Guinea talk.

[R2elk]

Let me pop a question here.
I own a breeding trio of Bantams, plus my 7 guinea squad soon to be army.
Would it be ok if I put Guinea fowl eggs under one of my bantie hens if she went broody instead of the incubator?

Banties make really good incubators.

 

[dan26552]

My lavender guinea turned out to be so pretty! As well as quite friendly.

 

[Dmontgomery]

@Dmontgomery - haven't heard from you in a while. Hope the egg laying and nesting is progressing on to keets. It's a whole new world!

Thank you for missing me! I was kinda avoiding any updates because I felt like I was jinxing myself.
Gertrude and Gary are now on their 3rd attempt at babies this year. The "nest in the woods" I mentioned back in April got flooded out. It was a terribly wet spring here. I never did find the nest, but the general area they were going to was under several inches of water for a while.
I can't find where I posted her first try at nesting in the coop. She dug a DEEP hole in a pile of hay, right next to a row of nesting boxes. She deposited 5 eggs and got us all excited. Then one afternoon they were all gone. Our first thought was another snake but we never could find it or any expelled shells. It couldn't have gotten out of the coop with eggs inside it. The next day we caught one of the Bassett Hounds stealing chicken eggs. So Gertrude got depressed and quit laying.
A couple weeks ago she built another nest in the exact same spot! Don't tell anybody (remember the jinx), but as of yesterday there were 13 eggs in it. The chicken hens are happy with the new nest too. They lay about 6-8 eggs in it everyday! The guineas don't seem to mind the extra traffic as long as we remove the chicken eggs every day.
Gertrude has become much friendlier since starting this clutch. She is being rewarded each day with a few extra worms for protein and extra seed just because she likes it. She even hopped up in my chair the other day to beg for more. Scared the cr@p out of me at first because none of the guineas have ever wanted to be close to us. It has had the exact opposite effect on Gary though. During regular treat time we give everybody either bread, wild bird seed, or meal worms. Gary will not let anybody anywhere near Gertrude while she is snacking! He has become really aggressive. It's pretty cool to watch him care for her so much.
I kind of worry about how big a defensive perimeter he is going to set up around her nest once she starts going broody though. I'm wondering if I should build an enclosure just around them to give them privacy or if that would freak her out too much.

 

[Wendy75309]

I am every excited to follow this I just got my first keets. Cant wait love watching them grow.

 

[guinealeghorn]

Congrats on your new keets! Aren't the keets cute?

 

[Wendy75309]

Congrats on your new keets! Aren't the keets cute?

I love them, they are in with my chicks. I am shocked at how fast they grow and change.

 

[guinealeghorn]

I was wondering if anyone knows for incubating if guinea eggs need the same tremp and humidity as chicken eggs. I want to hatch some guinea and chicken eggs, and would like to do in the same batch.

 

[R2elk]

I was wondering if anyone knows for incubating if guinea eggs need the same tremp and humidity as chicken eggs. I want to hatch some guinea and chicken eggs, and would like to do in the same batch.

When I incubate chicken eggs and guinea eggs at the same time, I put the guinea eggs in 7 days before I put the chicken eggs in. I use the settings for both. If I am incubating guinea eggs (45-50%) by themselves I will try to run the humidity a little higher than I use for chicken eggs (30-35%).

 

[guinealeghorn]

Thank you. I will follow your advice and put them in 7 days early.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Hey everyone. I have a question pertaining to one of my keets. His or Her beak has such an over bite that when it talks its mandible doesn't clear the top. James called our vet this morning and they want $55 to trim the beak. Is there a way I can file it at home to make it more uniform for it to eat and talk comfortably?