It's been one week and she's still alive......

[mrbstephens]

My guinea hen hasn't been coming home to roost and I'm sure there's a nest in my neighbor's yard. I've seen her over there and I hear her buckweating every evening and every morning. Tomorrow it will be one week. I know the first day she did come off the nest during the day at one point when I saw her eating the neighbor's bird seed. Would that still be considered day 1? Just trying to calculate when these babies are due to hatch. Once they hatch, would I expect to see her come home with them? I heard that guinea hens aren't good mothers, so would I need to catch the babies or would it be OK to let her raise them?

 

[billfields]

I'm kinda in the same position. Two of mine are not around and are not roosting with the rest and I think they are on nests (or eaten by some critter while they sat on the nest) I've found the nest of a third with 20 eggs yesterday and 21 today so she is still adding to it. My issue is that I don’t think any of mine are male so I’m afraid that none of them have fertile eggs.

From what I hear they make awful mothers and have a high mortality rate in the first days so I plan, if they do hatch any to try and take them and brood them myself. Again, not from my own experiences but have been told that if you have a brooder that allows the mother and other adults to see and "talk" to the keets but keeps her form dragging them around they tend to bond in with the flock better. I thought why not just put her in the space with them---apparently if enclosed in too small a space the momma walks on the babies. Not exactly the bubble wrap sort of parents I guess.

Based on hens I would count day one the first day she was on the eggs. And I would start watching a few days earlier. hens are suppose to be 21 days but all my broodies start hatching at day 20, sometimes earlier.

Good luck!!

Bill

 

[mrbstephens]

Yes, but guineas take more like 26-28 days to hatch.

 

[billfields]

I know guineas take longer but my point is given the reputation guinea hens have of not being great mothers I would start watching early to try and round up her keets before she looses too many. And like I said, my broody hens often are a few days ahead of the 21 days chickens are suppose to take so I would anticipate guineas possibly taking less than the 28 days they are suppose to need.

 

[mrbstephens]

Oh, OK. I gottcha.

 

[lionkitty71]

My guineas jus hatched her eggs it took her 26 days.. She is a very overprotective mother though. Both male and female sat the whole time. If we even head near where the babies are they both attack us. I would be careful because ours won't let us near the babies without trying to attack us.