Broody guinea hatch

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

One more hatchling in the incubator this morning.fingers crossed for more.
Here's a pic of my two broody females and young male in the run with 2 keets under each one until one popped out.

Cute photo! It’s nice that your adults are cooperatively raising your keets!

 

[southwind00]

One more hatchling last night as I made my final night time check which surprised me. What is the usual time when my hens will start laying again? Not that I'm looking to hatch any more this year, just wondering?

 

[AllenK RGV]

So I read the first page and am curious would you call cooperative rearing a success with Guineas? In my chicken I have had nothing but non stop disaster trying this as they fight over the chicks until they are dead dead dead.

I also read that you had a chilled one at one point would a MHP backup be a good option for you?

 

[southwind00]

So I read the first page and am curious would you call cooperative rearing a success with Guineas? In my chicken I have had nothing but non stop disaster trying this as they fight over the chicks until they are dead dead dead.

I also read that you had a chilled one at one point would a MHP backup be a good option for you?

Success with Guineas is an elusive thing, and with this hatch it's still an ongoing project. I am noticing my white female getting kind of bossy around my lavender and my dominant male and mate get kind of belligerent just before roosting but the keets are fast enough and agile enough to escape any minor aggressive behavior.

“I also read that you had a chilled one at one point would a MHP backup be a good option for you? “


I don't know what you mean by a chilled one or MHP back up.

 

[AllenK RGV]

If you search the learning center @Blooie did a writeup on her Momma Heat pad. Essentially it is a heat pad. I have converted over to using one for my last 3 hatches. Ill edit in the link.

Not the best landing spot for her article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-heating-pad.67728/?page=2#ams-comment-510338

 

[southwind00]

If you search the learning center @Blooie did a writeup on her Momma Heat pad. Essentially it is a heat pad. I have converted over to using one for my last 3 hatches. Ill edit in the link.

I just use a heat lamp which works well, they can get under the warmest area or escape to cooler parts. I'm constantly monitoring the temp.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

One more hatchling last night as I made my final night time check which surprised me. What is the usual time when my hens will start laying again? Not that I'm looking to hatch any more this year, just wondering?

Mine seem to be taking around 3 weeks to start laying again after broodiness breaks. The Guinea hen that is caring for the current almost 5 week old keet does not seem to be laying yet (though I could be wrong about that!).

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

So I read the first page and am curious would you call cooperative rearing a success with Guineas? In my chicken I have had nothing but non stop disaster trying this as they fight over the chicks until they are dead dead dead.

I also read that you had a chilled one at one point would a MHP backup be a good option for you?

Hi Allen, for myself, I’d call success any guinea keets making it to adulthood after being incubated and cared for from within the flock. I have lost 3/4 of the keets that hatched a month ago, and clearly I’m not thrilled about the losses, so I’m trying to make adjustments. My biggest loss was to a black rat snake that invaded the coop, so that’s currently my biggest problem. That whole disaster might be the chilled keet that you are referring too, but the core problem there was a snake that invaded the coop in the daytime (when the chicken door opens) during an intense storm that knocked out my coop camera. I’ve since had another snake invade and the coop in the day during a storm; fortunately I found that invader quickly and there were no losses. We have a lot of black rat snakes, and they seem to be drawn to guinea fowl. I might redo the guinea fence in the fall to better exclude snakes, but since they are free ranging birds, there is always going to be a door open.

Regarding the MHP, I do have a brooder plate, and plan to use that if the moms roost instead of staying on the ground with keets. That’s happened now with two “successful” guinea coop broods that I’ve had now. Last year, when moms roosted and abandoned the keet, I pulled the keet and put into a home brooder. This year, that happened again several times: otherwise excellent mom Scout Red roosted and left her keets on the ground. Interestingly, hen Welch was sitting on eggs in the coop, and she kept the babies warm under her wings all night. In the morning, Scout Red took the babies back. The babies were roosting with mom at 2-3 weeks, but sometime they fell off the roost and then go cuddle with Welch instead. So, having a broody guinea on the ground also seems like a good backup plan, with the brooder plate as Plan B, or C...

 

[southwind00]

Another hatchling which makes four now. I've read on another thread that BennieandtheJets is trying to sneak a keet under the hen. I'll be interested to find out how that works because I now have four in the garage which will have to be integrated with the other bunch.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Another hatchling which makes four now. I've read on another thread that BennieandtheJets is trying to sneak a keet under the hen. I'll be interested to find out how that works because I now have four in the garage which will have to be integrated with the other bunch.

OMG that is so adorable - goals!!!!