Hatching Guinea's - One Guide from Indiana

Paul Jones · Sep 12, 2014

I know I googled here a lot when I started hatching guinea's - so hopefully this thread will be indexed, too. And, help someone out.

I started with 36 eBay shipped pearl gray guinea eggs. Shipped from Oklahoma to Indiana.

I paid a little over a dollar an egg shipped. Let them sit a day and warm up to room temperature before they hit the incubator.

I am using a Styrofoam hovabator with auto egg turner. Temp is hard to adjust and it did vary. I adjust by plugging holes and laying a towel on it and being patient!

I probably hatched 6 or 7 batches of guinea eggs - so that is my experience level. Hatched several batches of chickens, too.

My hatch rate is usually about 50% with shipped eggs. I got 53% with this hatch (so far)

I don't candle and just let them go.

Guinea eggs supposedly take 28 days so lockdown would be Day 25, but I lock down on Day 23 based on other hatches and other internet information.

I keep humidity at 50% until lockdown, then I had hot water to get the humidity in the 80% + range - or more.

I count the first day as Day 0 - so one full day is 24 hours. Here is my chart:

Day 0 8/14/14 6:00pm on incubator
Day 1 8/15/14
Day 2 8/16/14
Day 3 8/17/14
Day 4 8/18/14
Day 5 8/19/14
Day 6 8/20/14
Day 7 8/21/14
Day 8 8/22/14
Day 9 8/23/14
Day 10 8/24/14

Day 11 8/25/14
Day 12 8/26/14
Day 13 8/27/14
Day 14 8/28/14
Day 15 8/29/14
Day 16 8/30/14
Day 17 8/31/14
Day 18 9/1/14
Day 19 9/2/14
Day 20 9/3/14

Day 21 9/4/14
Day 22 9/5/14
Day 23 9/6/14 took off turner and increased humidity
Day 24 9/7/14 one pipping this am; now 2 this pm
Day 25 9/8/14 4 chicks this am. 8 keets by 6 pm
-------------------------
Day 26 9/9/14 10 keets this am; 14 by 6 pm
Day 27 9/10/14 14 keets this am. 15 by 6 pm
Day 28 9/11/14 15 keets this am; 17 by 6pm

Day 29 9/12/14. 19 this morning; but looking at remaining eggs, I think they are done.
Day 30 9/13/14