am i the only one still waiting on eggs?

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
Do they free range at all? They could be laying somewhere else. They looooove the hide the nest game!

 

[birdbrain5]

i've been keeping them locked up. they do get plenty of light in there. hopefully ill find something within a week or so, one hen keeps going in the box and just hangin out. they are a lot less noisey lately too for whatever reason.

 

[beesong]

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PeepsCA, where in No. California are you? I'm near Mt. Shasta and have been incubating guinea eggs since January, too. I'm at the point where I'm wondering what I'm going to do with all these keets! And I still hate to see these fertile eggs go to waste. Anybody need hatching eggs????????

 

[oldiabird]

I have been getting a few eggs this last week, but got a couple inches of snow again last night and the same on Saturday nite, had three eggs on Friday and only one Saturday and Sunday and none yesterday, but have a light on all nite in the coop, so don't know for sure if it's the lite(probable) making them start , but the snow and colder temps are really messing with them, had 60 degree days last week and now this week lows in the 20's and highs of 36 this week. I have my guineas in with my chickens, and the guineas probably mess with the nests alot more than if I had them separated, but I know from past, that if you just let the guineas free range , you'll be lucky to find any eggs as the nite critters seem to have a way of finding their hor'sdourves and leaving none for hatching!!

 

[bockbock2008]

I'm in Southern Indiana and I'm still wating too

I also keep my chickens and guineas together and for the past couple weeks with the flood water up, predators have been a little restricted on where they can go so I've had more visits from them. Needless to say, freeranging has NOT been happening very often lately. I think they ahve been out twice for a couple hours in the evening in the past 3 weeks. There is a 30' x 40' run attached to their coop and for the past 10-12 days, some of the guineas have been spending alot more time in there than usual. I also have learned to keep them penned in until they have been laying for a couple weeks in the nest boxes and had no problem with hidden nests.

 

[KZ]

I found my first guinea egg behind the barn 2 days ago, and yesterday she laid in the chicken nest box. I have 3 females and one male, so it's likely only one is laying so far.

They are not quite a year old, and from what I read, I am under the impression they may not be able to lay fertile eggs yet - is that correct? I don't know if it makes a difference, but they are visiting (often) with the older guinea boys and girls next door. I would love to hatch some later in the season. I tried hatching some last year from an older breeding pair and out of about 90 eggs (no joke) not a single one was fertile.

 

[PeepsCA]

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beesong, I'm on Hwy 20 between Marysville and Grass Valley. I post flyers at all the local feed stores and on the local swapshop website and I'll call in on their radio show. I also use craigslist A LOT... I'm hatching a bunch of Pieds this year, and man do people swoop on the Pieds! I'll also be selling keets down in the Roseville area, via my Mom, if I advertise them down there and bring them to her. So I have a pretty broad area for sales.

I usually sell my keets pretty fast, sold 300+ last year. The ones that didn't sell fast I kept for a while until they matured and I eventually sold them all. I always have people wanting mature Guineas that are feathered and no longer need to be in a brooder. I'll be selling fertile eggs eventually too, but for now, I'm on a mission to hatch as many Lavenders and Coral Blues as I can this year, lol.

What colors are in your flock? I may come buy a couple dozen eggs from you if have something besides Pearls and Royal Purples.

 

[PeepsCA]

KZ... if you have a male, chances are your Hen is laying fertile eggs, or will be very soon. My Hens are under a year old and are fertile myrtles, lol. You can always crack one open and take a look at the germinal disc on the yolk... if the egg is fertile it will look like a bull's eye (aka blastoderm), if it's infertile there will just be a smaller white dot on the yolk (aka blastodisc). Google those terms, or even just fertile eggs... it should pull up lots of pics for you to compare with

PS...
Just a note on the 90 infertile eggs you mentioned... depending on how they were stored prior to incubation could have effected their viability. If they were stored too long (past 14 days), or they got too warm or too cold, or even if they were too dirty can spoil a whole incubator load. When the weather is crazy hot during summer and fall, I tend to get a lot of infertile eggs. Either they were not breeding during those months or it was just too hot for the sperm to be viable (the Hen can carry it around and use it as she needs it for up to 14 days). Also the diet of the breeding pair can effect fertility as well. Many contributing factors... unfortunately there's usually too many to figure out why!

 

[beesong]

Quote:
beesong, I'm on Hwy 20 between Marysville and Grass Valley. I post flyers at all the local feed stores and on the local swapshop website and I'll call in on their radio show. I also use craigslist A LOT... I'm hatching a bunch of Pieds this year, and man do people swoop on the Pieds! I'll also be selling keets down in the Roseville area, via my Mom, if I advertise them down there and bring them to her. So I have a pretty broad area for sales.

I usually sell my keets pretty fast, sold 300+ last year. The ones that didn't sell fast I kept for a while until they matured and I eventually sold them all. I always have people wanting mature Guineas that are feathered and no longer need to be in a brooder. I'll be selling fertile eggs eventually too, but for now, I'm on a mission to hatch as many Lavenders and Coral Blues as I can this year, lol.

What colors are in your flock? I may come buy a couple dozen eggs from you if have something besides Pearls and Royal Purples.

Wow -- I wish I had a customer base like that; it would certainly solve my hatching addiction. I have Pearls split to lavender; have hatched several lavenders this year. I only have 3 hens laying right now, but I'm already awash in keets..... I'll likely post them on CL, too.

 

[Twin Mom]

I'm in south Texas and just got my first guinea eggs today. Which is awesome cause I have a broody as of last night, and no bator.