can you incubate chicken and guinea eggs at the same time?

[mylittlehof]

I found our Guinea's nest and wanted to add the eggs to a Kindergarten teacher friend of mine who is starting a batch of Chicken eggs for her class on Monday - can I add the Guinea eggs in with her chicken eggs? Thanks!

 

[Indiana hens]

It is nice to have them hatch at the same time.

 

[Harley's girl]

Start the guinea eggs a week before. I think that it takes 28 days for the guineas to hatch.

So if she would start the guineas 7 days before then they will all hatch at the same time.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Incubation times for chickens and Guineas are a bit different. Also, you NEED to turn the eggs every day. Now, if you are going to do this manually it is not really a problem. However, Once the chickens start to hatch you WILL NEED a brooder for them while the Guineas continue to incubate and get turned. You will be hatching chicks in the bator while the Guinea eggs continue to get turned. This gets somewhat complicated, but can be done.

Now, if you have an automatic turner, you will need TWO incubators. One to take the chickens off the turner at day 18 and one to continue turning the Guineas. One bator with turner and one without a turner in it.

I use an OLD LG incubator for my chicks that need to come off the turner at day 18 and just leave the auto turner in the other bator.

Remember, you will need to have a steady humidity and temperature in BOTH incubators.

Once they are hatched (staggered) you can move them to a brooder that does not control humidity, but you will need a warm light on them to keep the temperature at about 90 degrees F.

The incubation period for a guinea fowl egg to hatch is 28 days, for chickens 21 days

Hope this makes sense

 

[mylittlehof]

Thanks for all your help! It does all make sense.

 

[mylittlehof]

Update on the Guinea eggs: 17 eggs hatched from the incubator - we put them in with already warming chicken eggs. Only a few of the chick eggs hatched. According to the AG agent - we "cross-contaminated" the chicken eggs and that is why they didn't hatch. The Guinea keets all found homes as did the surviving chickens. I'm back down to two boy guineas - which is ok by me - I wouldn't want to go thru this again.

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
Piffle on the extension agent. I've mixed groups of chickens, turkeys and guineas and had the majority hatch. And I'm doing it AGAIN.

 

[gdaryl333]

We mixed chicken and guinea eggs before. And have had a 98% hatch rate. Just mark the eggs and keep track of the time. And enjoy the outcome.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I'm hatching guinea eggs right now. Two are pipping as I type this. The instructions I was given for guinea eggs was that they need a higher humidity throughout the incubation period, like ducks, and take 28 days like ducks.

Laurie

 

[walkswithdog]

(aside) I thought it was accurately, "An ye harm none, do as ye will"...