Hatching Guinea Fowl using hens

[JacksonP]

Hi, i have been interested in getting Guineas for a while, and we are getting chickens this weekend. The neighbor we are getting the coup from will have two hens coming with it, and we are getting some more chicks. I want to try and raise the guineas with the chicks so that they act more like chickens. Can I use a hen to incubate guinea eggs? Also, does anyone know where I can get guinea hatching eggs in California?

 

[R2elk]

Hi, i have been interested in getting Guineas for a while, and we are getting chickens this weekend. The neighbor we are getting the coup from will have two hens coming with it, and we are getting some more chicks. I want to try and raise the guineas with the chicks so that they act more like chickens. Can I use a hen to incubate guinea eggs? Also, does anyone know where I can get guinea hatching eggs in California?

I do not recommend raising guinea keets with chicks. This causes the guineas to lose the ability to understand that chickens are not guineas.

Everything can seem to be going very well right up until the first breeding season. At that point the guineas start their breeding rituals which are entirely foreign to the chickens. Chickens often get attacked from behind as the guineas start pulling or breaking off feathers. The chickens cannot understand this behavior and become very stressed.

There is nothing wrong with letting a chicken hen hatch guinea eggs. I do this myself but when the keets hatch, I take them away from the chicken and put them in their own brooder.

I have raised keets and chicks together and will not do that anymore. I now raise my keets separately and house my guineas separately from my chickens. I can allow both the guineas and chickens to free range in the same area at the same time without either group bothering the other group. I could not do that when I raised and housed the guineas and chickens together. The guineas would constantly terrorize the chickens after the first breeding season arrived.

 

[Anita Scott]

My first 2 chickens were raised with my guineas. They like to roost high with the guineas and like to hide their eggs. The next batch of chickens were raised together, seperate from the guineas. They lay their eggs in the nest boxes and roost together on the lower roost. During the day they all free range together.
Currently I have 3 broody hens and over a 100 guinea eggs. At day 22 I placed 28 of the eggs under 2 of the hens. One hen kept going off of her nest, while the other one likes to lay on her eggs. I had 1 early hatchling the morning that I put them out, so when the keet roams around the brooder she gets off of her eggs. They usually hatch around day 25 in the incubator. All are candled and looked good when I put them under the hens.
Tonight is day 25, so I will see how it goes with the hen. Between the 2 hens they have been getting off of the eggs for an unknown amount of time. It jas been in the 70s here during the day.
I have the first 20 sold, but have that amount due to hatch in the incubator as a backup plan.

 

[50-45-1]

Guineas are not chickens and never will be.
Guineas do best in a free ranging situation, and if confined with chickens in to small of a space may be come to aggresive for chickens.
I myself have used a broody chicken to hatch and raise guineas many, many times with no problems.
The young guineas just naturally start ranging with the adult guineas at some point.
Its all about the room you are going to be giving them. Guineas live to roam freely in search of bugs. Ticks are there favorite.
If you have limited property and close neighbors, i would not advise guineas for you.

 

[Anita Scott]

I am finding that hatching under the chicken is not as successful as the incubator and brood box. Although my chicken loves having a baby under her. She does well with one or two keets and she is young. All my chickens are going broody for the first time. I tried putting about 9 keets under and lost 2 of them. She laid on one, then let the other one wander around outside of the heated area. Another one was pecked on. I caught her with one under her foot also and saved it.
Well the brood box is back in use for now.
My chickens , turkeys and guineas all free range and have dedicated sleeping coops. Pretty much they segregate themselves. But some chickens prefer to sleep in the guinea coop. They mingle together off and on during the day and one chicken lays in the guinea nest.