Do you want to get guinea fowls as pets? Or Have you been thinking of getting guinea fowls as pets and you’re wondering if they can be pets?
Yes, Guinea fowls can be pets, they are a great choice for pets as long as you care for them like any other pet.
Guinea fowls are very aggressive, loud, and noisy birds and they aren’t commonly known as pets but, they aren’t so bad as long as you take care of them, shelter them and protect them as any other pets would need.
In this article, we would tell you why guinea fowls can be pets and the necessary steps and precautions to take in caring for them like pets.
If you should have guinea fowls as pets and if they are friendly birds that you can have as pets.
Should you keep guinea fowls as pets?
Guinea fowls are very easy birds to keep, if you have a large space and no neighbors that are close by, then you should probably keep them.
They are self-reliant birds, they are independent and they will find their food to eat so you don’t have to worry about feeding them once they are grown.
Guinea fowls have featherless faces and weird coloring and they aren’t also the most attractive birds, but aside from all that, they have unique personalities, they can be entertaining and are certainly fun to watch.
Another great thing about guinea fowl is that they are disease-free birds which is good for you as its owner because you don’t have to worry about it getting infected with diseases.
They are hardier than any other poultry and can be wonderful pets.
It is important that if you want to keep them as pets you provide them with all the requirements that pets need.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on do guinea fowls molt?
What are guinea fowls useful for?
Guinea fowls are useful birds despite their loud and aggressive nature.
You can use them for so many things when you have them.
They are mostly known for being the farmyard’s watchdog, that is, they protect your farmyard from predators.
They can let you know when an intruder is around and protect your flock.
Keepers of small, backyard flocks keep them a lot because they can be an alarm in case anything wrong is going on.
They are also very useful for keeping pests at bay from insects that can destroy the farm, they also feast on weeds that affect cops.
You might not know but Guinea fowls are very entertaining birds, they are funny and they make great companions.
When it comes to laying eggs, Guinea fowls do not lay eggs regularly, they lay eggs in the season but their eggs are very nutritious and it is very tasty.
Are guinea fowls friendly?
Guinea fowls aren’t the most friendly birds and they aren’t the most lovely birds as well, but they can be trained to be friendly.
They are not cuddly and they do not like to be picked up.
Naturally, Guinea fowls are high-strung than chickens and they are not intelligent birds but when you train them and you bribe them by giving them things like millet, scratch, etc they would easily always run to you, just like chickens.
You can easily train them with treats and they learn quickly as well, so when you call them they’ll run to you.
They are like chickens, once they know you to be who bribes them with treats they’ll follow you every time.
This should be done while they are little so they will grow to know you.
Also check out this article I wrote on why do guinea fowls make noise?
How do guinea fowls behave?
Guinea fowls are highly social birds, they get along with their kind the best.
They move in large flocks, and travel together, they also communicate with each other and can alarm themselves when something is wrong.
If for instance, one of them gets lost, the other would make noise other the lost one finds its way back to them.
Guinea fowls are aggressive and you have to be careful especially of the male guineas when raising them with other birds like chicken and ducks.
They are very dominant and can be bullies.
Most of them are wild and this makes them not do well in close confinements they love to move freely.
How to train your guinea fowl to be friendly.
If you want to train your guinea fowl to be friendly, you have to start doing so while they are keets because once they are adults it will be hard to train them.
For your guinea fowl to be friendly towards you, do not make them afraid of you, do not give them any reason to fear you.
Training them while they are keets it’s good because while you feed them regularly, they’ll know you as who feeds them and takes care of them and they’ll be familiar with you, just like chickens.
They will grow to know you as someone they can be safe around.
You must make sure you do not give them any reason to be afraid, like shouting where they are, chasing them when they are running because that can make them scared.
How to keep guinea fowls from flying away.
When you have guinea fowls and you want to keep them from going away, you must keep them in coveted pens.
Guineas fowls start to fly early, they are strong fliers and can fly 400 to 500 feet at a time. They also run fast and although they fly well, they prefer to try by foot even when they are being attacked.
Guinea fowls fly away easily and never return.
If they are moved to a new place or where they are not familiar with, Guinea fowls can fly away.
But when you raise them from keets then it’s less likely that they will fly away.
If you raise them with chicks, they adapt and even behave like them and they won’t fly away.
Build tall trees around them where they can roost, because Guinea fowls feel safe on trees.
If you want them to come home to roost, then they will need a coop.
Conclusion.
Guinea fowls can be pets. Having Guinea fowl as pets you must provide them with all the necessary care that any pet would require.
You can have guinea fowls as pets because they are entertaining, interesting, and quirky birds.
When trained from keets they get familiar with you and become friendly with you.
If you have guinea fowls as pets you don’t have to do so much with feeding them once they are adults because they fend for themselves.
They are also very good watchdogs for your farm and they are good for insect control.
Guinea fowls have so many benefits that having them as pets isn’t bad.
Despite their loud and aggressive nature, they are protective of the poultry.
They don’t have health problems which are good and they keep ticks under control by feasting on them.
They also lay nutritious eggs which you can also benefit from in so many ways.
Guinea fowls can be pets, they wouldn’t be the weirdest pet for anyone to have, some people have snakes, bears, tigers, and even lions.
So we hope after reading this article, whatever reservations you had about having a guinea fowl as a pet is gone.
