A few days ago I wrote a blog post called, “Holding on to the Dream.” Today I’m having a bit of trouble keeping the dream alive. I see some big obstacles standing in the way of us making a move to homesteading.
Hubby needs to find a job that will allow us to relocate to our dream property.
We need to sell our house, but watching other houses in our area sell for 10’s of thousands less than the original asking price doesn’t fare well for us.
Then there is the fact that a major employer in this area is moving thousands of employees to other locations across the country over the next 1 1/2 – 3 years. That’s a lot of houses going on the market with not many people moving into the area to buy them.
Of course there is also the fact that each day we’re getting older and would like to get the party started sooner rather than later.
We’re trying to figure all of this out and I need something to help keep me focused on making this dream a reality. So I’ve decided to continue learning everything I can about homesteading and to post what I learn here. Gaining more knowledge certainly won’t hurt and one day I may just be able to apply all this knowledge to real life.
So here is Weeks Homesteading Part 1 – Guinea Fowl.
I have to say that I’m a bit on the fence about having guinea fowl on the homestead, but only a little bit. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but find them to be fascinating birds.
Here is what I know about guinea fowl.
Guinea Fowl are native to Africa and Madagascar. Naomi is from Ethiopia, so we could add a little bit of Africa to our homestead for her. Not necessarily the best reason to have guinea fowl, but a fun reason.
Guinea Fowl are excellent at controlling insects. They will seldom bother your garden or flowers, but help keep your property pest free. This alone would be a great reason to have guinea fowl on the homestead.
They are easy and inexpensive to raise, can be housed with chickens and will provide eggs and meat.
They are curious birds, sending out a warning when something isn’t quite right on the homestead. They have also been known to kill mice, rats and snakes. I happen to think they are great looking birds and would make a great addition to the homestead.
What causes me to sit on the fence about guinea fowl in the noise. Other than watching a few You Tube videos such as this one,
I’ve never spent any time around guinea fowl to know if the noises they make would drive our family crazy or not. However, that seems to be the common complaint I hear about these birds.
Seems to me the pros of adding guinea fowl to the homestead outweigh the cons and I will likely try my hand at raising a few on our homestead one day.
What do you know about guinea fowl? Do you have any experience raising them? Would you have them on your homestead or not? Why?
worldofweeks 
I grew up with them & love them so much. You will have to be prepared that they will wake you either with the noise, or with the constant running around on your roof at all hours. Also, the many flocks that I have been around have not been super “pet like”. They are best left to do their own thing and not be around the kids too much. I remember being warned as a kid that they were much more quick to temper than a rooster with just as much to harm you with. They can be friendly, and I have great memories of watching the babies from afar. 🙂 (Not sure who chased me more, the geese or the guineas lol)
This is great information. Thanks Cassandra!
I have a gorgeous shot of guinea fowl for you tomorrow.. are those your daughters in the header, what a tremendous shot, if you are not too far away maybe you could bring them out to visit in the spring, when we have the lambs and chicks.. there are so many empty farm houses out here, I surely hope you can find one down your way, it makes me so sad when they and their barns get bulldozed, burnt and buried. c
Can’t wait to see your guinea fowl.
Yes, those are my daughters. Not sure where you are located. We’re not too far from Bloomington.
I think you are not so far away..I am an hour and a half somewhat south east ish of bloomington, though my compass is vague.. lets keep it in mind for spring- if you want to of course.. c
We were down that direction today. We went to visit our son in Charleston, IL. I also have good friends in Champaign so I’m that direction often. Of course I assume you are closer to Champaign than Bloomington if you’re southeast of Bloomington. Regardless, I would love to bring the girls down this spring.
Debbie, my friend moved to Missouri, got guinea hens. She said; they roasted in trees at night, and the owls picked them off, getting them at night in the trees. And, when they rounded them up, and killed some to eat, ( don’t know any details) the rest got smart, and would no longer be rounded up at all….
We too are looking at getting to a farm, so we can grow more of what we (with 6 kids still at home) eat and use.
Guinea hens are something we would like to at least try.
April in AK
With two Ethiopians in the 6.
First of all, hi April! Haven’t chatted with you in quite some time.
I’m learning more and more about guinea fowl and do know that they will roost in trees. Appears it is important to get them young and train them to roost in a barn or chicken coop.
Good luck on your farm search. Becoming more self-sufficient, especially with a larger family, is a good thing.
Good info. Lucky me I ran across your blog by chance (stumbleupon).
I have bookmarked it for later!