Guinea egg laying

[waddle watcher]

Hi new here but have had guineas for about six mnths. I'm in central Fl. and purchased these fowl full grown but wild. Couldn't keep up with them flying so as much as I hated to do it I clipped there wings. They no longer roost in the trees and fly around the neighborhood but have a very nice pen and raised house full of hay too reside in. I let them out about 10am and they return to the pen on their own at dusk. I have so much more to write about but my immedate concern is Jamima. She is taking very long periods of time to lay her egg and sounds like she is in a lot of pain. Their laying nest is about three hundred ft from their pen but very close to a porch off my bedroom. I can hear her when she is in the nest and her bo bacon is very dutyful standing by. She has been in the laying nest about two and a half hours today and I'm very worried because of the sounds she 's making. Her eggs are smaller than Buckweat's so I don't know why she is carring on this way. Any help please? Regards,Breeze

 

[PeepsCA]

It's possible since she is spending so much time on the nest that she is getting close to going broody and/or ending her laying season... how many eggs has she laid so far and how many eggs are currently in the nest? What sounds is she making exactly? Most of my Hens will make a long drawn out, almost cackle sounding call that's several syllables long when they lay an egg... it's an odd sounding call, and definitely out of the norm of ordinary Guinea sounds, but many of them make it when they lay an egg.

Have you caught her and checked her vent area for any signs of discharge/infection and felt her abdomen area for any other possible issues? Are her eggs normal shaped and clean when she lays the, no blood or coating of any odd kind/color? Do you know in fact that she is actually laying an egg each time she is on the nest, and isn't possibly egg bound?

Does she have access to plenty of oyster shell and layer feed? Is she fit/trim, or overweight? Lack of calcium in the diet and being over weight can both cause laying issues/difficulties for the Hen, as well as age... all things to consider/check out.

Hope she's ok, and just on her way to going into broody mode.

 

[jbirds2012]

i think peepsCA has some good advice. my guineas are just 8 weeks and im trying to learn about them myself. god luck

 

[waddle watcher]

I'm very sorry I didn't respond to you in the right place. I did respond when I first got your email but was told by BYC I couldn't respond from my email. Well I wanted to thank you for your response and everything is fine. As a matter of fact we just got two more and that's been an interesting story as well. They are much younger and can't mix with the others. They get picked on during the day but force themselves into the house at night. I made other accommodations for them and they go in there at dusk, but when I check on them all after dark I find the young ones huddled with the adults in the back of the box. Come morning the adults are chasing them around the pen again. Another development. Buckwheat,& Jamima, [girls] and Bacon & Sausage [boys] used to have their meetings outdoors. Now, for the past week they are having their meetings in the garage next to one of my motorcycles. When I say having a meeting I mean that they are all facing each other with their heads about 3" apart and actually communicating. What wonderful creatures they are. The names of the new ones are Gravy and Jelly . Don't know their sex as of yet but hoping for one female. My ladies mother just added 10 Keets to her gaggle and wants to start raising keets from eggs in Va. Can you recommend an incubator? Thanks again and regards, Brian

 

[PeepsCA]

Glad to hear things are going well, and you have new additions to your flock... love the names, lol.

In my opinion a GQF Hovabator Genesis 1588 with an automatic egg turner and a small digital hygrometer/thermometer (for back up readings) is a great set-up for beginners. These units are really stable, reliable and easy to use. A cheaper model of Hovabator is also a good investment for a hatcher, so your incubator stays cleaner. If you have a lot of eggs, GQF also makes large capacity cabinet models too, they can be pretty pricey tho. Most feed and farm stores do not stock this brand, but it's easily found online. Try Strombergs .