Can a guinea raise a chick?

[floodc]

Our guineas are laying on the coop floor. (In an excellent area that we can partition off when they start brooding. Yay!) BUT... Our wacky little mottled houdan chicken has decided she's a guinea and is laying her eggs with the guineas. I've been taking her eggs out, but the guineas should start brooding soon. My questions - if I can't get the houdan's eggs out from under the guinea after she starts to sit, and chicken eggs do hatch, what will a guinea mama do with a chick? I know it's popular, the other way around - to have chickens raise guineas, but has anyone ever had a guinea raise a chick? Thanks!!!

 

[R2elk]

Our guineas are laying on the coop floor. (In an excellent area that we can partition off when they start brooding. Yay!) BUT... Our wacky little mottled houdan chicken has decided she's a guinea and is laying her eggs with the guineas. I've been taking her eggs out, but the guineas should start brooding soon. My questions - if I can't get the houdan's eggs out from under the guinea after she starts to sit, and chicken eggs do hatch, what will a guinea mama do with a chick? I know it's popular, the other way around - to have chickens raise guineas, but has anyone ever had a guinea raise a chick? Thanks!!!

Part of the problem with leaving chicken eggs under a guinea is the chicken eggs hatch in 21 days versus the 26 - 28 days for guineas. It is possible that the guinea hen would leave the nest before her own eggs would hatch once the chicken eggs hatch.

Good luck.

 

[micah wotring]

So, wait
Do guineas go broody lots?

From what floodc said it sound like they are pretty constant.

Well, I guess it would depend on the breed.

Anybody know?

 

[ludwing]

( around 2003 or 2004) The friend of mine have had a buch of chicks raised by a flock of guineafowls hatched in the field. she believed that her laying chickens shared a nest with guineas. but she noticed that the guineahens did not have too much on their chicks, but the males were like the mothers, feeding,brooding chicks overnight.

So yes guineas can raise chicks successfully....

 

[redguinea]

I have hatched turkey poults under guinea hens because the turkey had too many eggs. Also works the other way turkeys will hatch guineas. Your only problem is the different hatching times between chickens and guineas. So if you can get the houdans eggs out that would be the best option.

 

[racuda]

I am doing this right now. There was a nest of Icelandic eggs in a corner of the coop and a couple of days ago a Guinea hen was sitting there. That night she was still there.

The next day I threw out some scratch and the Guinea hen left the nest to get some and I took her two eggs out of the nest, leaving eight chicken eggs. I have hatched lots of chicken eggs under Guineas, but never the other way round.