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optimistic
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 05:17pm
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hhhh... sorry for the 'gorilla' topic but I am in a funny mood.
My question is serious though - a friend told me that there is a type of chicken that all you need to do is build a coop for and then they will go and feed by themselves, as well as find water, and come back to sleep in the coop and lay eggs. Basically take care of themselves.
Is this real?
If it is and I can do it in upstate NY - I will. I am in my cabin every other weekend so I can't take care of them. If this is real - it is an amazing option for me.
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VTweekender
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 05:38pm
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lol.......they wouldn't last 24 hours before others had them for dinner.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 05:42pm
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this QUESTION was a JOKE right???...oh well
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rayyy
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 05:57pm
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If you have a nice coop for any breed of chicken with food and water and roosting space and nesting boxes and protection from the preditors,you can let your chickens out through out the day and they will scratch and forage then come home to roost at dusk.But you need to lock them up.Just beware,foxes loveeeee fresh chickens.They can dig a hole under your hen house in a coulpe of minutes and wipe out your entire flock in no time.You have to build everything with that in mind.
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 07:04pm - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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Sounds too good to be true.
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etjohnson
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 07:58pm
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Sounds like guinea fowl to me. They're not quite chickens though
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Kudzu
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:08pm
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Chickens are great, but everything wants to eat them! Unattended chickens would be a great meal for some lucky creature. 
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johng
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:18pm
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Quoting: etjohnson Sounds like guinea fowl to me. They're not quite chickens though
This sounds like what you are referring to. They don't wander far, will return to the roost (yard) but are extremely dumb.
They will stand in a road and stare at a car till they are hit. Their flying abilities are virtually non existent so their roost will be ground level. Their eggs are about the size of quail eggs and scattered about so you have no idea about lay day.
The best thing about them is that they will keep the area clear of ticks, chiggers, and other less than appreciated insects.
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optimistic
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:33pm
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lol.... Hopefully I did make some of you laugh but I guess there is such a thing - guinea fowl. Thanks Johnson and John.
So if these are so dumb - why don't they get killed so easily? or they do? ;)
I'll read up about them
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:34pm
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Wow... Talk about hitting the nail on the head... Fascinating stuff:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-guinea-fowl-zmaz92a szshe.aspx#axzz2XHw7YdLJ
I'll read more tomorrow.
Got to go watch The Wire with the wife.
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Grandma Off Grid
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:35am
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This seems to be true About guineas. I've had quite a few over the years. they didn't even want to go in the coop. they would roost in the trees and on the roof.
And lay eggs wherever in the weeds.
The neat thing about them is they are great watch dogs. my only problem I ever had was if I didn't get them as babies they were already imprinted on where they came from and would keep trying to go back there. so I always try to get them when they were babies because the same to do this after about 3 or 4 months old.
There used to be a man who lived in a shack out in the woods. he would hatch out his own birds of all kinds. it was quite a jungle in there. he would put all the baby birds and a small shed and you had to go in and chase the ones down you wanted. they were a dollar a piece and the most healthy I ever had. hey would bring me in his shack to see the new eggs starting to hatch. hey was a proud mama haha
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Grandma Off Grid
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:41am
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Guineas will defend the chickens against any predator even large dogs. they are very protective. and they'll eat all the bugs and ticks and will kill and eat snakes.
Mine didn't even want the food I put out for them. even in the winter they would find their own roost
and didn't seem to need much at all.
If you can stand the racket they make and how loud they are They are easy keepers.
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tnky03
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:23pm
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Quoting: Grandma Off Grid If you can stand the racket they make and how loud they are They are easy keepers
LOL, we have been taking about buying a couple of guineas to help with the tick infestation. I called about some on craigslist but they had sold out. They do make the most distressful noise, lol and are quite ugly, in my opinion. Maybe I can find some baby ones soon.
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cottonpicker
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 03:46pm
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When I was a kid on a farm in Mississippi during the 1940s we had a small flock of about 14 "GUINEA HENS" as we called them.
They would not sleep in our hen house or lay their eggs there.
We learned to watch them & see where they laid their eggs in the fields.
Their eggs were almost as big a a hen egg & taste just as good.
They usually slept in a tree.
They were good flyers but flew close to the ground except to fly into a tree to roost at night.
They were excellent "WATCH DOGS". Any strange person or animal that approached was immediately greeted by their very loud alarm calls.
It sounded like "POTRACK" "POTRACK". They would advance on & "MOB" the intruder.
I do not recall losing any of them to predators.
They were strange birds! LOL
I miss them,
Cotton Picker
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optimistic
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:16pm
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What great stories... I asked in a 'hens keeping' forum about doing this and they said that it won't work as I need to take care they are not eaten by predators... they also said that if I don't feed them they will just go away and I won't find them when I get back.
Not sure if that is right or not But I think I won't try it
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Grandma Off Grid
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# Posted: 27 Jun 2013 08:19pm
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In my experience that is not right. cotton picker is right about everything regarding them.
They imprint on a property About 3 or 4 months old And they won't leave it And yes anybody comes in the driveway they really carry on they look at the property as their Castle And they are the protectors.
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Rossman
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2013 09:09am
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Amazing, anyone know how they fare up north here in Canada?
They sound pretty cool to have around.
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