Guinea hen hatching eggs.

[greathorse]

I have a few guinea fowl and they have taken to laying in the hay bunk in my horse stall. there are about 18 eggs in there now and if they begin to set it would be very easy to keep them predator free. I have three hens. I know they dont make the greatest mothers so would probably brood them when hatched, but what are the odds of them setting. Is it rare, usually, seldom?

I have eggs in the bator as well but would love to have one of these girls hatch them for me. I feel luck that they have taken to laying where they do. They have many places outside that they could easily use.

Also if I do take the eggs away is it likely they will move the nest?

 

[swampducks]

I've got a bunch of 10 months old guineas who have nests everywhere. A couple of the hens have been sitting but not daily. They don't seem to "get" that they have to stay put for 28 days. I am hoping they'll learn. If you see one setting that doesn't get up and run away for the smallest thing, even when you scatter scratch, etc you might have better luck.

A month and a half ago I tried incubation and only hatched 4. Over half weren't even fertile. So depending on how old your are it might make a difference.

Good luck

 

[Debbienmousey]

If the hens believe the nest is safe, there is a very good chance one, maybe two, of them will sit on the eggs. Our hens like to get 20-24 eggs in a nest before setting. Are all your hens the same color or can you easily distinguish them from each other? It would be good if you could try and see who seems to be the most common layer in that nest. If it's only one hen, then it's very likely she will set on the eggs once there are enough.

Yes, if you take the eggs most likely the hen(s) will change where they lay. But this might also determine if they're getting ready to set or just laying eggs. I found that in the early laying season for our hens they would all lay eggs in a corner of the coop or in various places inside the coop. I did take the eggs but that's because the hens didn't show any signs of wanting to set. They continued to lay until 2 of them started nests outside. Now the other 2 hens have stopped laying in the coop, so I assume they might have nests going too.

When did they start laying this year? Were they laying randomly around the barn/yard or in this same nest?

 

[greathorse]

Thanks for the response. As to the question about where and when they started laying, I frankly dont know for sure. I have lots of cover on my property so they could have layed in a lot of places that I have not found. I eventually got them all in a pen and kept them in there for about two weeks. Miraculously they began to lay two days after I penned them. They were laying in the straw on the floor of the coop. I broke some of those eggs and fertility was quite low. They whined and complained (Guinea style) so I just opened the pen door and let them out during the day and they go back in at night. At that time they started laying in the barn in a feed bunk (manger) that had some hay in it. I think they are all laying in there, I find three additional eggs a day on some days. There are three female guineas (near as I can tell).


I see no signs of them setting on that clutch, there is about 2 dozen eggs now. I am thinking about putting them in the bator but pretty sure they will lay in the fence row tree row or some other unknown spot.

I guess I will just leave the eggs for a while longer and see what happens.

It seems like they may start laying some time before they have good fertility. I was told by a guinea breeder that it is the cocks that take a while to get going in the spring. They like warmer temperatures before their libido gets up.

I have one pretty little pied that I see on the nest every day, and one larger French that I have seen also. The other one must lay as well since I get three eggs on most days.

The little pied one is a very cool bird. Seems less raucus than the rest of them

Thanks

 

[hoppy]

I have guineas that make a huge nest of eggs then start sitting. if you take away eggs, they will move the nest unless you always leave the same number. I always leave 4, the same 4 and take the new ones to incubate. since there is a large number already there, leave them and if she feels safe, she will incubate them. if you find a new nest, incubate them yourself and see what happens.

 

[gostlady6]

Hello everyone I am new to this site and new to guinies (spelling wrong) I have 2 I am assuming one is male and 1 female. The female is sitting on 14 eggs she is young this is her first set of eggs. It is so cute to watch the other (male I think) guards over her if he is away from her and she starts cutting up here he comes just a flying. She does not like you messing with the eggs at all so I havent candled them and Im not sure when we are due. Im so excited to see how she does.

 

[rooster0209]

not liking you to mess with the eggs in an understatement.

I didnt know that guineas could hiss just like a cat.

I found two nests yesterday with over 40 eggs in each. I still have a third nest to locate. Around 10am I will walk around the yard and see where the 3rd group of birds seem to be hanging around, then start my search. I removed all but 12 eggs in each nest and have a full bator now. I am waiting to get another full batch before starting the other bator.

One hen will decide to sit on that nest...eventually. When they hatch, you will have to take them away from her. She will take them out with her on her search for food, the keets will get cold and will die. Last year just kinda swooshed the keets toward the coop and scooped up keets as they went along and put them in the brooder. Momma was not pleased and I tried to get her in the coop with them but she wouldnt go.

Good luck with the eggs

 

[Tailfeathers]

Hi Y'all,

I'm not wishing to hijack this thread but perhaps my question will be helpful to the OP as well.

Sunday I was out working on the chicken tractor and kept hearing this noise that I hadn’t heard before. It sounded like a bird but wasn’t anything like I’d heard from my birds before and thought maybe I had a lost chick out in the woods or something. I went looking for it a couple times but could never find anything. Then I heard it again so I ran over to where I could maybe get an idea of where it was coming from and I saw a leaf move. Everything else was still so I figured that must be it. As I got a little closer I noticed some white and then some red. It was the head of a guinea. To my surprise I had two of my guineas sitting on a nest of at least 30-40 eggs.

I mean there are so many that between the two of them they don’t even cover them all. I have no idea how to incubate guinea eggs. I am searching BYC now and may Google it to see what I can find but am hoping that someone may be able to provide a quick answer here.

With that being said, does one incubate guinea eggs the same as chickens? Or do they require a different temperature and humidity setting? I am getting ready to set 24-30 Ameraucana eggs in a couple of days. I keep my Sportsman running a constant 100 degrees. Will that work for the guinea eggs too?

Also, what is the gestation period for guineas? Is it 21 days like chickens?

I’ll tell ya this though, before I even think about taking any of those eggs, I’m gonna make doggone sure that those guineas ain’t nowhere around. I tried to pull back a little sticker bush in front of them so I could get a better look at the nest and thought the potlickers were gonna take my hand off!

If any of y'all KNOW the answer (please, no guesses), I'd sure appreciate hearing from ya.

God Bless,

 

[debakadeb]

I have a book about Guineas (I don't have personal knowledge) but my books says it is best to confine the eggs and hen in a cage until the hatch. Oh...and to wear gloves. Move the eggs first, guinea next.

 

[corancher]

Incubate the guinea eggs for 28 days but everything else is the same as for chicken eggs. Good luck.