First eggs of the Flock - How do I get them to Hatch their own Eggs?

[aonis]

Just found my first egg in the coop today on the floor. It's a shared coop with Chickens and they all get along fine.

I would love to see if the Guineas could lay and hatch their offspring. Are there any tips as to how to get them to do it. I have 9 guineas and for sure 2 of them are female based on their call. There are hopefully more but we'll see. Lots of raised wing rushing at each other trying to be dominant.

It's also funny being that it's March and we're in Western Mass in the middle of a huge snowstorm. Go figure. I thought I would have seen eggs in April.



Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Akane]

Not much you can do but leave the eggs alone and hope someone sits on them. If you remove them the guineas are likely to lay elsewhere and less likely to go broody without a clutch of eggs about. Still you have even less chance of making a broody guinea than a broody chicken. Guineas can't be convinced to do anything they haven't already decided to do.

They also aren't great parents. Majority of keets raised free range by guinea parents die. Quite frequently none survive. If you just want to watch them until they disappear or you have them penned up then go ahead. If you want more guineas though I'd suggest having a chicken hatch and raise the keets. In that case I'd collect the eggs and store them like you would chicken eggs for hatching until you have a broody. Then slip the guinea eggs under her. You can leave fake eggs or marked eggs in a nest to encourage a hen to sit there and then remove them when you give her the eggs you want to hatch.

 

[speckledhen]

Guineas usually accumulate a large clutch before starting to sit, upwards of 30 eggs sometimes. They won't usually sit until late spring when most begin laying for the year.

Guineas get a bad rap as parents. They are from Africa, where keets have little issue running around in the dry hot climate. Here, the keets get damp and chilled and die, but it's just guineas acting like they are in their native land, IMO.

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

I agree with two above^ i have never heard of guineas laying in that weather and this early! Do you have a light or something on in your coop? Can they go outside? Let us know if she lays anymore!

 

[speckledhen]

French guineas lay much earlier than regular guineas do. That's why the feedstore gets French guineas months before they get the other colors from Ideal.

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

oh so the one that layed was a french guinea?

 

[speckledhen]

No idea, but they do lay earlier.