The enigmatic guinea fowl
2026-03-23T14:58:36+11:00
Guinea fowl have much to offer if you add them to your flock, especially as they are happy to take on the pests in your patch.
Speedy and super stylish, guinea fowl are fascinating semi-wild birds. They love to sing out and boy are they loud, so are best suited to acreage where they can range freely and won’t annoy neighbours. Guineas are inexpensive, independent and relish insects, so they’re an ideal choice for pest reduction on farms and vineyards.
Purpose
Guineas were traditionally kept as a source of inexpensive meat and eggs. Their small, speckled eggs are primarily laid in spring and summer, while their meat is dark, gamey and flavoursome.
Guineas are wide-ranging insect consumers, so farmers most often utilise them to reduce grasshoppers, fleas and ticks, an effective and environmentally friendly biological pest-control strategy.
Noisy guineas also make excellent watch dogs, loudly informing everyone of a fox, hawk or visitor, and will fearlessly attack rodents and snakes.
Management
Guineas are flock creatures so keep a minimum of three and ideally 10 or more. If housed permanently, they will fret and pace the wire mesh; their wild soul needs freedom.
Good fliers, they will roost high in trees, generally evading foxes. However, a night henhouse is safer and helps keep the flock manageable. Train them by feeding dinner inside the henhouse each night then locking up while they are eating.
Guineas do best on a game bird feed, grains or pellets, which has a slightly higher protein content. They will supplement this with foraged insects, greens, seeds and grit. Water containers should be sited around their range area.
Profile
- Guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) originated in Africa, but have been in Australia since the 1910s. Their white-spotted plumage comes in:
- Pearl – dark grey
- Lavender – light grey
- Cinnamon – light red
- Pied – white patches
- White
Guineas can live for 10–15 years, are readily available via online market sites and cost $10–15 for young and $25–35 for adult birds.
Learn more about guinea fowls in our Autumn 2026 issue. Jessamy Miller loves having them in her poultry pack, and with her tips you might learn to love them, too! You’ll find it in newsagents and selected supermarkets. Or you can subscribe here to get an issue delivered to your door!
