Guineas are…
1. Excellent guard animals. They act as an alarm system and predator alert, even in the dead of the night. I quickly learned that they put the sirens on my home security system to shame and that sleeping with the windows open may be a thing of the past.
2. They are very entertaining. Aside for the outlandish makeup job, and odd attire, they seem to have an almost teenage angst mentality. They tormented my poor Tom turkey for 3 days by waiting until he wasn’t looking and then going up behind him and nipping his butt.
3. They are far from Intellectually gifted. Or as one person phrased it, they are as dumb as a box of rocks. They will investigate neighbors houses, road ways and even spar with moving vehicles.
4. Their clownish fashion sense is rivaled only by their flight ability.
5. They cannot count. They will wander off and leave one or more keets behind.
6. They cannot stand to be separated. They will even do their alarm system impression for you if you try.
7. They love to eat insects. They will help you control ticks, fire ants, stink bugs, Japanese beetles and squash bugs to name a few.
8. They will clean out your flower beds for you. Of everything, including the flowers.
9. They will kill snakes that get into your chicken coops. Or at the very least torment then until they leave voluntarily.
10. They will peacefully coexist with your chickens, sharing their food and their roosts. A theory that my Tom turkey wishes I would further investigate.
