I have another broody guinea! Need advice on how to catch her.

[fledgling]

So, one of our free range guineas started a nest by our pump house and just started setting on Sunday. She was close enough to the wall of the pump house for me to wrap a length of 48 inch wire fence around her and anchor it the the pump house. She gave me a wary eye but stayed put. She has about 20+ eggs under her so I'm guessing most are too old to hatch. We have both male and female guineas so it's a good chance these are fertilized. The mommy is a lavender and the daddy is a royal purple. I placed a water dish in with her and tossed some laying pellets near her nest, but I suppose she won't partake. Had to try though because it is HOT down here right now.

Questions:

How long should she set?

What's the easiest way to catch the wild babies, if any actually hatch? We have a brooder set up for them.

Aside from snakes, she's pretty well protected but any other advice on getting her through this in one piece?

Do you think she'll eat or drink?

Thanks you, for any replies!

 

[suburbanminifarm]

1. let her set for 4 weeks
2&3. put her in the barn/garage/house in a large cage, that way she won't be a sitting duck for predators esp at nighttime. The babies would then be contained when they hatch. If there are any that aren't fitting under her, I mean if there are too many eggs for her body size, you will have a dismal or 0 hatch so candle and cull a few eggs now if need be.
4. she will eat and drink and poop approx twice a day, so be sure to keep fresh food and water in front of her and have a large enough enclosure that the poop won't soil the eggs
excited for you to have baby guineas! be sure to take pics if any hatch!

 

[fledgling]

Thank you for the info! I am not sure I could catch her. She is very wild and if I spook her off the nest, well, I don't have an incubator.

 

[damselfish]

Good luck, we did have one make it earlier this year in a setup as you describe.

My other suggestion would be to pull the food and water at night, so it doesn't attract anything hungry. We pulled both. I suppose the food was the main issue. We also snuck close to her and offered her treats (BOSS and millet) in a bowl each morning...I don't know if you can get that close.

Open one side of the fencing during the day until you're close to keet time. That way she can get out and back in if she wants, guineas hate to be alone and she will join the others at least once a day for a quick feed and dust. Make it a big opening so she doesn't get confused.

If she makes it to keet time, add some small-hole fencing to the bottom so the keets don't run through the holes before she's ready to take them out.

I hope it works for you!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

When ours go broody they get eaten. We had one last year that made a nest under a tree stump inside one of the chicken pens, she sat and sat one day she was all flustered and I went over and she was figting with a Copperhead that was in the nest, I saw that snake bite her at least twice, got rid of the snake for her and I figured she would be dead the next day. nope she was sitting away and happy as can be. One morning we went out and there was just a pile of feathers outside the pen, She came off the nest early in the morning and something got her.

I gathered the eggs and put them in the 'bator. two days later they hatched...she was so close.

Keep yours as secure as possible at night and good luck!!!!

Steve

 

[ColbyNTX]

About 20 eggs is normal for a guinea nest. They usually don't go broody until there is about that many. I would not move her or the nest. It sounds like you have put a fence around her to help keep out varmints, besides keeping food and water near her, that's all you need to do. Guineas are good incubators but poor mothers. The babies will not be hard to catch once they hatch besides mom fighting you for them. Chances are she will not raise a single keet. They run off and leave babies behind a few at a time until there are none left. They also lead them through the tall , wet grass and then they get chilled and die. I have had guineas that I knew were killed and then a month later they show up with an average of 17 keets. I have tried to let them raise them but each day there are less keets until none. Now I do catch the keets and sell them or raise them.

 

[fledgling]

Something got into her temporary pen last night. I lost her. No incubator so I also lost her eggs. RIP wild guinea hen.

 

[damselfish]

Oh, what a bummer, I'm so sorry. They do go quickly...we started out with 16 about a year and a half ago...eight boys and eight girls. We now have six remaining of the originals: 1 girl and 5 boys. (plus 3 keets!).

I'd keep them in, but the whole point of them being here is to keep the bugs in check.

 

[skeetshooter251]

I have 25 Rhode Island Reds and yesterday about 6pm I tired free ranging them.....my guineas starting chasing them around the yard and would single one out and attack her...what can I do ?

 

[fledgling]

Hello, I'm back!

We have another one setting on a nest. I plan to catch her tonight and move her to a private nest box my husband made. She is under some fallen limbs. Can anyone tell me the best way to catch her? I have a cage ready to move her to the box and a bucket to collect all her eggs in.

It IS easier to snag them at night, right?

Thank you very much! She will definitely not make it if I don't catch her.