Why keep guineas? After all, they’re so strange-looking that one of the men who delivered our dishwasher refused to get out of the truck. His partner had to lug the appliance in on his own, clasped in brawny arms, while glancing nervously over his shoulder. He admitted that they both were city guys, so any […]

Craft your own guinea incubator, and learn how to troubleshoot their hatching. (All photos by author.) Having incubated guineas three times now, I can attest that—despite the hard shells on their eggs—they aren’t any more difficult to hatch than chickens are. Not even when you use a cooler to keep them warm as I do! […]

In this episode of Community Chickens Podcasts, Cindy Gibson and Dana Manchester chat about how guineas can work as a unit to protect their barnyard flock members. Our Podcast Guests Include: Cindy Gibson is president of Guinea Fowl International, an organization founded to support responsible guinea-keeping and to educate on the care and habits of guinea […]

In this episode of the Community Chickens Podcasts, Charlotte French and  Kellsey Trimble, of Grit, sat down with Cindy Gibson and Sharon Dodds from the Guinea Fowl International Association to discuss how to care for and train Guinea fowl and interpret their behavior.   Thank you Brinsea, for Sponsoring this episode! Our Guests Include: Kellsey Trimble, former managing […]

In this episode of Community Chickens Podcasts, Kellsey Trimble, of GRIT magazine, sat down with Alison Martin from the Livestock Conservancy and Cindy Gibson from the Guinea Fowl International Association to discuss popular poultry breeds and species that you may want to add to your homestead. Our Podcast Guests Include: Kellsey Trimble, former managing editor […]

Teaching Young Guineas to Range — But Not Too Far! Audrey Stallsmith shares stories and tips for keeping your free-range loving guineas closer to home. Time for a New Flock Many years have elapsed since my elderly parents and I hatched 20 guinea eggs in a homemade incubator constructed from a Styrofoam cooler. Most of […]

Guineas may be new to you but they are not to author and researcher Christine Heinrichs. These beautiful birds still exist in the wild in Africa but have also been domesticated for a small flocks. Learn how to get started raising guineas. What are guinea fowl? Guinea fowl are birds from the family Numididae and […]

It seems that every poultry forum I’ve visited complains that guineas are loud and mean animals! Even the day we purchased our keets, the man standing next to us by the brooder bins commented that guineas were annoying and we would be sorry. I’m glad we didn’t listen to all that, because so far our guinea experience has been nothing but pleasant … and tick destroying!

It’s been a wonderful, fruitful year at Iron Oak Farm. The garden is coming along nicely, I’m picking ripening cucumbers every day and adding them to our refrigerator pickle jar. We also just finished kidding season, one of the most joyous times of the year. Our last pregnant doe gave birth to triplets last night. […]

Zach and I have wanted to raise guineas for quite a few years now. They’re excellent foragers, they help reduce the tick population and they’re just really cool looking birds! Every spring we talk it over and try to decide if we want to place an order with a hatchery, or try to find a […]