Guineas or Quails to Control Ticks?

[cparkly]

Do you free range your guineas, quails (or chickens)? Do they really keep the tick population down? How do you prevent predators from picking them off?

[Mama Mko]

Yes, the guineas definitely make a difference with regards to ticks in my experience. We do free range them. We have had a lot of problems with predators. There were some neighborhood dogs that have gotten them several times and something has occasionally taken one in the evenings.

What has helped this is having a barn with a light in it and a roost up high. They go in at night if the light is on and roost on their perches and then they aren't eaten in the morning. On days when the light has been out, they choose to roost outside the barn and this is when they're reduced to just feathers in the yard the next morning.

[mamabearsoblessed]

Yes, our chickens free-range and yes, it absolutely cut down on ticks. And sadly we have lost chickens to predators in broad daylight, though we do have a flock gaurd dog and that helps. They turn themselves into their coop at dusk and I lock them up and turn them out in the am.

This year I hope to add a couple guineas to our flock and many more pullets/hens, as well as some other new critters. I'm hoping the commotion and company of the bigger animals will cut down on the attacks as well.

I've only lost 1 hen to  a fox in broad daylight. The other 5 were attacks from the sky. A hawk took 2 and an eagle 3, included my biggest and most majestic rooster! Other than penning them, there is always the chance of losing to predators when you free-range.

[Chicky2]

We have lots of guineas--mostly for tick control, but they taste good too!  We have way less ticks and grasshoppers and even snakes than most out here.  They free range.  Guineas are hard to keep penned up, and they wouldn't be happy that way.  They fly really well, and we lose way less guineas than chickens.  I did recently have a neighbor find a pile of light blue guinea feathers by his deer feeder.  the light colored ones don't last as long. 

[Mama Mko]

Originally Posted by Chicky2 

We have lots of guineas--mostly for tick control, but they taste good too!  We have way less ticks and grasshoppers and even snakes than most out here.  They free range.  Guineas are hard to keep penned up, and they wouldn't be happy that way.  They fly really well, and we lose way less guineas than chickens.  I did recently have a neighbor find a pile of light blue guinea feathers by his deer feeder.  the light colored ones don't last as long. 

It's funny that you say that because it was the opposite for us last year! Out of 30 guineas last summer, we're down to FOUR. One of them is dark. Two are white and one is lavender.

[QueenEsther]

Yeah, I have always heard [and seen] that large farm dogs help keep everything out of the pen that you put them in, and will protect anything already inside of it. So it seems like that would include these birds, too. I would really love to have guineas one day soon! If we move to Oklahoma to homestead, then I definitely need help with ticks. The last summer that we spent out there, I can't tell you how many ticks I was pulling off my kids...and they always latched on to my son's testicles! OWWWW! I am wondering if I am going to have to make herbal sprays in bulk and bathe everyone in it every single day of warmer weather??

[treekidsandadog]

I HATE ticks so we got a half dozen Guinea's last spring.  We have not had a problem with ticks since getting them.  They are all still alive and do free range in the summer. We do have a dog, but he's an inside dog so I'm not sure that he actually does a lot of "protecting" of them.  During the summer they refuse to go in at all and roost (along with some of the chickens) up in our weeping willow in the back yard.  They also have chased other fowel out of our yard...like the wild turkey's (rather funny to watch them chase an entire flock of turkeys out of the yard...the turkey's didn't know what to think and ran like crazy to get away...they chased them on to our neighbors property and didn't come back for about an hour so I don't know really how far they ended up chasing them )  The Guineas are really protective of our yard and will sound off  when there is something/someone in the yard they don't know or like...kinda loud and annoying, but as I said before I HATE ticks so it's worth it to me.