Guinea talk.

[guinealeghorn]

I have watched guinea males have vicious fights.  After the fights are over, their heads look terrible from all the pecks that drew blood.  The loser typically is deeply depressed for weeks.  If it is the alpha male that loses the fight all of the other males will take their turns picking on him which can sometimes lead to death from all the abuse and depression.

That sounds horrible! Mine haven't drawn blood yet, though they do catch each other's necks occasionally. They shake them and let them go. I hope they don't get any more aggressive than that!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote:
I put a straw-bale cave setup in their coop, and another one in the small disused coop they like to visit. I put hay, for nesting, on the floor in the cubbyholes. I am hoping they might choose to nest there. They would be safe if they do. I'm thinking about hunting down their other nests.

 

[GlennLee]

Victoria-nola - It will be interesting to see if those straw bale caves encourage nesting. They sure like them now, but all bets are off when it comes to mating season and going broody. The more we can entice them to lay where it's safe, the better. I'll be looking forward to sharing those stories in a few months. As for today, we are in the middle of "Snowmagedon". The guineas are toasty warm in their little barn and probably won't be out until some of the 2 feet plus of snow here melts away. Good day for venison stew and luckily, I already had some made and just pulled it out of the freezer. Keep warm and dry everyone!

 

[fancychick1]

Thanks for all the nesting info. Mine are always investigating spots in the coop so hopefully that's where I will find any eggs. I don't keep normal nest boxes in normals places. My chickens are not normal, I have assorted sizes of storage tunes with assorted size holes cut in them. I put them in the areas they like to lay so if it's in a hard to reach area then I can just pull a tub out and get the eggs. My turkeys even have one they can fit in and lay their eggs in it. One week they all lay in two different boxes and another week they lay in a different set. I believe the guineas are trying to find one to make theirs.
I know their eggs are probably small but are they a certain color or have spots. I also have silkies and their eggs are small.

 

[GlennLee]

Here is a photo of the eggs I collected from a cooperative nest in the fall when they first start laying. You'll see a variety of shapes and sizes, then in time, the become more uniform. Mine were a light brown and most had some spotting on them. The largest one was smaller than a small chicken's egg and I'd say about two of them equaled an extra large egg for eating purposes - just to give you an idea.

 

[dan26552]

When do guineas usually start laying?

 

[GlennLee]

That somewhat depends on where you live and the time of year they are hatched. I got mine at the beginning of May 2016. MOST guineas born at that time wouldn't start laying until spring, but mine started laying the end of August and I had one go broody on me the end of September, so they were almost 3 months old when I saw the first egg. They stopped laying the beginning of October and haven't started laying yet this year, but I live in Central New York. I'm guessing it will be about another month for me. Others in warmer areas may have guineas laying in February or March.

 

[dan26552]

That somewhat depends on where you live and the time of year they are hatched.  I got mine at the beginning of May 2016.  MOST guineas born at that time wouldn't start laying until spring, but mine started laying the end of August and I had one go broody on me the end of September, so they were almost 3 months old when I saw the first egg.  They stopped laying the beginning of October and haven't started laying yet this year, but I live in Central New York.  I'm guessing it will be about another month for me.  Others in warmer areas may have guineas laying in February or March. 

Ok. Wow! Three months!? Thats so early! I hatched mine between the 18th and 19th of last month.

 

[GlennLee]

Most of mine are the Jumbo French variety and they grow and develop faster. I would bet that yours will start laying at least by fall since you started them so early, even with the regular domestics. This is going to be a fun thread this spring - filled with lively discussion on broody hens and hatching keets!

 

[dan26552]

Most of mine are the Jumbo French variety and they grow and develop faster.  I would bet that yours will start laying at least by fall since you started them so early, even with the regular domestics.  This is going to be a fun thread this spring - filled with lively discussion on broody hens and hatching keets!

Oh. That's still really young. (Compared to the ducks and chickens I'm used to.) I hope so! I'm in AL so we do have a really long summer.


Yeah.