few ?'s about guineas. please give me opinions

[chicken_angler]

I currently have two Pearl guineas in with my 12 chickens. They get along just fine and nobody has any problems. I have a male and a female so there is no fighting beween them.

My questions are:

~ With light on all winter, will they lay eggs? I have a 250 watt red bulb on at night and a 250 watt white bulb on throughout the day.
I get about 9 to 10 eggs a day and i always get these little eggs from somebody? I dont know who it is but they have the hardest shell i have ever seen.


~ Can i hatch guinea eggs or will nothing really hatch from them?

I am sooo glad that yesterday the one who lays the little hard eggs laid it in the nestbox. Usually it is on the floor and it is freezing cold!


Thanks!

Cody!!

 

[lilchick]

My guineas are just starting to mate but no eggs yet. I live in Indiana. You should be able to tell a guinea egg by it's shape. It has a very pointed end on it and is smaller than a standard chicken egg.
And yes they will hatch out...
I have found that most of mine that were incubated hatched even more than chickens..
My aunt took a dozen guinea eggs last summer from me and placed under her DUCK to hatch. Yep 11 of them hatched out.

 

[feathersgalore]

Remember guineas are seasonal layers. Mine usually start laying in April. You will also be able to tell them when you crack the eggs - the shells are a lot harder than chicken shells.

 

[chicken_angler]

I know they are seasonal layers but mine are laying! I have light on for them all the time and they must be laying!

Cody!!

 

[antiquebuff]

Yes, you can hatch these eggs just like hen eggs! Or, you can let the hen go broody and sit on them! The eggs are delicious to eat also. Small , pointed end and very hard. Mine free range so I probably will not find a nest till they come out with the babies!

 

[ShadyGlade]

You can hatch like a chicken egg but the incubation time is different, guinea eggs take 28 days.

 

[BoiseBubba]

Guineas, when free ranged will hide their eggs so if you happen to find a bunch of hidden eggs they may likely be from them.

 

[rooster0209]

I had better results letting the guinea hatch her own eggs. She hid her nest really well too. Next to and practically under a fallen tree just inside the shelterbelt. I "herded" them into the coop when she started taking them outside. September in ND is not warm enough for keats (imo).

I am hoping my silkie will hatch some for keats this year and maybe sneak a few in with a hen when she goes broody.

Good luck w/you guineas. They will provide you with lots of entertainment

 

[muscovy94]

Oh, and dont forget about the possibility of hatching a gen-hen.

 

[hippichick]

Cody, how do you like your Guineas? Are they loud and annoying? I'd like to get a couple or three, but am afraid they would just be too loud. And do they really get rid of snakes like I've heard? Do they kill them or chase them off? That's really why I'm thinking of getting some. I am having a little problem with snakes.

Paula