I found a nest of guinea eggs!

[Moonbeam Guineas]

Love reading your experiences! Yeah, my Guineas will be 1 yr old in July. ..im going to go out looking again and see what I can find. Thanks

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Love reading your experiences! Yeah, my Guineas will be 1 yr old in July. ..im going to go out looking again and see what I can find. Thanks

Good luck finding their nest! I had bobcats using bramble patches for guineas so we ended up clearing and burning a lot of brush. Seems to have discouraged the bobcats.

 

[Sydney65]

My hens have been slowing down and laying later each year as they get older. At 8 years old for the oldest ones, they did lay fewer eggs last year. All evidence indicates that even the oldest hens laid eggs last year but they definitely were not laying every day like they did when they were younger.

At 6 months old, a guinea hen is sexually mature and capable of breeding and laying eggs. The problem with imprinting Numi like you have is that she may not realize that she is a guinea and may not take kindly to breeding attempts from the boys.

And @R2elk calls it! Brodie was doing the thing today, laying down about a foot from Numi while she grazed, followed her around... remember the cartoon of the yellow chick that took on the chicken hawk? Lol. She had him by the wing once, the tail another time, wound up like she was at a discus throwing event & sent him spinning. Another time she turned around, startled bc he was in her space, jumped on his back and pummeled him with her wings. I probably shouldn't laugh, but he's much bigger than her, so it was amusing.
I think I'll start putting her in the kennel for her own safety. I've been letting them out for a short period of time when it's nice out, taking advantage of early spring and not looking to nest yet, staying up close to house. But amusing as her reaction is, I'm sure in the end he wins, and she gets hurt. That just won't do.

 

[Moonbeam Guineas]

I have recently found 2 nests!! One with a hen on the eggs!! That nest is under a fence with a lot of brush and thorns .. She doesnt sit on the eggs at night, I count and all my guineas are roosted in the barn. Will they even hatch if they are only sitting on them part time?

On the 2nd nest, I did rade it!! I also left eggs becasue its easy for me to get to them. And I cracked open 3 eggs..it appears 2 of the 3 are fertilized?? Is that what the white dot is?

 

[tranquiliti]

Is it really mating season already??!! I suppose my thinking is off, bc if I'm receiving keets at the end of May, they're being layed in a couple of weeks W/my flock size down, I may not see normal behavior w/the 3, but I'm just not seeing it yet. Mia will make like he's going to chase Brodie, but doesn't (human comparison, raise fist step forward, scowl, but then walk away) & the 3 cont to mosey along. Nor has she started laying yet, & she always starts that way before courting kicks in. Nor roaming; they're still doing endless circles around the house.
Lol..turn away, R2, I'm about to apply those human characteristics..bc after watching Numi ranting at & continuously kicking that little ball out of her area, the image of her reaction to laying her 1st egg is pretty amusing!

Yes, I have witnessed my girls’ first obvious egg (are there others hidden outdoors somewhere? ) with evidence of violent pecking! When I first read y’all’s discourse here I was doubtful a hen would be so extreme, but no. It is clear to me now…

And:
1. Those shells are works of art! I hard boiled the cracked egg, and removing the shell was a dream. (Waiting to see how an intact guinea shell will compare!)
2. Then I sliced open what had solidified, and the egg was sweet!!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I have recently found 2 nests!! One with a hen on the eggs!! That nest is under a fence with a lot of brush and thorns .. She doesnt sit on the eggs at night, I count and all my guineas are roosted in the barn. Will they even hatch if they are only sitting on them part time?

On the 2nd nest, I did rade it!! I also left eggs becasue its easy for me to get to them. And I cracked open 3 eggs..it appears 2 of the 3 are fertilized?? Is that what the white dot is?

View attachment 3074796View attachment 3074797View attachment 3074798

Looks to me like at least one is fertilized (left
Lower). Not sure about the right one and I can’t see the top one well. If you can keep warm for a day you can see the bullseye a little better. Or you can incubated and candle in 1-2 weeks and toss the duds! As for your outdoor nest, your hen will likely spend more and more time on the nest then just won’t come home one night and will stay there full time. When that happens with mine, I herd or carry them back to the coop. Hens that sit on a nest are easy prey.

 

[MissyKen]

Here's what eggs my good dog brought to me today.. And a pic of her & my duck.
View attachment 3050082View attachment 3050083

So sweet!!!!