Got first guinea eggs in Virginia yesterday!!!!!

[livenwpeeps]

Hey guys! I got home from work yesterday and I found a little black bantam hen sitting on two guinea eggs in the nesting box. My first eggs of the year!!!! I found another guinea egg on a bale of hay so I put that in the nesting box and when I came back a few minutes later, the little hen had rolled it under her. So it has started!!!!

 

[Kevin565]

Congrats on the eggs!

 

[PeepsCA]

Yay! How many Hens do you have? And what colors?

 

[livenwpeeps]

I have a total of 29 guineas. I know for a fact, I have 14 hens. Then there are the ones that you aren't sure because they don't talk much. I have the following colors, Pearl Grey, Lavender, Royal Purple, Buff D, Pied of all the above mention colors and one violet. Remember I was the one that had 24 eggs in the incubator when hurricane Irene came through Virginia during the "lock down" time. We lost power and I had put the incubator in the car to keep it warm. Then when I went to throw away the eggs, I noticed some had started to pip, 11 total hatched. I ended up naming the violet one "Irene" when she turned out to be a hen.

 

[PeepsCA]

Oh yah, I remember! Sketchy time for you, tons of stress, but you still got some keets!
14+ hens will keep you busy egg hunting this season... I have to laugh cuz I've been there done that, and after a while the novelty of it wears off, lol

 

[prairie]

I have noticed one of my guinea hens goes off by herself at times and I have decided to keep them in the run until I see if she will lay some eggs. I have 3 hens and 2 males and they are only about 8-9 mo old. What is the best thing to put in the chicken house that might entice them to use as a nesting area. We have chicken nests (the old aluminum ones that hang on the wall but I have never seen the guineas in them. today I put a pile of loose hay in the corner under the nests.

Do you have any other ideas? do you think she might be getting ready to lay and nest?

 

[TarheelBirdy]

With guineas, unless you are willling to put in the time and patience to "train" them to come in at night, you just have to resign yourself to being a hunter of eggs. I got lucky, one of my young hens is laying in a hiding place within sight of my office lol (I love working from home).

 

[TarheelBirdy]

Is that not the sweetest thing EVER?

 

[TarheelBirdy]

Hey guys! I got home from work yesterday and I found a little black bantam hen sitting on two guinea eggs in the nesting box. My first eggs of the year!!!! I found another guinea egg on a bale of hay so I put that in the nesting box and when I came back a few minutes later, the little hen had rolled it under her. So it has started!!!!

That is just the sweetest thing EVER. (I have never owned a broody hen, (RIRs) so I am totally enamored with this).

 

[prairie]

I do have them trained and they come in at night and most times when I call them. They roost in the large chicken house at night with 2 ducks and 6 chickens. The chicken house is 13 X 18 and they love the really high rafters to roost on. I can see the chicken house and their run from my office window too!

I just love it!

I have kept them all in the run this morning and one of the guineas hens is just running the fence line like she wants out. Hopefully one will start laying soon in the straw or in one of the chicken nests. Does anyone use a wooden box on the floor?