Fake eggs

[Guinealand]

Has anyone found it helpful to use fake eggs to get their guineas to use nesting boxes?

 

[sourland]

I hope they work for you. I have never been able to make Guinea fowl do anything. Fake eggs are worth a try. Good luck.

 

[R2elk]

Has anyone found it helpful to use fake eggs to get their guineas to use nesting boxes?

I made my own fake guinea eggs using Sculpey oven bake clays. I am not using them to get the guineas to lay in nest boxes. I do use them to get the guinea hens to continue using the same nest once I find it and start removing their eggs. I learned this past summer that if I leave at least 3 fake eggs in the current nest that they will continue using the nest for a much longer period of time than if I just leave one fake egg.

 

[red horse ranch]

I might use old guinea eggs as 'fake' eggs in a guinea nest if they are marked so I remember that they are old. But I haven't had much luck fooling them with fake chicken eggs.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Has anyone found it helpful to use fake eggs to get their guineas to use nesting boxes?

Yes, but I’ve mostly used old guinea eggs to encourage them to keep laying in a wild nest while I take the eggs every night. Unfortunately, predators came and took my old eggs, so then I made glue filled eggs from blown out guinea eggs and used those. That worked fine when I got them to lay in the coop, but the predators took those from wild nests too!!!

For laying in the coop, what worked for me is this plastic box turned on it’s side, bedded with hay, and placed in a tight corner with a board over it. I then locked the guineas into their coop/run until they adopted this as their nest. I also tried the same box with a lid and large hole, but they never used that.

I saved a bunch of guinea eggs from last year and am still working on blowing those out and filling with glue. My current plan is to build new nest boxes and seed with the glue eggs, then lock up guineas until they use the nest boxes. I’m already seeing mating behavior in mine, so I’m really hoping that they wait until April to lay as my new nest boxes will take some time...

 

[Guinealand]

Yes, but I’ve mostly used old guinea eggs to encourage them to keep laying in a wild nest while I take the eggs every night. Unfortunately, predators came and took my old eggs, so then I made glue filled eggs from blown out guinea eggs and used those. That worked fine when I got them to lay in the coop, but the predators took those from wild nests too!!!

For laying in the coop, what worked for me is this plastic box turned on it’s side, bedded with hay, and placed in a tight corner with a board over it. I then locked the guineas into their coop/run until they adopted this as their nest. I also tried the same box with a lid and large hole, but they never used that.

I saved a bunch of guinea eggs from last year and am still working on blowing those out and filling with glue. My current plan is to build new nest boxes and seed with the glue eggs, then lock up guineas until they use the nest boxes. I’m already seeing mating behavior in mine, so I’m really hoping that they wait until April to lay as my new nest boxes will take some time...

Thanks, I will have to try that.