Found their new nest 😆

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thank you soooo much for all your advice the past few days. I appreciate it so much.

I only kick them off now because they are my only 2 of laying age and they seem to go broody on nothing all the time! I’ve never had a rooster (until now I have some young ones) so they’ve never hatched anything, they sure like to practice though!

My incubator is an old little Giant but my first hatch I got 20/30 (4 not fertile) chicks and this one was 16/22 (2 not fertile) keets. I think it’s supposed to hold 41 eggs and I just tried to count and I’m pretty sure there are 51 eggs. I know guineas eggs are much smaller but I think I’m just going to fit as many as I can with a little room to hand turn them and if any extras I’ll put under the hens (hopefully no more than 10) they share a nest box so they should cover 5 each pretty easily.

I know a lot of these are old and will probably not develop but I’m so excited to try!!!

I just replied on your other thread, but sounds like you have a plan. Good luck! Candling your incubator eggs will help a lot in figuring out what to toss and when to lockdown.

 

[sunnie7]

I just replied on your other thread, but sounds like you have a plan. Good luck! Candling your incubator eggs will help a lot in figuring out what to toss and when to lockdown.

I decided to put them all in the incubator I had a lot more room in there than I thought! I forget how much smaller guinea eggs are! Hand turning 51 eggs is big difference from 20 or even 30! I suspect after day 10 I’ll have a lot fewer.
yes, one of hens had been sitting on the nest so I’m surprised i didn’t see much development at all.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I decided to put them all in the incubator I had a lot more room in there than I thought! I forget how much smaller guinea eggs are! Hand turning 51 eggs is big difference from 20 or even 30! I suspect after day 10 I’ll have a lot fewer.
yes, one of hens had been sitting on the nest so I’m surprised i didn’t see much development at all.

When I’ve incubated guinea eggs that weren’t collected daily, I had quite the staggered hatch!

 

[sunnie7]

When I’ve incubated guinea eggs that weren’t collected daily, I had quite the staggered hatch!

I’m okay with that!! What’s the downfalls to a staggered hatch? just having to leave the incubator running longer and keep a close eye on them?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I’m okay with that!! What’s the downfalls to a staggered hatch? just having to leave the incubator running longer and keep a close eye on them?

I try to incubate at about 40% humidity, but hatch at 65%. So, when one gets close to hatching, I stopped turning eggs for a bit, cranked up the humidity, pulled the keet out immediately so it would get hatching gunk all over the younger eggs, then lowered humidity. It’s a hassle and increases your chances of bacteria in the incubator. I ultimately ended up buying an inexpensive second incubator that I used as a hatcher, where I transferred eggs that were candling as close-ish to hatch. That was much easier. If you don’t see development in your eggs now, maybe you won’t have this issue?

 

[sunnie7]

I try to incubate at about 40% humidity, but hatch at 65%. So, when one gets close to hatching, I stopped turning eggs for a bit, cranked up the humidity, pulled the keet out immediately so it would get hatching gunk all over the younger eggs, then lowered humidity. It’s a hassle and increases your chances of bacteria in the incubator. I ultimately ended up buying an inexpensive second incubator that I used as a hatcher, where I transferred eggs that were candling as close-ish to hatch. That was much easier. If you don’t see development in your eggs now, maybe you won’t have this issue?

The friend that gave us the little giant one with the fan I’m using gave me a styrofoam circle one that’s a still air but I haven’t even plugged it up to see if it works. It looks a little rough but then again so does the one I’m using and I’ve have two hatches between 75-80%!

 

[JonesFarm19]

I wish I could find our guineas nest. She used to randomly lay eggs in random spots in the barn. Now she doesn't do that anymore.

She disappears and is gone most of the day until afternoon/early evening. No clue where she's going. We have three acres, and a lot of woods all around us.

 

[R2elk]

I wish I could find our guineas nest. She used to randomly lay eggs in random spots in the barn. Now she doesn't do that anymore.

She disappears and is gone most of the day until afternoon/early evening. No clue where she's going. We have three acres, and a lot of woods all around us.

Watch for her mate standin erect in one place keeping a watch over her. Listen for the egg song.

 

[JonesFarm19]

Watch for her mate standin erect in one place keeping a watch over her. Listen for the egg song.

It's almost like she bails on him. In the morning, she's gone, and he's running around, making a lot of noise, climbing up on everything to get a good view (the barn, the hay bales, anything he can jump on), but it's almost like he's panicking trying to find her. It's been like this for a week.

But she always comes back in the afternoon or early evening, and then when we get up, she's gone, and he's back to looking again.

 

[R2elk]

It's almost like she bails on him. In the morning, she's gone, and he's running around, making a lot of noise, climbing up on everything to get a good view (the barn, the hay bales, anything he can jump on), but it's almost like he's panicking trying to find her. It's been like this for a week.

But she always comes back in the afternoon or early evening, and then when we get up, she's gone, and he's back to looking again.

Once she goes broody, she won't come back in the evening.