Guinea talk.

[Dmontgomery]

Back in April I posted one of our RIRs had gone broody and we gave her eggs. A couple days later and 2nd RIR did also. They ended up hatching 15 chicks between them. Then the babies started disappearing. (@pattyhen, stop reading now!)
I assumed a snake was getting them or they were getting lost out freeranging with the moms. 8 ended up surviving but we lost both mother hens to something.
About 2 weeks ago I posted Gertrude the Guinea had a clutch of eggs in her coop nest. She got up to 15 when one of the Golden Comets went broody on them! Gertrude layed a couple more eggs then decided to kick the other hen out and she went broody on them herself. We moved the other hen to a nesting box and gave her some chicken eggs.
Before church last Sunday, I checked Gertrude's nest and there were only 5 eggs! We had already taken out all the bedding and moved everything in the coop searching for the snake but never found it. So I assumed it was back but I couldn't figure out how it ate all those eggs and was able to get back out of the coop. Again moved all the hay and bedding around but found nothing.
Yesterday morning I decided to move some stuff out of the coop in anticipation of TS Cindy, figuring everybody would stay in for the day. I picked up a never used nest box and found it was a little heavy, so I dumped it over to find this.

IMG_0767

• Dmontgomery
• Jun 22, 2017

It was hiding under the hay in a nesting box the whole time. Probably been in there a couple months.

IMG_0771

• Dmontgomery
• Jun 22, 2017
• 2

We counted 7 whole eggs and one crushed.
I doubt any of the remaining guinea eggs will hatch. Gertrude is still sitting on the nest but she gets up several times a day to wander around the property with Gary. Although it's pretty hot here, I think the eggs may have gotten too cooled off to develop. I'm going to ask for an incubator for Christmas.
@pattyhen, I told you not to look.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

This was one of my five week olds laying with them as their heat lamp heated up the 20gal tank. Did not manage to snap a photo of Delta with them but man was she loving those babies. Here in a week or so I am booting the five week olds out in the flock woth a see no touch box, start them off early.

 

[GlennLee]

I'll join this thread. I currently have 1 Pearl Grey guinea, the other 5 passed away. I ordered 5 Lavenders from Cackle Hatchery though and they're expected to come between 7/07/17-7/08/17 Super excited! I'll post pictures of them on here when I get them.

Welcome to the thread and good luck with your new keets! It won't be long. I have 20 lavender jumbos arriving about the same time as yours. Sorry to hear that you lost 5 - unfortunately, that seems to happen more often than we would like it to. Can't wait to see the postings of your pics. Enjoy!

 

[GlennLee]

@Dmontgomery OMG! I would have had that sucker chopped up into little pieces. I don't know how Cindy could manage the courage to pose with that! Good for her and I'm glad that you finally got it. Hope you are able to hatch some keets now. They certainly are giving it all a good try for you in spite of the snake.

 

[GlennLee]

@MartinsPoultry that is such a sweet picture - the two keets with the 5 week old. Who knew the 5 week old would bond with them?

 

[GlennLee]

@MartinsPoultry sounds like you are loving the birdie mama stage as much as Delta. That's great that she wanted to mother them. She will make a good mama when the time comes. I have never used a surrogate guinea so I'm not sure how that would go. All the signs that you observed sounded positive. I would have thought she would have gotten aggressive if it wasn't going to work, but it's a chance that you probably don't want to take at this stage.

 

[pattyhen]

Hello everyone. I've been gone for a while and thought I would get back in with the group. I missed everyone. Dmontgomery the snake was scarey. I'm still trying to get rid of the cold chills.

It seems like everyone is either hatching or getting new babies. Mary Jane never did hatch the eggs but she gave it her best try. She sang to the babies and sit for over 30 days and I had to finally take her eggs away. She didn't seem to mind when she come in the coop and they were gone. Spiderman was happy as a lark to have her back by his side. She was getting so skinny and I was worried about her health and Spiderman was so depressed and sad looking all the time.

We had to put cameras up in the yard and I put a baby monitor in the coop. Someone come into our yard and stold 5 ducks and beat two others. One of them we found the next morning and the other one died several days later from the injuries. I don't see how anybody can be that cruel. There was no feathers anywhere and there were no bite marks on the ducks. In the summertime I've always let the ducks stay in the yard at night. We have two dogs that go in and out of the house all night and patrol the yard. That night my husband said he heard the dogs barking alot and went outside and didn't see anything. I think I know who did it he was an exfriend of my grandsons. I hope I find out the truth one day what happened and who did it. Anyway the ducks go into the chicken coop at night now. I went from 15 ducks to 8 ducks. The ducks I have left were almost in shock for a week. No telling what they saw. The chickens always perch in the attic of the coop and the guineas got a new perch right above the table and the ducks stay on the floor of the coop. I have the baby monitor going and I can hear if someone comes into the coop. I can also talk to them. Every night I say goodnight Spiderman and I can hear him answer.

It's nice to be back and the baby guineas are precious I can't wait for Rhonda to get her lavender ones.

 

[Dmontgomery]

Hello everyone. I've been gone for a while and thought I would get back in with the group. I missed everyone. Dmontgomery the snake was scarey. I'm still trying to get rid of the cold chills.

It seems like everyone is either hatching or getting new babies. Mary Jane never did hatch the eggs but she gave it her best try. She sang to the babies and sit for over 30 days and I had to finally take her eggs away. View attachment 1063789

I warned you not to look! And I never should have posted anything. I knew I was going to jinx myself. Gertrude had 5 eggs left in her nest. Two days later they were gone. That night my wife locked up the coop about 9pm and found a 2nd snake. It was only about 4 1/2' long. So now there are no guinea eggs and we won't be getting any keets. Maybe she will try again later this year.
But seriously, if she had hatched them I would have to build a bigger coop. As of an hour ago we are up to 66 birds with another 11 eggs due to hatch between now and Friday.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Update on the Martins side of life.
All 6 Keets are doing great. The 4 5-6 week olds are getting big and I believe all 4 are girls! The other two my last hatched are such cuddle bugs I am leaning towards boys but thats ok, as I plan on splitting some into the bantam coop for protection from snakes if they manage to get in.
James and I rehomed 3 young roosters and lost one this passed week which hit us both hard. Today we bought 4 Light Brahma's looking like 1 cockerel and 3 pullets, fingers crossed.
Our turkey poults are getting huge even the one we hatched this year a little Broad Breasted Bronze cross with wild, he is a little stinker and will strut the Bantam chickens to protect the Guinea keets we hatched last.
Maggie our blind pullet is doing good thus far, eating and drinking and acting almost normal besides playing bumper car in the brooder box with the walls.
Kicked out the older chicken chicks into the coop into a 5x6 divider stall. It's a little small but it is temporary for them as they get out in the morning and run until its dark then into the stall until day break, just until they are 100% acclimated into the flock and we get rid of Penny our sweetgrass turkey hen and a chicken hen I caught eating eggs, shes dog kibble here shortly.
Total of 19 went into the barn out of 25 that were ready. 1 Bantam Rooster, 1 Silkie Rooster, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Porcelain D'Uccle's and 1 Barn yard mutt are kept back to go into a Bantam coop, who will be joined by 5 bantam pullets, 2-3 more that I hatched out plus the 4 Brahma's, and maybe the 4 or 6 Guinea's depends on who goes where, or unless the Silkie sells or not.
Right now we feel like a zoo.

The Chickens current count 50
We are about to do a chicken cleanse and rehome a ton of birds, due to personalities not mixing well.

1 Barn yard Mix RiR x Production red is my guess, Top hen
2 Silver Laced Wyandotte hens, Rehoming 1, culling the other
1 Easter Egger laying hen
3 OEGB breeding trio, 1 rooster 2 hens
^ Older Birds, Current count of a year + 7

Younger Birds below
10 Barred Rocks, Keeping 1 Rooster and 6 Hens, Rehoming 1 Rooster, 2 Hens
1 Silkie, named Mr. T, rehoming
1 Buff Orp, named Hazel
1 Production Red, not yet named, rehoming
1 Brown Leghorn, not yet named, rehoming
1 Easter Egger, named Muddy
4 Australorps, Pullets forgot who is who so names cannot apply
3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, Pullets, anti social bunch
1 Old English Game Bantam Rooster Pidgey
2 Porcelain D'Uccle pullets, Toad (older) Peach (younger)
1 Mixed Breed Bantam Pullet, unknown parents, Smores
5 Old English Bantam peep Pullets
4 Straight Run OEGB, possibly keeping or rehoming
4 Light Brahma (replacing the ones we rehomed and lost)
7 RiR crosses, 1 is 100% blind, keeping 3, rehoming rest

Guineas, current count 13
Young and Old
1 Charlie - Alpha male
2 Blue - Second in command male
3 Delta - Alpha hen
4 Echo - Second in command hen (rehoming she has turned nasty)
5 Zelda - hen
6 Juliette - hen
7 Foxy - Troublemaker Male
8 Mouse - teenager
9 Number 8 - teenager (have yet to find a better name for it)
10 Splayed Legs - teenager
11 Mini Delta - teenager
12 Howlie - My hand baby, if I leave the room he or she screams until I come back
13 Mouse jr. (James named it because it looks like mouse)

Turkeys, current count 7
young and old
1 Chromie - Narragansett Hen
2 Aysa - Narragansett Hen
3 Penny Pancakes - Evil Sweetgrass Hen
4 Raven - Black Spanish poult
5 Tit for Tat - Narragansett x Bourbon Red Jake poult
6 Clicky - Narragansett x Bourbon Red poult
7 Butterball - Broad Breasted Bronze x Wild Turkey Jake

Ducks current count 27
mostly young 4 old
4 Rouens, 1 Hen, 3 Drakes. Keeping 1 Hen 1 Drake, rehoming rest
4 Indian Runners, all Drakes. Keeping 1 Drake looking for a Hen, rehoming rest
3 Pure bred Ancona, 2 Drakes 1 Hen. Keeping 1 Hen and 1 Drake, rehoming rest
1 Ancona x Pekin Drake. Rehoming
6 Khaki Campbells, 4 Drakes 2 Hens, Keeping 2 Hens, 1 Drake, rehoming rest
7 Muscovy, 2 Drakes 4 Hens 1 unknown gender. Keeping 4 Hens, 1 Drake. Depending on what the baby turns out to be it will stay or be rehomed. 1 Drake heading to freezer camp this fall if I can push him that far
2 Cayuga ducklings, possible 1 Drake 1 Hen, Keeping both

Total Birds 104 not encluding the 6 Guinea's I am incubating at the time. I have people who want them so I decided to do some more. Any spare Roosters I get that I cannot sell have a forever home with a fellow BYC'er on here, she spoils them rotten in a Rooster flock, 3 of my little boys went to her 2 days ago. Her name on here is @Sara Ranch very very very nice lady and her husband was extremely nice as well, they loved the homestead and animals who got to be outside who were old enough to be.

Plus Rabbits
6 of them
Bucky - Buck
Cheerios - Buck
Flopsy - Doe
Snowy - Doe
Marshmallow - Doe
Big Bertha - Doe

 

[guinealeghorn]

Dies anyone have tips on finding guinea nests? I think I have a broody hen on it, as one is missing... I don't have a thermal imaging camera, either. I need to find it fast!