I have been reading about these guys lately as a more economical method of pest control. There is no shortage of grasshoppers, ticks, and various other critters here being surrounded by scrub palm. I have roughly 3 acres and was thinking about a dozen or so.

How much work are they for feeding provided I build a coop?
Do they do a good job overall?
If my neighbors house is over 100 yards away on the other side of a 120 foot woods row, will he be complaining about the noise?
Will they hold their own against normal predators or do the chicken thing and hope it wont happen to them?
How good are they with pet dogs? I doubt my rottie will mess with them but will they mess with her?

I can't answer your question, but I do wonder if they can be a source of ticks instead.

Anecdotally, observing where there are a lot of chickens feeding in the woods there are a lot of ticks. I can't go into those woods without picking up at least one tick, usually more, and in another area where there are no chickens I have seen none.

Ticks are small, and don't move most of the time, so would be missed by the birds, and a big meal walking by would be a great place to attach to.

I have never kept guinea fowl myself, but have known folks that have and anecdotally, at least, every one has said that guineas do have a noticeable effect on tick and other insect populations, without, for the most part, pecking at vegetables. Most said that predators were less of an issue than with chickens, but it will likely depend on your location; protected nesting areas are almost certainly a good idea. Reputedly, they aren't very car smart. A former professor friend of mine was once taking a small student group on an outing, and happened upon a flock of guinea hens crossing the road. He thought he would have a bit of fun and pretend to have a grudge against guinea fowl, so he hit the gas, assuming the birds would scatter to safety. With no such luck, he ended up with a grill full of feathers and a van full of students wondering about his sanity.
I have never heard anything regarding noise, but the times I've been around them, it hasn't seemed like much of an issue.

Yeah was definately thinking in this direction. Got so many various species of grasshoppers I could start a book. I think they eat stinkbugs too which I found tons of when I was clearing land this past furlough.

Not sure if they eat caterpillers. Thats another major issue I have on my citrus trees that hopefully these guys get rid of. I get these hawk moth caterpillers which grow to about 5 inches or so if I let them. Kind of cool looking, appearing like small snakes with a snake head, which rears up. Smell horrible and wreak havok on new leaves. Be nice to get rid of that issue instead of plucking them by hand every few days in the spring and fall.

This is a spring time project I am researching for after my unit's deployment finishes(dont want to leave my totally city girl wife to care for a bunch of hatchlings in case I get called up, she has enough issues watering trees in my absence). Will have to warn my neighbors to expect to see them crossing into their yards and not to shoot them(we all have gun ranges in our yards). Probably get started on the coop in the new year.

I don't know what kind of Guinea Fowl you have there.
I often saw the original ones in Africa. They fly very well and sleep in the trees or on the roofs. They are VERY VERY noisy!

Did I mention I wanted a security system for the yard?

A neighboring farm has a dozen or so Guinea fowl. When anyone enters their property the Guinea's make a LOT, an I mean a lot of noise, which alerts the residents. We used to have two peacocks that hung around the farm that also alerted us when a someone came, that until a dog killed one and its mate was scared off. - Millet

I kjnow people who have them.

Roost in trees no coop needed.

Known for their noise they loudly make when anything encroaches on their area.

Google guinea fowl TV.

Also look at Muscovy ducks.

My In-Laws had a flock--definitely good alarm system in the daytime.

Pretty much take care of themselves--probably hawks the biggest threat.

My mother has them and I have raised the keets for her. They are very noisy when strangers come to the house (including me and I am there 1-2 times per week). Her nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away and they roam to that house. Agree with the fact they will roost where they want- trees or rooftops. They are very good for insect control including ticks and grasshoppers. They will even kill rattlesnakes. I do not know if they will bother the citrus or vegetable crops but given they have insects to eat I would doubt it. Some dogs will kill them but they are generally fast and can elude danger. With that having been said, we have hit them with vehicles as well. While they will naturally want to be free and roam, I think you could train them to come back to an enclosure. You would want to keep them in the enclosure for the first few months you get them and then later give them supplemental food and water in the enclosure only.

Everything I read has said if you build a coop and start them there early and feed and water them(animals will go where there is easy food, path of least resistance kind of thing) they will come back every night and base their territory off it.

Yes they will return if you open it in the afternoon to let them in to eat and then close them in for the night. If not closed in they will prefer the trees. I have raised them by the hundreds and even raised flightless birds. Owls are the problem with them roosting in trees and dogs, fox and possums are the problem on the roost if the pen is not secure. As far as insect control I wouldn't count on that. I would say they do as much damage as they benefit. IMHO.

Thanks for that Hershell!

Does anyone know about the muscovy ducks? Suppossed to be bug eaters only!

Edible Landscaping, in Afton, Virginia, has a small flock of Muscovy ducks that are allowed to roam the nursery and orchard. They seem well behaved, but as with most waterfowl, their droppings were more noticeable compared to the galliformes. I don't know about their effectiveness at pest control, although that was the ostensible reason for their presence.

What do you mean by damage Hershell, to beneficial bugs or the trees themselves?