Feeling stupid about hatching

[Motherhenandflock]

What have I done? I'm feeling stupid right now about spending money on guinea eggs off of ebay. They will be shipped from MS to me in ID nearly cross country, through heat and bumpiness and rough handling in the postal service.
Right after I won the ebay auction, I see another auction for guinea eggs. The person is probably less than 10 miles from me! I could have picked them up in person.

Anyway, I will give these a go when they get here later this week.
How long do they need to sit before I put them in the bator? I think I remember 12 hours?
And I was reading in Gardening with Guineas that they should be turned 5 times a day instead of 3 that other eggs need. Anyone do that?
Thanks ahead of time, I know I'll have lots of panicky questions later!

 

[sara]

Awww, I hope they make the trip just fine! Good Luck!

 

[Chellester]

First of all, don't feel stupid! You are about to embark on one of the most enjoyable experiences in life, IMO. If you're going to do it, you have to start somewhere!

As far as ordering eggs in the heat, I did the same thing with my first batch of mail order eggs. I ended up getting a 43% hatch rate with those eggs, which was better than I expected considering the heat and it being my first attempt at hatching. The point is, you may not get as many to hatch as you would have if the weather was cooler, but unless something really goes astray, you should still get some.

As far as the eggs that were just listed close by, there's no way you could have known that someone was going to list more eggs right after you bought the first set. Why don't you just get those too? That way, you are assured you will get some chicks, and if you end up with more than what you want, you can always sell or give away some later.

As far as the rest of your questions go, I've never hatched guinea eggs, so I can't give you any advice there. I'm sure someone who has will chime in here to help you.

Good luck and have fun with this! Yes, it can be stressful at times, but the end result is so worth it!

 

[jkcove08]

I have gotten eggs from all over the US. I have also bought at all times of the year. The poor eggs have a better shot at not hatching because of something I did as being shipped. I am still in the learning process and am getting better. You never know how it is going to go when they are shipped, sometimes coming from close to you is just as bad as cross contry, granted picking them up is the best. Keep positive, things could still work out for the good. Jenn

 

[jackiedon]

Motherhen,

I would email the person on ebay and ask them if the ones you got doesn't work can you buy some from him. I have done that and most of the time they are willing.

As far as guinea eggs, I have some in the incubator now. I know nothing about hatching guinea eggs except they go for 28 days. I was hand turning them about 3 to 4 times but after last weeks hatch I have moved them to the incubator with a turner in it. I candled them before I put them in and they looked good.

We'll learn together.

jackie

 

[peepsnbunnies]

I would get both! You could even conduct a little experiment: hatch rate of shipped eggs vs. hatch rate of picked up eggs. It would be interesting. I do not know anything about hatching guineas except that I wish I could have them! But they would not be suitable for my neighborhood because of the noise. I wish you all the luck, keep us posted!

 

[johnnam]

I haven't had guineas yet but I have done some reading on them. Go the www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm and see if that helps. Sorry I don;t know how to do the link thing.

 

[silkiebeginer]

Hi, I ordered silkie eggs from a hatchery in Northern Ohio and I live in Southern Kentucky. I had 5 broken eggs when I recieved them. I candled last night and almost all had started development and I could see at least 6 that were swimming and happy in the lighter colored eggs. So don't be feeling so stupid just yet. But if you see my post my daughter unplugged my incubator today by accident. So I don't know if I will have a hatch or not. It was off between 1 and 2 hours.


Jennifer