Do Guinea Fowl Eat Snakes?
Snakes are among the most ferocious predators and problematic pests to backyard chickens and other poultry. Snakes are capable of stealing eggs, harming or even killing chickens. They are fond of sneaking into the coop through small gaps left around the wall, floor, and roof.
The presence of guinea fowl can help deter the snakes from accessing your poultry farm. Guinea fowl and snakes have a completely different relationship. Unlike chickens, guinea fowl are not easily intimidated by snakes.
As a matter of fact, the opposite is true whereby a flock of guinea fowl can surround and kill the snake or chase it away from their living space.
Having guinea fowl on your farm can really help keep away snakes. These birds are adept at roaming throughout the yard. In the process, they scare off most small snakes and other pests.
So, the addition of several guinea fowls to your backyard can bring added protection for your entire flock of birds and other farm animals although many say that guinea flows will eat snakes
Can Guinea Fowl Kill Snakes?
Snakes can wreak havoc in your yard, especially if you are keeping poultry or small livestock. In particular, venomous snakes can be dangerous not only to your animals but also to your family members.
With several guinea fowl roaming your yard, you can rest easy knowing that your poultry and your farm animals, in general, are safe. Guinea fowl are known to be loud and aggressive toward small predators such as snakes. They will alert you as soon as they spot a snake slithering in your compound.
So, do you think that your guinea fowl can kill a snake? Yes, guinea fowl can easily kill snakes that intrude on their living space. Guinea fowl tend to fight off and even kill smaller snakes. Also, they can kill garter snakes that appear like worms. Sometimes they peck and play with snakes although this is not always the case.
Even though Guinea fowl may not be able to kill larger snakes, they can prevent them from accessing your backyard. Whenever they find a snake, guinea fowl will peck at it severally before eating it.
You may find it difficult to spot snakes in your backyard. This is due to the fact that snakes blend in seamlessly with their surroundings. Some of them stay close to the ground, making it extremely difficult to find them. Since guinea fowl are fond of spotting out worms and bugs that dwell in the grass, they can find and feast on snakes as well.
Do Guinea Fowl Keep Snakes Away?
Yes, because they are very loud and are roaming around all the time. Snakes will avoid those areas where guinea fowl are living. Normally, poultry keepers love guinea fowl because of their spectacular squawky personalities. They like to inspect anything that looks strange or new to their living areas.
These curious birds apply the same tactic to encounter snakes hiding in your backyard. Usually, a group of several guinea fowl will spot and surround a snake. Then each fowl will take a turn to peck at it or play with it until it dies in the process. So, snakes may not survive in the presence of guinea fowl.
On the other hand, guinea fowl are notorious for creating a commotion over a slight thing. Unlike chickens, these beautiful birds stick together in groups and can make very loud noises when they feel threatened.
Due to their squawky behavior, poultry farmers are able to know if there are predators or intruders around. These great alarm birds will squawk and even wail upon sighting something different or new within their areas of influence. Their commotion is one reason why snakes keep away from them.
Bear in mind that snakes hate commotion as they prefer a calm and peaceful environment rather than loud and unpleasant squawking sounds. They also avoid getting too close to birds running around. Therefore, such behavior is enough to keep away or prevent snakes from accessing your property.
Will Snakes Eat Guinea Fowl Eggs?
Yes! Snakes can steal and eat guinea fowl eggs if they find them. Snakes prefer stealing guinea fowl eggs more than they do for chicken eggs.
Here are the reasons:
- Guinea fowl eggs are relatively smaller than chicken eggs. For that reason, they are easier to steal or swallow.
- Guinea fowl tend to construct their nests in places they think they are safe and hidden from other animals.
More often than not, they build the nests outside and away from their coop or nesting boxes. As a result, their eggs become easy targets by predators including snakes.
You can find where they are nesting and scoop the eggs as soon as they are laid to prevent attracting snakes to your yard. Doing so will also discourage your guinea fowl from building up clutches of eggs and going broody.
Benefits of Keeping Guinea Fowl
Keeping guinea fowl goes beyond protecting other animals on the farm against snakes. These birds have other benefits too. They include:
– General Pest Control
Your guinea fowl will help control pests such as spiders and ticks. Some other creepy crawlies will also be controlled by your guinea fowl. In fact, insects are usually a staple diet of guinea fowl. They eat them as quickly as they spot them crawling or hopping on the ground.
– Easy to Maintain
Guinea fowl are inexpensive to keep. They don’t consume as much commercial feed as chickens and are more self-sufficient compared to other poultry. Most importantly, guinea fowl don’t have many health issues. Their coops don’t cost much since they don’t need roosting bars or nesting boxes.
– Production of Tasty Eggs
Guinea fowl are known for their tasty eggs. They lay smaller eggs than chicken eggs that are very delicious. Their meat is tasty too.
Conclusion
Guinea fowl are quite resourceful birds. In addition to their delicious meat and eggs, guinea fowl can provide security around your backyard. These colorful birds can protect other poultry against predators such as snakes.
They always deter snakes from reaching your farm by killing them or scaring them off. Also, they can eat small snakes whenever they come across them while roaming in your compound.
