Advice Regarding Guinea Hatching Eggs

[tgperg]

Hello. I wondered if anyone here is familiar with how many eggs a guinea hen will typically lay before she goes broody? Do they reliably go broody after laying a clutch? Can I save the eggs for longer than seven days, or do I need to rotate them like one does with chicken eggs and use up any older than a week?

I have one pair of guinea and I had to pen them up this week due to a situation with our hens. Now the female lays in the pen and I'm gathering the eggs. Do you think she will go broody and set them herself? I would really like to have some keets this year.

Any and all advice about it would be appreciated.

Traci

 

[ColbyNTX]

Mine will lay 18-20 before going broody. Guinea eggs are some of the toughtet eggs. Just let nature take over and you will get keets. If you have them in some kind of pen, it will be safer for momma and the babies. Guineas are not good mothers most of the time in freerange birds. They get the keets wet by romping them through the wet grass and they won't always wait up for stragglers. Then you will see fewer and fewer keets each day until they are all gone unless you live in a desert area. Keep them in a pen and put chicken wire around the bottom so the keets don't escape.

 

[PeepsCA]

Traci...

If you are collecting the eggs she lays in the pen, and then plan on putting them back hoping she will go broody on them, you will most likely be disappointed, the Hen probably won't sit on them. Guineas Hens (mine at least) aren't like broody chicken Hens, they like privacy and a well hidden untouched nest or they will not feel safe enough to sit on their eggs.

If you really want her to hatch some keets for you then (in my opinion) it's best to keep her and her mate penned up, and let her start her own nest of eggs in the pen (lots of people provide a piece of plywood attached to the wall at an angle for their Hens to lay eggs behind). If she does start laying in the pen, she should continue to lay until she feels there's enough to go broody on, usually around 20, as Colby mentioned. There's a much better chance that she will sit on them until they hatch if you do not disturb her too much. If she does actually hatch out keets for you, I suggest taking them as soon as hey are dried and fluffed and raising them in a warm brooder inside. Like Colby said... Guineas are not always the best Mommas.

My Guinea Hens prefer to lay eggs in unsafe nesting spots out in the bushes and tall grass, so if you let your Hen out, that's most likely what will happen. She may have even started a nest outside already somewhere, so you might want to look around. I'd discard those eggs tho, or feed them to your dogs.

If you have a broody chicken Hen, you can stick some of her older eggs that you've already collected under a Hen. Guinea eggs stay viable 10-14 days, sometimes longer, depending on the temps. I have the best success if my collected and stored eggs are kept in a cool, dark place (50-55 degrees) and turned or tilted at least once a day. I suggest bringing them to room temperature before setting them under a broody chicken (or putting them in an incubator like I do).


Best of luck, hope you get some keets

 

[WJD3988]

I have two or three guinea that is laying two are setting on them I want to know after they starting setting on them how long will it be before I will have little one. I noticed yesterday that two didn't want to come off the nest. Not sure how many egg is back under them so I would say that yesterday was the first day they had started setting. New at this so if any one can help .

 

[R2elk]

I have two or three guinea that is laying two are setting on them I want to know after they starting setting on them how long will it be before I will have little one. I noticed yesterday that two didn't want to come off the nest. Not sure how many egg is back under them so I would say that yesterday was the first day they had started setting. New at this so if any one can help .

Guinea eggs take 26 to 28 days to incubate and hatch.