Idea for African Tortoises

[Deleted member 160212]

I'm a big idea guy. Lots of things come to my mind. I've had this thought for awhile so I figured it'd be best to put it up to the experts. Some may think of it as a stupid question/idea, but to me there is no such thing as a stupid, or too crazy idea. I'm a homesteader. I keep mostly traditional livestock: chickens, ducks, goats and the sort; and then there's the Guinea-Fowl. Originating from Africa, (alike african tortoises) these birds serve as great protection and pest control, keeping especially ticks at bay along with predators. I currently house mine with my chickens. My idea was, if I would take a hatching guinea-egg, or just a very young keet (baby guinea) and put them with the tortoises so they would bond/imprint. They could guard them, and keep potentially harmful pests away including rodents & snakes. Feces could be a problem, but if they free-range in a tortoise area, then there would be too much space for it to be an issue. Guinea-fowl don't like the cold as well as African Tortoises, and are from the same native range. They could have a seperate area for a perch in the tortoise house, or have their own shed & perch to control feces. I think this could be a great solution for any pest problems, or predatory issues especially for hatchlings or young tortoises.

So there it is; my dumb question.
Any thoughts are great.

 

[TammyJ]

Adorable guinea fowl!

 

[Deleted member 160212]

Adorable guinea fowl!

Yes, I have them and they are an absolute blessing.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

The first issue that comes to mind is the tortoises eating guinea feces or the other way around.

I would like to know more about how they would co exist in their native range.

Any chance of aggression from the sulcata to the guinea-fowl? Tortoises don't bond like birds do.

 

[wellington]

Also keep in mind. In the wild of Africa, their coexistence, if any, is in a much bigger land mass area, with lots of trees, shrubs, rocks, etc than anyone can give.
Tortoises don't bond, they are solitary animals. Sulcatas also are bull dozers and one ram and the bird could be dead or severely hurt. I don't think the poop problem would be a big problem unless you treat the bird with medications. I have never seen my tortoises purposely eat bird or my chickens poop that they occasionally come across.
Not sure hope the bird would react. Hopefully not peck a tortoise eye out.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

. I have never seen my tortoises purposely eat bird or my chickens poop that they occasionally come across.

My Russian will purposefully eat bird poop, if it is white

 

[wellington]

My Russian will purposefully eat bird poop, if it is white

Must not be a picky eater. My Russian is a picky eater

 

[Tom]

I'm a big idea guy. Lots of things come to my mind. I've had this thought for awhile so I figured it'd be best to put it up to the experts. Some may think of it as a stupid question/idea, but to me there is no such thing as a stupid, or too crazy idea. I'm a homesteader. I keep mostly traditional livestock: chickens, ducks, goats and the sort; and then there's the Guinea-Fowl. Originating from Africa, (alike african tortoises) these birds serve as great protection and pest control, keeping especially ticks at bay along with predators. I currently house mine with my chickens. My idea was, if I would take a hatching guinea-egg, or just a very young keet (baby guinea) and put them with the tortoises so they would bond/imprint. They could guard them, and keep potentially harmful pests away including rodents & snakes. Feces could be a problem, but if they free-range in a tortoise area, then there would be too much space for it to be an issue. Guinea-fowl don't like the cold as well as African Tortoises, and are from the same native range. They could have a seperate area for a perch in the tortoise house, or have their own shed & perch to control feces. I think this could be a great solution for any pest problems, or predatory issues especially for hatchlings or young tortoises.

So there it is; my dumb question.
Any thoughts are great.

Dude. I love your way of thinking.

We've had the tick question come up here, and I'm constantly telling people there is no better or more effective way to get rid of ticks than guinea fowl. Toxic pesticides aren't going to work for many reasons, and other "holistic" type methods are ineffective. Guinea fowl simply decimate ticks and spend all day every day hunting and eating every last one.

On to your question: It is doubtful that a chick will bond with a chelonian, but I have never tried, so maybe I'm wrong. It would be pretty cool. I'd love to see how it goes if you try it. There is some risk of the chick pecking at the tortoise as it grows, but that seems unlikely too. Why would it do that? I can see why a territorial adult might do that to drive the tortoise away, but not a chick that has grown up with the tortoise as part of its environment. I wouldn't be too concerned about the poop from one chick spread out over a large outdoor area, but it might be a concern over night if they are both confined to the night box. I wonder if you could install a low perch over a small box of dirt that would absorb the droppings and keep the tortoise from accessing the droppings? Maybe see where the chick chooses to sleep, and put its "litter box" there.

Another thing to consider is that your local ticks aren't going to bother a tortoise. Wrong species. That being the case, I don't think there would be much benefit to this endeavor other than the curiosity of it. Still, I'm curious. Maybe curiosity is reason enough. Enjoy your experiment and share what you learn, one way or the other.

You'll love this story: When my daughter was younger, she would come to the ranch with me daily and play with all the animals. She was known as the "chicken whisperer" and spent hours making spa days for her favored chickens, washing their feet, bathing them, treating them for mites and other ailments when needed, making them frozen cake treats in summer with tasty treats and mealworms, and warm cakes on cold winter days.

One day she comes running over all excited, "Dad Dad! You have to come see this! I did something!" I responded, "Okay honey, let's go see." She walked me over to the pigeon loft and tells me to look into one of the nest boxes. I peer over the edge and there is a chicken chick looking back at me with a bewildered looking pigeon mom sitting next to it. My daughter took a chicken egg and put it under a mama pigeon that was sitting on eggs. It hatched. My daughter was about 8 years old at this time, and we made a science fair entry out of it. She won first place in the whole school.

I quickly removed the baby chick before it jumped out on its own, and we set it up in a brooder trough with some other chicks that we'd recently acquired. It grew up to be a normal chicken in spite of its unusual start in life.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Must not be a picky eater. My Russian is a picky eater

He can be a picky eater, but the first time this happened, he looked at it, gave it a smell and the opened his mouth wide ready to take a bite, until I snatched him ( I feared he might get worms or something). I guess this happens when something is completely new, and not a plant. I have had to yank a rock from his mouth too.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I

We've had the tick question come up here, and I'm constantly telling people there is no better or more effective way to get rid of ticks than guinea fowl. Toxic pesticides aren't going to work for many reasons, and other "holistic" type methods are ineffective. Guinea fowl simply decimate ticks and spend all day every day hunting and eating every last one.

I remember you telling that to me! Unfortunately, guinea-fowls aren't a thing here in Finland. I had to google it and the only result I found in Finnish was what wines to pair with guinea-fowls.

 

[Deleted member 160212]

I have had to yank a rock from his mouth too.

What? Tortoises don't eat grit like birds???

 

[Deleted member 160212]

Dude. I love your way of thinking.

We've had the tick question come up here, and I'm constantly telling people there is no better or more effective way to get rid of ticks than guinea fowl. Toxic pesticides aren't going to work for many reasons, and other "holistic" type methods are ineffective. Guinea fowl simply decimate ticks and spend all day every day hunting and eating every last one.

On to your question: It is doubtful that a chick will bond with a chelonian, but I have never tried, so maybe I'm wrong. It would be pretty cool. I'd love to see how it goes if you try it. There is some risk of the chick pecking at the tortoise as it grows, but that seems unlikely too. Why would it do that? I can see why a territorial adult might do that to drive the tortoise away, but not a chick that has grown up with the tortoise as part of its environment. I wouldn't be too concerned about the poop from one chick spread out over a large outdoor area, but it might be a concern over night if they are both confined to the night box. I wonder if you could install a low perch over a small box of dirt that would absorb the droppings and keep the tortoise from accessing the droppings? Maybe see where the chick chooses to sleep, and put its "litter box" there.

Another thing to consider is that your local ticks aren't going to bother a tortoise. Wrong species. That being the case, I don't think there would be much benefit to this endeavor other than the curiosity of it. Still, I'm curious. Maybe curiosity is reason enough. Enjoy your experiment and share what you learn, one way or the other.

You'll love this story: When my daughter was younger, she would come to the ranch with me daily and play with all the animals. She was known as the "chicken whisperer" and spent hours making spa days for her favored chickens, washing their feet, bathing them, treating them for mites and other ailments when needed, making them frozen cake treats in summer with tasty treats and mealworms, and warm cakes on cold winter days.

One day she comes running over all excited, "Dad Dad! You have to come see this! I did something!" I responded, "Okay honey, let's go see." She walked me over to the pigeon loft and tells me to look into one of the nest boxes. I peer over the edge and there is a chicken chick looking back at me with a bewildered looking pigeon mom sitting next to it. My daughter took a chicken egg and put it under a mama pigeon that was sitting on eggs. It hatched. My daughter was about 8 years old at this time, and we made a science fair entry out of it. She won first place in the whole school.

I quickly removed the baby chick before it jumped out on its own, and we set it up in a brooder trough with some other chicks that we'd recently acquired. It grew up to be a normal chicken in spite of its unusual start in life.