# How loud are guinea hens, really?



## Shygal

I have a lot of ticks here in the woods, and wanted to get some guinea hens. But I also have neighbors........
I could deal with the sound but how obnoxious are they? Does their obnoxicity increase the less there are? lol

I dont know any other way to handle the things, my son had Lyme when he was 5 and I dont want the kids to get it or the dogs. The chickens didnt seem to make a huge dent in them and they wouldnt go in the wooded areas

Any one have a sound file of them? lol


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## LFRJ

Um. Loud! We have two.l That's enough. But so is Lyme disease. If your kid actually got it, I'd imagine your neighbor might appreciate knowing that you have guineas. But yep. They're loud. not all the time, but when there's something to crow about (breakfast, predators, sunsets), they go off. Still - a little (okay, a lot) of noise time to time per day compared to Lymne disease? guess what I'd choose!. 

And if it's really a problem in 6 months, write back and we can help you with a solution.


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## Wisconsin Ann

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_B2lMEyBsk&feature=related[/ame]
is one I found on Youtube. there are quite a few  

They do love ticks. Friend of our had sheep and goats (and 4 people in the house). First year on the farm they had horrible problems iwth ticks on everyone/thing. She got guinea fowl the next spring and they noticed a drop in ticks immediately. The next year she had 22 guinea (they kept hiding nests and hatching youngsters) and they saw NO ticks. 

but...they do like to vocalize. yup. so do chickens, of course. 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_B2lMEyBsk&feature=related"] [/ame]


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## mountainlaurel

And they don't care what time it is when they chant neither. At 5:30 am I was laying in bed, the windows were closed, I had shut them up last night before going to bed and I could hear them chanting down at the chicken house. In the pitch dark. What is their problem? 
So far, my neighbor across the road hasn't complained but she is a great neighbor too. Her dh had Lymes so, that may be one reason.


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## Shygal

are they louder than chickens when the chicken sees something dangerous?


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## Guest

They are VERY loud. You can hear them from a long ways off.

More videos:

[YOUTUBE]wt7rXN8IJoo[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]gmGXoxcibuw[/YOUTUBE]


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## Oxankle

Go on and get your guineas. Neighbors will tune them out. If they roam onto your neighbor's property they will eat the ticks there too. 

If you have a very small place (only an acre or two) they WILL roam. 

Another point: It is difficult to re-home adult guineas. If you get chicks they will stay around pretty well. If you try to re-home adults they should stay penned until the hens are sitting on eggs. Even then the adults may leave when the brood is raised. 

If you start with guinea eggs under a chicken hen the young will roost with the chickens and will be much more suited to your purposes. Left to themselves guineas are more likely to roost in trees and become food for great horned owls or any raccoon in the country.


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## Guest

They will make you crazy, make you crazy, make you crazy.

I have two neighbors with guineas so everyone has guineas now.


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## Kshobbit

They are also delicious. :thumb:


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## rabbitpatch

Oxankle said:


> Another point: It is difficult to re-home adult guineas. If you get chicks they will stay around pretty well. If you try to re-home adults they should stay penned until the hens are sitting on eggs. Even then the adults may leave when the brood is raised.


You can rehome adults. My mom bought 2 adults last year and they haven't tried to leave. BUT, as everyone we asked told us last year, you must keep them penned up for at least 2 weeks, and when you turn them loose, only release 1 or 2 at a time. You can gradually increase the number that you release, but if you always keep a hand full of them penned up, the others will always return. They may not exactly roost where you want them too (most prefer to roost REALLY HIGH in trees), but they'll come back to the general area where the penned up guineas live. 

A very good friend of mine did the same thing when she bought her adult guineas. She now has a sizable flock, but she always keeps a handful penned up in the barn and the rest of the flock always comes back to the barn or the tree next to it when they go to bed at night.


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## fffarmergirl

We love our guineas. They're loud but I like the noise. I also love the sound of roosters, t hough, so I'm weird. I could definitely imagine neighbors complaining about them, if we had neighbors nearby.


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## mekasmom

Shygal said:


> I could deal with the sound but how obnoxious are they? Does their obnoxicity increase the less there are? lol


They are very loud. They make great watch dogs, and notice anything unusual anywhere near their territory. They don't bite and chase like geese though, so they aren't guard animals. 
If you have close neighbors you might not be able to let them free roam too much. They say you buy guineas for your neighbors. That simply means they tend to wander off a lot.
Owls do tend to kill a lot of them around here. They aren't as predator-sturdy as geese or turkeys.


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## switchman62

I would advise you to find someone who has them and see if you could spend a day around them to see how noisy they are. Chickens can sometimes get loud but guineas are a more constant/always loud. We had some for a short time several years ago and I got rid of them. 

Dave


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## Bearfootfarm

> are they louder than chickens when the chicken sees something dangerous?


A Guinea "whispering" ls louder than a rooster CROWING


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## bluefish

And their favorite place to go off is right next to you. _Wherever_ you may be. I love 'em, but hubby shot the last one a couple years ago and says NO MORE. It's the only time he's ever put his foot down about something like that. Seeing as how they'd follow him around when he was outside and scream that alarm call at him all the time, I suppose I can see his point.


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## KOHL HAWKE

A.T. Hagan said:


> They will make you crazy, make you crazy, make you crazy.
> 
> I have two neighbors with guineas so everyone has guineas now.


:hysterical:
ROTF!!! You are too funny! and too rite!! guinea do love to roam!
I clip wings and keep em in the pasture or they are at my neighbors and he is 1/2mile away! I dont mind the noise, ( i too like the crow of the rooster and the ansering crow from the neighbors roo) I have to agree with thermopke tho, my husband doesnt like them much either as they alarm whenever hes working outside..hehe my secret revenge


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## Pony

Guineas.

Loud. Obnoxious. Cannot tune them out.

I loved mine because they followed me all over the place like little feathered puppies, but they were loud and annoying and very stupid. 

And they do NOT taste like pheasant.


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## shanzone2001

Loud!!!!


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## oregon woodsmok

I suggest that you go around to the neighbors and tell them that your son got Lymes, so you are getting guineas for tick control and they will be hearing some more wild bird noises and seeing a lot fewer ticks.

Really, that should do it.


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## thaiblue12

I had a quiet pair of females, not sure of the lack of males kept them quiet or what. My neighbor has one lone male, I ended up with 15 chicks, lol. The mom and her friend insisted on sleeping in the goat barn and pooping on the goats so I sold them. I figured quiet moms might equal quite kids...... oh so wrong! I think the males set it off, they have this sound that goes through your head. The girls at least have a quieter two syllable sound. Of course an alarm sounded by either sex is loud and annoying. One advantage to the alarms is when a hawk or two are circling overhead they sound the alarm and the chickens head for cover and the LGD barks. The hawk moves away and 
all is good. Thay have also killed a few snakes but the stupid birds did nothing about the rodents last year who were stealing their food. 

These 7 PITAS start blabbing at 8 am, then do it again at 5 pm. Why? I have no clue. I also have been outside late at night and I can hear a couple of females talking to themselves at night while roosting. But that is not loud. 

Get some for tick control and if it drives the neighbors crazy sell them. They fetch a nice price around here and go fast.


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## Gregg Alexander

Loud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Oxankle

Loud or not, I love 'em. I just cannot keep them safe from hawks, owls and *****. Lost my last one at age six last spring. If I can find some eggs I'm going to hatch some and raise them with a broody hen so that they will roost with the chickens. They, like chickens, are too costly to raise just for **** feed.


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## Firefly

Ladycat, thanks for posting those videos. I forgot how much fun they are! 

Notice the difference in sound of the two videos. In the first one they are having fun being guineas; they're noisy, but it's endearing. In the second they're upset because of being separated, and it's a much more irritating sound. To me, anyway.

When I got rid of mine (only because I got rid of all the birds), my cats had two ticks the next day after having none all summer. They are so good at tick control. I agree with oregon woodsmok--talk to the neighbors. Don't ask permission! Simply inform them of your plans. Having a chicken raise them is a very good way to do it, or at least brood them with chicks.


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## Danaus29

Spend a day at a swap meet next to them before you decide if you want them.

I have to ask though, what about your nasty neighbor girl? If she complained about the dogs being too loud for her how will she react to screaming birds?


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## salmonslayer91

i was at the feed store the other day and saw a few chicks they sure were cute


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## hardworkingwoman

Ok after reading all of these noisy posts, I was thinking about getting a couple of guineas. I want to put them into the fenced area with the goats to keep the ticks under control. Will they fly out? How do you clip their wings so they can't fly out? And do they make noise in the middle of the night? I realize that they are noisy and my husband can't stand the noise that my roosters make. So should I just put a few chickens with the goats instead? Will the chickens eat as many ticks as the guineas? 
Thanks


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## Rannod

Mine were Noisy in the beginning but after six months they are used to the neighbors much quieter they just like to eat my pepper plants


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## mare

Shygal said:


> are they louder than chickens when the chicken sees something dangerous?


oh yeah


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## lilachill

We brought 2 males to our place late winter. We kept them in the chicken coop so they would learn their home space. I did not want more, in case we did not like them. With 2 males, I hoped the birds would not spend their days setting on eggs. Without out hens they seem quieter because they are not performing for the ladies. They do range all over our fields and the neighbor's yard. The neighbor is happy for the bug control. I believe they are the reason we have not treated the dogs for ticks this month-amazing and I am still holding my breath. I am surprised that 2 would be so effective.
Like all of our farm animals, they seem to have bursts of sound-when they find a particularly lovely cow pie, when the net protected chickens get food, etc.


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## Rogo

"Are they louder than chickens?"

You betcha. Couldn't even hear my roosters crowing. Dang guineas screamed from dawn to dusk. Couldn't see a neighbor or anything else from my place, but constantly scream they did.

I also didn't find the guineas any better than the chickens for keeping the insect population down. Got rid of the guineas, kept the chickens. They earn their keep.

Some I know have had to get rid of their guineas when neighbors called the authorities.

Hope you don't have any close neighbors!


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## hardworkingwoman

We don't really have close neighbors If the neighbors can stand my noisy kids "goat" that is they can break an eardrum let me tell you! They could stand the guineas. If we don't like them we can just eat them. I just hope they stay where I put them. I do not like birds in my gardens digging holes! Do the guineas do that too?


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## Firefly

hardworkingwoman said:


> Ok after reading all of these noisy posts, I was thinking about getting a couple of guineas. I want to put them into the fenced area with the goats to keep the ticks under control. Will they fly out? How do you clip their wings so they can't fly out? And do they make noise in the middle of the night? I realize that they are noisy and my husband can't stand the noise that my roosters make. So should I just put a few chickens with the goats instead? Will the chickens eat as many ticks as the guineas?
> Thanks


Here are some letters from guinea and other poultry owners. http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs/pestpatrol.aspx Some say their chickens were good at keeping ticks down, but that has not been my experience. With guineas I had none. Free ranging chickens, turkeys and ducks now but no guineas, and I get at least one tick on me every time I go outside. They're bad this year; maybe I'll get a couple of guineas even though I won't be keeping any birds over the winter.

I can't see the point of confining guineas. Their sole purpose is to eliminate ticks (and Japanese beetles), so why not let them do their job all over your property? They want to roam and will be unhappy--and say so all day long!--if confined. If noise is a HUGE issue, forget it. They will never be quiet!

Here is a good site for info. Her book was helpful too. http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/


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## hardworkingwoman

my dogs will eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.


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## hardworkingwoman

I mainly want them in the goat pen with about 3/4 acre to keep the ticks off of them


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## earthkitty

ladycat said:


> They are VERY loud. You can hear them from a long ways off.
> 
> More videos:
> 
> [YOUTUBE]wt7rXN8IJoo/YOUTUBE]
> 
> [YOUTUBE]gmGXoxcibuw/YOUTUBE]


Good Lord!!!!!!! Do they EVER shut up?

I keep waffling back and forth over getting guineas. We have about a billion ticks, but I think my dogs would kill any free ranging birds. Coyotes and the nighbors dog, too.

How do you keep them alive without confining them? Confined = alive, but then they can't roam to eat ticks!!


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## Rogo

=== How do you keep them alive without confining them? ===


All my livestock roam free within the perimeter fence. My dogs protect them. 

I was told the guineas would fly away. I kept hoping they would, but no such luck. I had to sell them to get rid of them.


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## Tawnya

Are they any worse than two cantankerous African geese males? LOL

Would love to get some this summer - the ticks are bad here this year already.


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## lonelyfarmgirl

Guineas fly like regular birds, the only way to keep them in a fence is to have netting over the top. They are so loud, that a group of four standing 10 feet away, all screaming at once makes it difficult to have a conversation with someone standing next too you. They scream at random, any hour, day or night. 
I love our guineas.


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## tojo66

I love my guineas and yes they are loud!! We have 6 hens and roos that free range on our one acre-no fence and so far they stay on the property. We got them as day olds and kept them in the coop with the chickens over the winter. They started outside with the chickens this spring. They love to fly into out trees but are on the ground most of the time. They roost in the chicken coop every night. They chatter all day and night but our neighbors don't complain about the noise- I share the eggs!  Best wishes!

http://blessedlittlehomesteadlife.blogspot.com


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## SpaceCadet12364

We have been free-ranging guineas for around 6 years now.....hatched out some eggs, bought a few from time to time, for the last couple years we have been down to 4 males. The females would seem to go off and nest in fencerows and would either get eaten by somethng or bushhogged.  Don't like losing any, but it sure beats buying chemicals all the time for the yard to try and control ticks.

A month ago, we bought a dozen yearling guineas, about a 50/50 mix I think male to female. Currently, I've got about 70 eggs in 2 incubators, and the 14 day candling looks like I SHOULD get a good hatch! YAY! I think they have been laying over at a neighbor about 300 yards away, under one or two of their trees that touch the ground, but we won't go there. One bad apple in a handful or so of neighbors.  But, now they have started another nest under my back steps, but that seems like a safe place to let them try and hatch them out themselves...there is almost 2 dozen in it so far.

The new ones took to roosting in the barn with the older males we already had right away. They all more or less roam together, from our place to the neighbor's field/pasture across the road, they make their rounds. I don't hardly remember the last time we found a tick on our place. The neighbors all seem to not mind the noise & visiting, since they realized that they can hang laundry outside on the line now without it getting covered up with ticks.

I don't bother putting out food in the spring-fall, usually they wont touch it. And, that would defeat the purpose of ranging them anyways. They overwinter nicely in the barn, at least the older ones have been. Guess we will find out this coming winter how that goes. My problem will be though is when we go to replace the barn, it could be interesting trying to get them used to a different structure to roost in. We dont really have much in the line of trees on our place.


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## gunnar wordon

Yeah, mine are very loud. I only have a 1/4 acre, so they go on our neighbors lawn. I will probably never buy guinea again. I am content with chickens, ducks, pigeons, goats and a goofy goose.


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## hugh

Free range they are loud. Kinda like having many wives. If in a pen fairly quiet.


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