Guinea Babys, need advice!!

[Elgrady]

This is our first time trying to incubate guinea eggs, we have 24 in a homade cabinet incubator. Today was supose to be lockdown but when I looked in the incubator there was three keets

. The humidity is at 50% and I want to raise it, am I too late. There is 2 more eggs that have piped and I don't know what to do

.

 

[Elgrady]

We have 5 keets now

, I took the three from this morning out and added more water with sponges. One of the keets is shrink wraped and I don't think that it will survive

The humidity is at 65% and I hope it will come up more. I spritzed water when I opened the bator up and the humidity climbed to 90% for a little bit. Has any one had a shrink wraped baby live?

 

[Elsbeth]

we've had some luck spritzing the egg membrane with warm water to soften it up, guinea eggs are so thick shelled it's amazing they can hatch. The shrunken membrane when moistened up might need a little assistance (little tear) to help the bird out. Hope this helps and good luck

 

[kinsey228]

Good luck with your keets ! I think everyone should have a few Guinea's in their flock

 

[Elgrady]

I did spritz the membrane with warm water, I hope it helps. The keet had broken over half the shell off since this morning. We want to have a big flock of guineas for bugs and eggs. We have 4 allready but they like to travel during the day, after they quit laying the will go to the freezer. Thanks for the advice, we are new at incubating and can use all the help we can get.

 

[Elgrady]

The homemade incubator

The baby keets this morning

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

I raise a lot of them. For the most part they are real durable. Get the humidity to 75 or even 80. Open the 'bator fast and spritz the little hatchling trying to get out again with warm water. As the other member says...the shells are thick.

Just leave him/her from that point. If two days go by and you are into your third day then go ahead and try and help it...but BE CAREFUL. If it starts to bleed you are in trouble. BUT, with that being said, if you are in to your third day on the hatchling you do not have much to loose by trying.

You can take the hatchling out and wrap it is a warm damp washcloth and try to at least get a tad bit of the membrane open. If it is shrink wrapped tight even a lit tear will help them.

One thing you have to remember. As with most fowl the Guinea get it's strength from getting out of the egg. It is when you think it is all over but the shoutin' that the keet will come out.

You made a comment about them stopping laying. A Guinea hen will lay most all of it's adult life. Those eggs are really good to eat.

Good Luck

CDA
49 Guineas and counting.

 

[Elgrady]

The keet that was wraped in the membrane is out, I hope it survives my wife helped it. The egg was half gone and membrane had a quarter size hole in it, but it was dried to the keet. I think the problem is that the fan blows down from the front on top and it drys the membrane out. All of the keets that are doing great hatched from the back of the tray. This is a prototype bator, I want to build a bigger one with better air flow and will recycle the wood from this one into a hatching box. The 4 guineas we have roam up to 4 miles from the house instead of staying around so at the after they quit laying this year they will go to the freezer. The baby keets we just hatched will be hand raised and I hope they will stay on our 10 acres with the rest of the birds. Thanks for the help and encouraging words

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Other folks may have a different experience, but after starting with 20 keets and losing all but three the first year, the remaing three have started staying close to home. I don`t know for sure that it`s because they have matured, or if they are afraid of the predator population, which in my area must number somewhere near the national debt. These three adults have survived for another year and a half since the last one was lost. I think butchering them after the first laying season would be a mistake. Just my 2 cents.......Pop

 

[Elgrady]

We mow have 8 keets

the 2 that were stuck to the membrane are doing great.

Thank you for your advice and support