Guinea nest question

[smcjoj3]

My sweet guinea girl made herself a nest. She is sitting on 20 eggs. 20. yikes, i foolishly didnt even know she was laying! She did a good job finding a spot that is hidden and hard to get to for her nest....the problem is....its in my nieghbors yard. we have a chain link fence seperating the properties. I don't know these nieghbors at all, which makes it even more complicated. My husband went and tried to move her to see if her could move the nest and she wasnt having any part of it.
We really need her and the nest / or the soon-to-come keets to be over on our property. (who seriously lives in a neighborhood and owns guineas anyhow?! we are so dumb!! )
I have no idea what to do.
SHould I try to move the nest when she gets up to eat and drink? - my guess is no?
Can I move her and the keets over to our yard once they hatch? or is she going to go balistic on me if I try to move them? I would really like to try and move the whole nest and her into a safe spot before they hatch.....but she isn't exactly what I'd call friendly I have to try and do something because I certainly can't have 22 Guinea's trolling the neighborhood!
Dose anyone have any advice.....
Or am I out of luck? And need to prepare myself for being run out of town by angry neighbors with pitch forks?

 

[sourland]

In my experience guineas do not tolerate having their nests moved. They also in my experience have been lousy mothers - they just take off running and lose keets along the way. Any possibility you could hand rear the keets once they hatch? A flock of 22 guinea fowl roaming the neighborhood.

Good luck.

 

[PeepsCA]

Moving the nest will make her abandon the eggs, so my suggestion is to take all of the eggs (incubate them right away if you want keets, or freeze them and then dispose of them if you don't), destroy her nesting spot (or put a log or big rock in it) and chase her butt back to the coop. Keep her locked in the coop until she starts laying again and lays her daily egg in the coop/pen, then let her out to free range, but get her back in the coop/pen each night. If you don't control where she lays, then believe me, you'll be dealing with her laying/nesting in unsafe/unfavorable places all the way until Fall unless you can get her to lay and set on a clutch in the coop or a safe pen... but they usually don't do as we'd like them to. If she hopefully does start laying in the coop and you don't want keets, then you can collect the fresh eggs daily to eat, or hard boil them, crush them (shell and all) and feed them back to your flock as extra protein if you want. But Guinea eggs are very good to eat, and nutritious.

Good luck, and don't let her grouchy attitude bully you, use a rake if you need to to hold her back and shoo her home, and wear heavy clothing in case she attacks you... remember you pay the feed bill, not her!

 

[smcjoj3]

Thank you so much for the info & advice. I never even thought about what kind of mother she'd be honestly! All my chicken girls have been pretty good, but I can totally see my guinea being doofusy about taking care of the keets!

I think taking the eggs away while she is out and about, then incubating them is the best option. SHe rarely goes into the coop, her and her mate roost on top of it at night. Occasionaly I will see her go in for some feed. I will have to sit out there and wait for my moment and then lock her little behind up for a few days!

Thanks again!

 

[prairie]

One of my guineas did the same thing only her nest was where the coyotes and other varmits could get her. Well she abandoned her nest so when she went into the chicken house that night I decided to keep them all in the run until she starts laying again.

When will she start laying again --- a week???

 

[PeepsCA]

Yah, usually my Hens take a week or 2 before they start laying again after I've chased them off a nest (or a predator has).

 

[prairie]

Thanks Peeps! That was what I was thinking.

 

[carmentk]

I'm a little late reading these posts so you may already have dealt with your wayward mom. In my experience, you can sometimes successfully move a mom and eggs if you do it at night. You have to cover her so she can't see what you are doing. Keep her in the dark in the new place until morning. She MIGHT continue to sit, but if not, at least you have her home and can incubate the eggs yourself if you want.

I disagree with the common notion that guineas are bad mothers. They are not as domesticated as chickens and their wild instincts are fully functioning. Guineas are native to the dry plains of South Africa. In Africa EVERYTHING wants to eat them, so they have learned to run at the first sign of danger.

Most species abandon eggs or young if the parent's life is in jeopardy. The prime directive for any being is to survive. So if a nest is threatened the mom will abandon it so she can survive to lay more eggs. And since the species does not benefit by weak members keets that cannot keep up while on range with mom simply get left behind. It has nothing to do with being a good or bad mother. It is all about instinct and what millions of years of evolution have determined is the best most efficient way for guineas to propagate their species and survive.

I have had a few guinea moms successfully hatch out and raise keets. The hens and their mates are formidable protectors of their young. Try keeping your guineas penned until they lay their eggs and leave them in a secure nursery section in your pens. Eventually, someone will decide to go broody. Once she does, move quietly and slowly when you feed and water. Let her see that you mean her no harm. With a little extra care you can enjoy watching your guineas hatch and raise their own young. Good luck.