Guinea talk.

[GlennLee]

GlennLee,
I would not be a good person to speak on incubators or incubating eggs. I tried my hand at it one season and did not have a great hatch rate. I'm not sure if it was my incubator, my lack of skill, or the eggs. About 3 years ago, I had a friend give me 40 guinea eggs to incubate. I'm thinking some may have been pretty old or unfertilized, as about half did not develop at all. Out of the remaining eggs, I had about a 50% hatch rate. I did try to incubate one other small batch of my own eggs and that didnt do much better. My hens have a much higher success rate than that, so I try to let them do it themselves now! Plus, I tend to get more attached to the keets if I hatch them myself, and I cant keep them all!

Although I am tempted to tell you not to buy the incubator that I have, I am hesitant to do this because I'm not completely sure it was the incubator's fault in my situation. Because of this, I will let others comment on this since I'm not very knowledgable in this area. As I said above, my guinea hens are pretty successful in hatching their own, so if I can be of any help in that area, please let me know. I'm certainly no expert and can't really take the credit since the guineas do all the work, but I'm happy to share any info I have or lessons learned!

Thanks for the response. I know you've posted info on how to move hens from the grass into the barn and I have my cut out bin and a tub (like a wheelbarrow) ready to go if needed. I'll be posting some pics of the interior of the barn - I tried to keep some private places with straw bails to encourage nesting inside. I have some time to prepare, but I'd like to think on it and tweak some things before implementation. It would be ideal for the hens to hatch them, but I never seem to experience the ideal, so I always have a plan B and will probably have to execute a plan B- when all is said and done.

 

[guineapeeps]

Thanks for the response.  I know you've posted info on how to move hens from the grass into the barn and I have my cut out bin and a tub (like a wheelbarrow) ready to go if needed.  I'll be posting some pics of the interior of the barn - I tried to keep some private places with straw bails to encourage nesting inside.  I have some time to prepare, but I'd like to think on it and tweak some things before implementation.  It would be ideal for the hens to hatch them, but I never seem to experience the ideal, so I always have a plan B and will probably have to execute a plan B- when all is said and done.

I hear you on the plan B. Guineas certainly aren't very compliant and it's almost impossible to get them to do anything they don't want to do! It sounds like you have a great coop and have thought of everything to make it a good nesting spot, though. I think I've gotten lucky with my somewhat cooperative hens but I've still lost a number of Guineas and nests because they wouldn't go along with my carefully crafted plans. Sometimes they drive me a little crazy but I still love them!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

GlennLee-

The first time I found mites, I could actually feel and see them on me after I would go in the coop. This time I had no idea there were any until I was out doing a head count right after dark and happened to look at the bedding right at the doorway and saw them crawling. I did the same to the other coop and saw them there as well. In both cases, I never saw any mites on the birds but I believe these were Red Mites, which hide in crevices during the day and come out at night. In the very small areas of the coop that I checked I no doubt saw close to a hundred so I had to assume they were feeding on something, which of course would be my 60 bird buffet. The turkeys may be the only ones that would be exempt since their perch is outside and there would be no where for the mites to hide nearby.Or rather, I suppose they could hide but the odds of some venturing to where the turkeys are to even discover them would be slim.

I lost a lot of chicks lately and I'm not sure if it was an issue with the hatchery I got them from or if the mites were getting to the chicks. Obviously little chicks do not have a whole lot of blood to begin with so any loss can be significant. I did look them over multiple times and never saw signs, but I treated the brooder thoroughly just in case. I have two chicks in the house that weren't doing so well and I took them out to the run to dig around with the broody hen and her chicks. Well, they are very attached to me so I ended up squatting down and playing mama hen for them, digging through the bedding so they could grab at tidbits. I got down about 3" under the deep litter and saw what I believe are mites and lice! I'm not sure what do about that, if anything. The run is deep litter, built up from whatever shavings get cleaned or thrown out of the coops, grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, etc. It really helps keep the odor and manure under control so I like it but this is discouraging if it is harboring these parasites. Obviously I don't want to just start putting pesticides everywhere, so I am hoping once we get a good cold spell maybe I can go and turn it over and expose them all to the cold and maybe that will do them in. I don't know if topical treatments on chickens work similar to dog and cat drops, where they kill or repel for 4 weeks because that would be my other option once everyone is old enough. The downside is I read that they can go for several months without eating. The ones that I saw in the run were red, so they are getting food from somewhere!

Also, regarding incubators... My first guinea egg incubation was terrible. After a few hatches though I was getting very good results. When the mamas went broody, I found that the eggs that spent more time in the incubator than under the broody had better hatch rates (all of the eggs spent some time under the broodies and some time in the incubator). I think the temperatures were more consistent, as was the turning of the eggs. However, you have to take into consideration my location and the time of year that that occurred. It seems it was too humid out and the eggs under the broody retained too much moisture, which can drown the babies as they try to hatch. Someone who lives where it is very very dry might also have issues. My chickens are able to get near 100% hatch rates on any eggs they sit on (once fertility is accounted for), but even in the incubator the guinea eggs are a bit different from the chickens and require a bit more care.I think it also makes a difference that the chickens sit on eggs in the nest box while the broodys have theirs on the leaves and dirt, which has more moisture and less insulation, I think. Earlier in the season the shells seemed to be especially hard and thick and that was an issue at hatch as well. In summary, my primary incubator is a Farm Innovators 4250 Digital Forced Air with Automatic Turner from Tractor Supply, and when I am hatching a lot and want to stagger hatches I also have a Chinese incubator that I took a chance on from Ebay and have used with good results. I incubate at about 40% humidity and then for hatch get up to 65% at a bare minimum, preferably closer to 75%. Throughout the hatch you have to learn to keep an eye on the air cell and adjust the humidity according to that. I also find that even though my incubator does not run hot they hatch in 26 days plus or minus a day, though they go for the full 28 with a broody.

 

[pattyhen]

Rhonda I have only hatched from an incubater one time. It was one of those little dome incubaters and it only held 3 eggs. I ended up hatching a silkie roo and that was it with my incubater experience. I have had chickens hatch babies before and my ducks do too. I'm no help with the incubaters at all. I would highly recomend a couple of silkie hens. They go broody all the time and make excellant mothers.

Sun I've always had good luck with using the sevin dust for the mites. You can get it in the garden section at the hardware stores or Walmart. I sprinkle the coop down when we clean it. It's always worked for us.

Rhonda I would love to see pics of the inside of your coop. They are very lucky to have air conditioning. I'm sorry about your loss of your guinea hen. I hope they stay safe.

Have a great day everyone.

 

[GlennLee]

I'll have to start checking online for some ideas on incubators. My neighbor has one for her chicks and she takes it into the Kindergarten class. She was asking if I would be willing to give it a try with some guinea eggs. I did read that the guinea eggs require higher humidity, but I'm just parroting what I've read.

Patti - you are contributing to my soft spot for adding to my flock. I'll have to keep in in mind as I consider all of my "mothering" options going forward.

And here it is - the grand opening of the BARN! I think I mentioned, they just moved themselves in the day after we got back. Too funny!




In the top picture - I put their two waterers (in case they tip one over) just inside one of the double doors. It's near an electrical outlet to heat the water in the winter. I can still open both doors if needed and that will give them access to drinking when they are outside. Next, their oyster shell and grit are in wall hanging rabbit feeders. The plastic "under the bed" storage unit is being used for dusting. I think I'm going to have to come up with something bigger, but it works for now. Then, there's a hay cave and the second picture sweeps around so you can see their perches. I wish they weren't as high as they are, but the are able to hop up there from the bales. We'll be getting more bales of straw so I'm hoping to create more caves. Under the roost area I have wood chips and the rest of the floor is covered with straw. They love to burrow down in it. We ended up putting in 4 louvered vents to draw air for cooling and of course, the air conditioner.

Here's my work area. There's a door with a window - so I can spy on them - in between the two areas.

To the left coming in from my exterior door, I've got some great storage for all their stuff (and mine)! The rug is made from recycled straws. I love the colors and it matches my boots.

The second picture is to the right of the entrance and shows the exhaust fan, lanterns and my work area.

The third picture shows how I'll be able to set up crates near a heat source (high electrical outlets) if necessary. That's my Plan C for raising keets at this point. Got to keep my options open.

I'm sure we'll be tweaking things as we go along, but I'm happy that they moved themselves in and seem content. They are a bit more on the aggressive side - probably from being in so much while we were gone. I have one in sick bay (crate) after soaking her feet (hobbling a bit, but I can't see anything) and she had to be treated for face abrasions. They have been closed out of the barn today and forced to free range. Maybe that will get some of the spunk out of them!

THANK YOU everyone for your ideas. It really helped us make better decisions. Nothing is perfect and everyone's situation is a bit different, but the sharing of your thoughts sure was appreciated.





Last two pictures of a close up of their morning dust bath and straw bale hopping. They just crack me up!

 

[GlennLee]

GlennLee-

The first time I found mites, I could actually feel and see them on me after I would go in the coop. This time I had no idea there were any until I was out doing a head count right after dark and happened to look at the bedding right at the doorway and saw them crawling. I did the same to the other coop and saw them there as well. In both cases, I never saw any mites on the birds but I believe these were Red Mites, which hide in crevices during the day and come out at night. In the very small areas of the coop that I checked I no doubt saw close to a hundred so I had to assume they were feeding on something, which of course would be my 60 bird buffet. The turkeys may be the only ones that would be exempt since their perch is outside and there would be no where for the mites to hide nearby.Or rather, I suppose they could hide but the odds of some venturing to where the turkeys are to even discover them would be slim.

I lost a lot of chicks lately and I'm not sure if it was an issue with the hatchery I got them from or if the mites were getting to the chicks. Obviously little chicks do not have a whole lot of blood to begin with so any loss can be significant. I did look them over multiple times and never saw signs, but I treated the brooder thoroughly just in case. I have two chicks in the house that weren't doing so well and I took them out to the run to dig around with the broody hen and her chicks. Well, they are very attached to me so I ended up squatting down and playing mama hen for them, digging through the bedding so they could grab at tidbits. I got down about 3" under the deep litter and saw what I believe are mites and lice! I'm not sure what do about that, if anything. The run is deep litter, built up from whatever shavings get cleaned or thrown out of the coops, grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, etc. It really helps keep the odor and manure under control so I like it but this is discouraging if it is harboring these parasites. Obviously I don't want to just start putting pesticides everywhere, so I am hoping once we get a good cold spell maybe I can go and turn it over and expose them all to the cold and maybe that will do them in. I don't know if topical treatments on chickens work similar to dog and cat drops, where they kill or repel for 4 weeks because that would be my other option once everyone is old enough. The downside is I read that they can go for several months without eating. The ones that I saw in the run were red, so they are getting food from somewhere!

Also, regarding incubators... My first guinea egg incubation was terrible. After a few hatches though I was getting very good results. When the mamas went broody, I found that the eggs that spent more time in the incubator than under the broody had better hatch rates (all of the eggs spent some time under the broodies and some time in the incubator). I think the temperatures were more consistent, as was the turning of the eggs. However, you have to take into consideration my location and the time of year that that occurred. It seems it was too humid out and the eggs under the broody retained too much moisture, which can drown the babies as they try to hatch. Someone who lives where it is very very dry might also have issues. My chickens are able to get near 100% hatch rates on any eggs they sit on (once fertility is accounted for), but even in the incubator the guinea eggs are a bit different from the chickens and require a bit more care.I think it also makes a difference that the chickens sit on eggs in the nest box while the broodys have theirs on the leaves and dirt, which has more moisture and less insulation, I think. Earlier in the season the shells seemed to be especially hard and thick and that was an issue at hatch as well. In summary, my primary incubator is a Farm Innovators 4250 Digital Forced Air with Automatic Turner from Tractor Supply, and when I am hatching a lot and want to stagger hatches I also have a Chinese incubator that I took a chance on from Ebay and have used with good results. I incubate at about 40% humidity and then for hatch get up to 65% at a bare minimum, preferably closer to 75%. Throughout the hatch you have to learn to keep an eye on the air cell and adjust the humidity according to that. I also find that even though my incubator does not run hot they hatch in 26 days plus or minus a day, though they go for the full 28 with a broody.

Thanks for the information on the incubators. I'll be sharing it with my neighbor as we are both planning on getting one - she has chickens and is looking for a new incubator as well. Very sorry to hear about your mite and lice problem. The same neighbor has more of a problem with lice in the winter than summer. Go figure! She attributes it to the fact that her chickens refuse to dust in the cold. I've heard horror stories about problems getting rid of red mites and I hope you are able to take care of it without them coming back. Keep us posted and let us know what works for you. I know you have connecting townhouses, so they will all share unfortunately.... Good luck!

 

[pattyhen]

Wow I love the coop. It's huge and it almost looks like a house. I love your little space too and you get to spend time with them and have your own area too. I will never let Spiderman or Mary Jane see these pics. I can see them now packing their little suitcases and walking down the street with their bus tickets. Thanks so much for sharing the pics with us.

 

[pattyhen]

Rhonda I forgot to add no wonder the guineas moved right in , they know a good thing when they see it. They look so happy in their new house.

 

[guineapeeps]

Love the coop.....it's awsome! My guineas would be jealous of it too!

 

[pearlGuinea]

Your guinea coop is so nice GlenLee. Just seeing that makes me ashamed of what I have for my guineas.