Looking for a new pet that will keep your yard completely free of ticks, fleas and mosquitos AND lay eggs for you?
A guinea hen might be just your gal – and so pretty too 😉!
Word is getting out that many popular backyard birds are also excellent tick hunters, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, and perhaps none greater than guinea fowl.
These birds haven’t been formally studied for their tick-control talents like some rodents have, but colloquially they are known as tick-eating machines” or “tick vacuums.”
And Mother Earth News conducted an informal study in 2015 that found guinea fowl and/or chickens virtually eliminated ticks from 80% of the tick-infested properties they were kept in within a few months and farmers estimate a small flock of guinea hens can kill 4000-5000 ticks a day.
The guineas are well-behaved, but chickens can be destructive to flower beds. Chickens eat insects as well, but guineas are said to be relentless in their pursuit of ticks.
As well as fleas and ticks, guinea fowl are great at mosquito and fly control, and have even been known to eat snakes!
Their eggs are said to be as tasty and nutritious as chickens’, although smaller and harder to find because of their free-ranging, wilder nature.
The guinea fowl is not native to Spain, but has been growing in popularity in recent years for its eggs and meat.
Source: Returnow.net
