Do guinea hens hatch their own eggs?

[R2elk]

I have a guinea that is currently sitting 15 eggs...the problem is, she is the only guinea I have. I am wondering if maybe she is sitting on other hens eggs...could a rooster have gotten to her or is this typical for them to sit on unfertilized eggs? She won't let me near them, she is very protective of her nest...

Guinea hens do not know whether or not the eggs are fertile. When they have a big enough clutch, they will go broody.If you have chickens, it is possible that she has some of those eggs under. Only an inspection of her nest will let you know what is there. If you have a chicken rooster, it is possible for the rooster to breed the guinea hen allowing her eggs to be fertile.

If you can inspect the nest and candle the eggs, you should be able to tell whether they are developing or not.

 

[justin shrew]

and in that,most keets born in the wet season have hard time to reach adulthood,than those born in the dry season...

 

[Angus2914]

I have heard that guineas don't hatch/brood their eggs. But I have also heard from some people and websites that they do hatch their eggs. I am very confused. Will I need an incubator or not? I need to know.

I can help with some information, just four days ago one of my Guinea hens hatched out twelve eggs. What has been very interesting, has been the fact that it seems the nest was a community nest, in that there were two other hens that had laid their eggs in the same nest, but one hen did the sitting. After the keets were hatched, the two other hens are very interested in the nurturing of the young keets. My mistake was that it should have been twice as many to hatch, but I intervened and took twelve of the eggs and placed them in an incubator with no hatch, zero. Lesson learned.

 

[FARKESU]

They do what people are afraid is that the chicks become to clever. They will not come near you unless if you are very caring.

 

[FARKESU]

Moreover, if allowed to hatch her eggs you will never get closer to the keets cause they will be very clever. The mother will not allow them near you. They will become wild as such.

 

[Jean1113]

How soon after the eggs are laid do you need to set them? I have about 48 in the pen, laid probably over the last week.

 

[R2elk]

How soon after the eggs are laid do you need to set them? I have about 48 in the pen, laid probably over the last week.

No different than any other eggs. The recommended length of storage time is 7 to 10 days. The longer you store them the lower hatch rate you can expect.

I normally stored mine for 14 days but have successfully hatched eggs as old as 21 days. How you store them can also affect how well they will hatch.

 

[Jean1113]

No different than any other eggs. The recommended length of storage time is 7 to 10 days. The longer you store them the lower hatch rate you can expect.

I normally stored mine for 14 days but have successfully hatched eggs as old as 21 days. How you store them can also affect how well they will hatch.

Thank you