fertility?

[doop]

I only have a male and female and lots of ticks so i need some more goonies. Problem she started laying bout 2 weeks ago and had room for 6 more eggs in turner so i put em in, its been a week and i just candles and see nothing at all. I've never seen them mate and I'm around them a lot. I see him chase her a lot but she never submits. Is it too early to see any veining? Is he not doing his job? Anybody have some answers for me?

 

[daylily]

Sorry Doop, I wish I had an answer for you there but I don't. I too am trying to incubate a dozen eggs but so far it looks good when candling. I don't have an egg turner or a real incubator. Just a box with water on the bottom, for humidity, a metal shelf for a carton which is holding the eggs, a heat lamp, and a fan to help cool things off some when it gets too hot. I am a nervous nellie for sure. I am on week two and I turn them all by hand every couple of hours and constantly checking temps and humidity.

Since yours are her first group of eggs be patient and check with some newer eggs to see if they are fertile. Trust me , they only take a sec to breed and we cannot watch them 24/7. Sound like these are duds, but not all will be.

 

[Txcat]

Candle at 10 days or more, its hard to see anything before then. GL! You may be pleasantly surprised when you candle them !

 

[JLeigh]

I've seen two guineas mate, and lemme tell ya - it was QUICK. If you blink you'll miss it. It's almost a "fly-by".

 

[PeepsCA]

The thicker shells make it hard to see the veining, tho after lots of practice I can tell a fertile egg from a clear egg at around 4 days... the entire contents of the egg gets a pinkish hue to it, and it's especially noticeable where the egg meets the air cell at the top of the egg. You could compare a non incubated egg to the eggs you have in the incubator, and see if you can see any difference at all. At 10 days it's very obvious, so like Txcat mentioned you may want to try again at that point. Your Guineas should be breeding, "tis the season", lol. And JLeigh is right, it's very quick, if you blink you miss it (It's probably like that for the Hen too!

)

 

[doop]

Thanks for the replies! I'll try candling them again in a couple days. I've been saving some more to try when my chicks and poults hatch next week.

 

[PeepsCA]

Ill keep my fingers crossed for you with your 1st 6 eggs!

In my experience with collecting, storing and incubating Guinea eggs... it's best to set (incubate) the Guinea eggs by the time the oldest egg is around 10 days old, with the maximum being 14 days old, tops... they lose viability quick after that point. Be sure to store your eggs in a cool area of your house, garage or basement... 50-55 degrees is optimal, BUT I've found that as long as the stay under 70 degrees they usually stay dormant (many will argue this point tho). It's also a good idea to turn the eggs a couple times a day while they are stored.

Good luck, keep us updated on your progress!

 

[doop]

It seems the little guy is doing his job, I candled last night and the three I checked were fertile. I can't believe I've never caught them in the act, if I'm home I'm always outside doing something.

 

[PeepsCA]

Believe it, not many ever see it, especially in small flocks. I have 69 adults running around and even I rarely see it. I'm serious it's quick, lol.

 

[doop]

Well they most definitely were fertile. 2 of 8 have hatched and 5 more pipped the shell. I still haven't caught them in the act, but obviously they are doing it.