I have always loved chickens, I got it from my grandmother. I had chickens when I was a teenager (in the 1980's) but since then had not had the time or a good place to keep them. On October 27th of last year, I went to the feed store to buy three chicks to bring home to the new coop my brother built for me. I said they were for my boys (yeah right, for the kids, sure). The feed store was out of chicks but had keets. I bought four and put them in a box in the garage with a lamp to keep them warm. A week later I added three chicks There turned out to be 3 girl keets and 1 boy. The chicks were sex-linked and all girls. One of the female guineas disappeared one day and was never seen again. The male and one of the females paired up and the other was a tag along 'third wheel." They started laying eggs in the woods but I found it and collected eggs (not all) and they abandoned that nest. They layed in the nest boxes with the chickens for a while but not for long. Then they started a nest in the flowerbed by a window. I didn't collect any of the eggs from there because it was a pretty safe place and was easy to watch. I wanted them close ti home where preditors are less likely to get them. Both females laid in the nest and soon there were 36 eggs! On Friday, June 25th, the male was hit by a car. That afternoon the girls called and called until time to go to the coop. The next morning, the "third wheel" started setting on the nest. The widow got lonely and joined her a week later! I didn't think the hens would stay on the nest because they were young and this was their first time. I had heard on this site that they aren't very good mothers. I didn't think half the eggs would even be fertile. On day 26, there were three baby keets. I was glad and the two proud moms paraded around the house for all to see, leaving the nest and 33 eggs. I debated over taking the keets to raise in the box in the garage or leaving them with their devoted moms. I watched them all afternoon running and tumbling along in the grass on the opposite side of the house from the nest. At dark, they bedded down in yet another location, this time under a low growing Chinese Lantern plant near the back door. I thought they would be safe there for the night, so I left them. The next morning, I went to clean out the "bad" eggs and there were three more keets and several of the eggs were pipped! There was a hen in the nest and one dead baby that I think the hen either stepped on or pecked and it bled to death. To make a long story short, I grabbed the incubator that a co-worker gave me and brought the whole clutch in to see what I could do. I had three stages of progress. The bator with eggs and brand new, wet keets, a small box with weak or problem keets, and a big box with the strong ones that I was debating raising in the garage so they would be safe. In between checking on everything, I was on the internet trying to learn everything I needed to know about it because I had never hatched any eggs before. I learned (crash course style) about temp and humidity levels, how to candle eggs, egg anatomy, when to help and when not to help, and how hatching works. I had to help some hatch, put braces on several splayed legs, give sugar water and even pipped two of the eggs myself! I now have 26 strong keets one who is still in the box gaining strength in it's legs and one poor weak little darling in the bator who can't hold it's head up but who is hanging on. There are nine eggs which I am almost positive do not hold live chicks still in the bator. I'm going to leave them until the poor baby either graduates to the box or dies. The question of where and how to raise the keets has solved itself for the moment. Both moms are in the box in the garage under the light with all the babies underneath! Good thing for me that guineas can't count! It has been a heck of a week!
