Guinea on her nest tonight

[cgmccary]

I have a Guinea on her nest. The nest is pretty much on the boundary or just off my property. It is situated in bushes underneath a Dogwood tree. The tree is next to a dirt road in an open field. It is well hidden and you can't see her without walking right up on her and looking down. I had discovered the nest and removed a large cache of eggs already but several have continued to lay in it so at least a couple dozen eggs are under the Guinea. Any predator would have to cross wide open space and be clear and visible from any direction they approach the Guinea hen. We have everything out here and having lost one dog because someone intentionally ran over her, I'm down to one mutt guard dog. The dog's collar keeps her just this side of where the Guinea is nesting (don't know if a predator could discern this fact). I've not lost anything to a predator. My turkey hen is out there somewhere and I have been UNABLE to locate her nest.

If I leave the Guinea out and let her sit on the nest, what are the chances she'll make it? I know many of you say you have lost Guineas this way. Are there any where they make it and hatch their keets? Even out like she is? How safe and hidden is she really?

To bust her up, do I simply remove her from the nest and bring her in? (i.e. will she just go back to sitting tomorrow? Is that the best thing to do? It is raining again here tonight.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yes, to break her up remove her from the nest and destroy the nest area. She will find a new place to lay. If you have a wire dog crate you can put it over her at night, that way she would be protected from predators and still able to sit the eggs. Then you'd just have to take the keets away when they hatch or collect mom and keets and put them in a keet-escape-proof pen. They take good care of their babies when they can't wander off and lose them all.