What the heck is that?

Well, my list just keeps getting bigger.  No, not my honey-do list, but my list of things I want to do at the new place.  A few posts back I briefly mentioned some of the things I want to do on the farm.  If you are new, keep in mind that it's only a 1 acre plot, which is a farm to me.  Anyway, I mentioned chickens, goats, bees, worms, and a garden.  Well, I had a lunch with a good friend of mine yesterday.  He's an insurance guy.  So, naturally, I asked him for a quote for the house and we had lunch to discuss the details.  Anyway, I'm digressing.  Back to point.  During our lunch time together, I filled him in on the details of our plans with this property.  At one point, he asked if I was going to get any guineas.  No, not guinea pigs, but rather guinea fowl.  If you aren't sure what they are, I describe them as a cross between a chicken, a turkey, and a peacock - a veritable pig with three asses, if you will.  Below is a picture if you are still not sure of what these guys are.  Back to the story.  My friend described them as loud, skittish, and not affectionate.  So, why would I want these, you ask.  According to my friend, they taste good.  But even better, they aren't like chickens, which will just walk up to you and let you pick them up and haul off to the butcher's block.  No sir, they are hard to catch.  But the pièce de résistance is that...wait for it...you have to shoot them to harvest them, because of their ability to elude their pursuers.  Now, there are some caveats that I need to keep in mind.  First, they eat ticks.  That's not a problem for me.  However, ticks are insects.  Not all insects are bad, especially in the garden.  So, if they eat ticks, will they also eat the beneficial insects that come to reside in the garden?  Also, a year or so ago, I watched a video about a farm run by nuns out on the far west side of Evansville.  In it, the farmer essentially took the viewer on a tour of the farm.  In this one particular video he filmed guineas running around.  He mentioned that he got them for the bugs, but that they were having problems staying out of his garden and were eating the lettuce sprouts.  So, I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk it.  I need to do more research.  All of my information about guineas comes from the aforementioned video I watched and my lunchtime conversation.  So, there is more to find out.  I do hope it is true, because after all, I might be able to add "Hunter" to my list of lifetime accomplishments.

Flock of Guinea Fowl
www.hoglezoo.org