouldn't trade them for anything, but a Donkey!

I would give quite a few things for a donkey.

a mini one at that!

[Jay-N-Jete']

Hmmm....do you PROMISE she'll quiet down in another year.

Would the male be happy, if he could hang out with a couple of chickens??

I can't STAND the hollering!!

[mlranchtx]

I had two. They were noisey. I guess it was a pair and SHE was noisey.

She got eaten (dog?).

He is vewy, vewy qwiet now.

He is lonely so he's decided he's a horse.

He hangs out with them all the time, roosts on them sometimes, scampers under them when a hawk flies over and he's now a nice part of the farm.

SO, I've decided guineas are only good when they think they are horses.

[MistyBlue]

I used to work at a farm that had guinea fowl AND peacocks.

Ugh, both? My condolences.

[ASB Stars]

Well, Guineas do serve their purpose...and Peacocks are beautiful....but if I were ever to be moved to shooting something with feathers, it would be those two.

My neighbor had a gorgeous peacock. He'd bray like a jackass- and, occasionally, he'd get up into the neighborhood above his farm. THAT was a lovely way for those suburbanites to wake the hell up in the morning!

[mroades]

Ugh, both? My condolences.

Although not the primary reason I left, it did make the decision easier...lol

A good friend of mine (who is partially deaf) works there now, and apparently 20 Canadian Geese have joined the symphony now...ack!

[JSwan]

I used to work at a farm that had guinea fowl AND peacocks.

My old boarding barn had peacocks. I didn't mind them (but I didn't live there!)

One of the bratty kids had an equally bratty father who bought a black Lexus and drove it to the barn.

And parked it in the barnyard (you see, the world revolved around him and he parked where he pleased and screw everyone else)

The peacocks saw their reflections in the lovely deep jet black glossy expensive paint and went postal on that Lexus. Scratched it all to hell.

That was a very interesting day at the barn.

[SGray]

My old boarding barn had peacocks. I didn't mind them (but I didn't live there!)

One of the bratty kids had an equally bratty father who bought a black Lexus and drove it to the barn.

And parked it in the barnyard (you see, the world revolved around him and he parked where he pleased and screw everyone else)

The peacocks saw their reflections in the lovely deep jet black glossy expensive paint and went postal on that Lexus. Scratched it all to hell.

That was a very interesting day at the barn.

there - see - they are good for something besides just looking purty

[Frank B]

This may help:

[Gloria]

Hmmm....do you PROMISE she'll quiet down in another year.

Would the male be happy, if he could hang out with a couple of chickens??

I can't STAND the hollering!!

Hahhaa I promise they will be quieter. Now the operative is "quieter, much quieter", not "quiet" I have 15 of them (used to have 30 of them). We have coyotes, foxes, or whatever.. so our fatality rate is very high. Anyway, last year, they literally drove me crazy and I would have shoot them if I had a gun. This year, umm, much more subdued. Tolerable... Not perfect.. but tolerable, especially after last year's hell..

[PRS]

This may help:

[CosMonster]

Our neighbors have a ton of them, and they come over to visit a lot. They're always reproducing too so I think they've always got teenage ones. I can hear them faintly in the middle of the night if I'm up, and they roost right next to the neighbors' house, so I can't imagine how little sleep they get.

I kind of like them. They used to drive me crazy because they are always right outside my bedroom window screeching like banshees at 5 AM, but now it doesn't even wake me up. Apparently they also help drive away rattlesnakes, so that's a plus. And my dogs really like to run really fast through the middle of the flock and make them all squawk and fly around. They don't chase them exactly, they just like to scare them.

Also their heads totally look like dinosaurs, which I think is cool (why yes I am a dork).

[Jay-N-Jete']

Argh! Figured out what all the ruckus was about (or at least SOME of it)

No wonder they're driving me NUTS - they're right outside the door!

They've been hanging out in the little "cave" behind the gas grill, next to the steps.

The male is preening and checking himself out in the basement WINDOW!

That darned female HOLLERS every time she sees one of them move in the window (which is every minute or so!)

I moved the gas grill back against the window and haven't heard any hollering for 15 WHOLE minutes!! (phew!)

[Gloria]

They are probably attracted to the shining surface of your grill. You can try to place an old mirror somewhere away from the house. They LOVE to admire their reflections... Ironic huh?