New use for guinea hens?

The guineas live in a portable shelter. which is what saved them when the chickens were attacked ( coyotes we think) Guineas eat insects, don;t scratch as much as chickens. and they are FUNNY.They do lay eggs- smaller and denser than chicken eggs, quite yummy...but these have not started yet.

Mine seem much more vegetarian than I was told. they love weeds, grass and leafies from the garden. i actually thought they would help us control ticks. oh well.Maybe they will!

they spent the winter on the garden beds.While weed reduction isn't great (chickens would have eaten more seed I think) they did a bit of fertilizing. but when I realized they were taking the turf to the ground, once on the backyard...I had an idea.

We have not fertilized or put poisons out on our yards- for years. one of our biggest problems- besides weeds, which I spent all last summer pulling and giving the chickens- is moles. we must have hundreds of them...mole trails all over the property. and yes, they eat grubs and other insects..but voles follow the trails in and eat your plants. Missing lilies problem- solved.Well, guineas eat insects too....

As the guineas clear an area ( one day for the 8 ft by 4 ft pen,3 guineas) and I pull it to the next, I lay down a bit of the straw ( comes in plastic bales,,,says-"with tack". perfect for seedlings including grass,not for animal bedding, I don;t think.) and sprinkle on a little good grass seed ( sun and shade) Bruce won;t mow it- he can see the straw, and it's all so short , where they have been, it doesn;t need mowing anyway! They have left behind a bit of poo for fertilizer, eaten the weed seeds--can;t get much better than that!

i'll have to update as the grass really begins to take off..but I have happy fat guineas, and the possibility of a decent lawn. that sounds good to me!

Polyculture veggie beds

it's all happening at once- radishes and lettuce, spring onions, turnips, and herbs. next up- peas ( and maybe a few new potatoes). it really works!

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