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Pest insects are annoying and farm/homestead (farmstead) pests are even worse. Not only do they annoy us but they often do serious damage to our crops. Things that seriously damage our crops hurt our farmsteads economic incentive. Plants that fail to produce or produce poor product hurts us by reducing the amount of return we get for our efforts and may even lead to new expenses in the form of replacing insect damaged plants. As you know both of those things can end up costing us and causing delays in our plans to harvest/preserve or sell excess. The conundrum is how to attack these pests without resorting to some pesticide/ insect chemical weapon that could end up poisoning our animals or our families. So, the question remains, what to do? The answer may be easier than you think, Guinea fowl.
The introductory picture is of a batch of thirty little Guinea keets that are just a couple days old. We try to keep between thirty to fifty guineas around the cleared areas (approx. four acres) of the farmstead for pest control. Guineas are a widely adaptable bird that are found all over the world and in wide ranging habitats jungle to desert and everything in between.
Guineas are flocking birds and so move about in a group. Their primary diet is insects as well as seeds and the like. A wonderful bonus feature of the guinea is that unlike chickens they very rarely scratch the ground. This is great when you are considering their use for the garden. Chickens can do an incredible amount of damage to a garden between their scratching and eating the plants themselves, but this is not a concern with guineas. They will move about the garden in search of the insects that they prefer with no noticeable damage to the plants themselves.
An added benefit/potential drawback is the sound of the call that the guinea makes. They can be rather loud in larger groups but even a small quantity could be a concern if you have close/ difficult neighbors. The benefit to this loud call is that no one, and I mean no one, will ever sneak up on your farmstead again. Be it fox or box truck, four legged predators or two legged there is no sneaking past a flock of guineas. Of course this is service is provided during the daylight hours and a good guardian dog is suggested to fill the void during the hours of darkness. Have a listen to the calls for yourself:
I recommend guinea fowl to any farmsteaders looking to manage pests in a way that is in line with Good Stewardship /permaculture principles. There are many sources for guineas online we have purchased from McMurray Hatchery(https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/guineas.html) (Not an affiliate link) in the past with good results. My suggestion however is to search the local agricultural bulletins or trade papers for locally available guineas as they should be considerably cheaper and avoid the shipping fees. For more great information on guineas and their practical application to the farmstead check out this link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Livestock/raising-guinea-fowl-zmaz92aszshe
I would love to hear other experiences with guinea fowl, so please feel free to comment with yours. I hope this helps.