Broody guinea hen hatching eggs

Hello,
Our guinea hen proudly paraded with her 24 babies yesterday!!!
Only 2 eggs were not hatched; we placed them both under our silky, where one hatched.

We were able to capture all of the keets and put them in the coop.
Fortunately, mom and dad joined them!
I was a nervous wreck because Sheba and Madagascar paced back and forth, while stepping on the keets.
Last night, Sheba no longer wanted to be a part of his new family. I opened the coop door for his escape, but he had no idea that it was an exit.
I finally had to remove the coop roof so he could fly to freedom and roost on his new favorite spot, the electrical wire!

Is this a common amount of keets hatched by a guinea hen???
I am still in awe that she laid so many eggs and all but 1 has hatched!
We live in Louisiana and have had record rainfall over last month.
Everything I read about broody Guinea hens convinced me that we may have 5 hatchlings!

rhmnola74 said:

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Hello,
Our guinea hen proudly paraded with her 24 babies yesterday!!!
Only 2 eggs were not hatched; we placed them both under our silky, where one hatched.

We were able to capture all of the keets and put them in the coop.
Fortunately, mom and dad joined them!
I was a nervous wreck because Sheba and Madagascar paced back and forth, while stepping on the keets.
Last night, Sheba no longer wanted to be a part of his new family. I opened the coop door for his escape, but he had no idea that it was an exit.
I finally had to remove the coop roof so he could fly to freedom and roost on his new favorite spot, the electrical wire!

Is this a common amount of keets hatched by a guinea hen???
I am still in awe that she laid so many eggs and all but 1 has hatched!
We live in Louisiana and have had record rainfall over last month.
Everything I read about broody Guinea hens convinced me that we may have 5 hatchlings![/quot

Yes, it is normal for guineas to have large families. But be aware, guinea chicks can be quite fragile. When I had guineas many years ago the mortality rate was very high. One hen hatched over 30 chicks. Within days there was just a few left.

Oh no!
Do u have any advice to keep them alive?

rhmnola74 said:

Oh no!
Do u have any advice to keep them alive?

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Keep them in the coop and don't let mama take them out. It's good that you let daddy out. Too many adults will end up stepping on the keets.
She should not be allowed to free range with the keets, especially since you've been having a lot of rain. The keets get chilled very easily and mama won't stop often enough to keep the keets warm. And sometimes a guinea hen will get too far away from them.
A guinea hen doesn't make the best mother but if kept confined several weeks the keets will have a much better chance of surviving.
I usually end up letting the hen go free after a week or two and raising the keets myself under a heat light.

By the way.......

rhmnola74 said:

Oh no!
Do u have any advice to keep them alive?

Click to expand...

Clean, keep the pen clean. Disinfect feeders and waterers frequently. And everything red horse ranch recommends. Good luck.

How are the keets? You might find this thread useful; Raising Guinea Fowl 101. Consider using a heat lamp along with mom brooding the keets. That way if mom is not keeping them warm enough they can go under the light. You might want to use broody chickens in the future; silkie hens can't be beat when it comes to motherhood-at least that's my opinion.

If this is meant for me I am in Wisconsin. I do not have guinea fowl at the present. I've always been fascinated with birds and over the years I have raised many different species.

The keets are all doing well with their mother in the coop!!!

The guinea egg that hatched under our Silky, Clotele, has been removed with one of Clotele's chicks and is now under a heat lamp.
I caught Clotele pecking and chasing away the keet.
The keet has been making the distress call ever since.

rhmnola74 said:

The keets are all doing well with their mother in the coop!!!

The guinea egg that hatched under our Silky, Clotele, has been removed with one of Clotele's chicks and is now under a heat lamp.
I caught Clotele pecking and chasing away the keet.
The keet has been making the distress call ever since.

Click to expand...

Odd that a broody hen would act that way. Most broodies accept anything that cheeps or peeps. I've had broodies who cared for mallard ducklings, muscovey ducklings, goslings, pheasant chicks, chukar partridge, and guinea chicks too;. Probably others that I don't remember. You might be able to give the chick back to its mother. If you do put the chick under mom at night. But only if the guinea is tame and calm.