Guineas

No, that's not a racial slur, I am talking about the bird. The fowl.

Rob talks about chickens over at his place, and what he says is correct. Momma raised chickens for awhile and they are the filthiest, nastiest critters that God let exist in His world. They'll eat anything, including each other. But this ain't about chickens, this is about guineas.

Guineas do well as free-range birds. They'll pretty much stay around your place if you provide water. Don't worry about food, they'll find it. One thing about a guinea is that they love to eat ticks and redbugs (chiggers) and all manner of crawly bugs. If you have guineas roaming your place, you won't have ticks, or redbugs in your yard. I understand they will take care of termites, too, but I have no experience with that.

Another thing about guineas is that they are loud, noisy, attention-getting critters. They make great watchdogs. They roost in trees and if someone moves in the yard at night, the guineas will wake and all hell will break loose. If you have guineas in your yard, you don't have to worry about someone skulking around in the dark. The guineas will let you know. Of course, if you have guineas, you don't want to try to sneak into your own house at 3:00 a.m. after a night of drinking and carousing. The guineas will wake your wife.

Having guineas is a double-edged sword.

Oh, and guineas have predominately dark meat. They make a great gumbo.