June Hatch-A-Long

[FortCluck]

I swear I have the worlds broodiest guineas!!! I have another that’s gone broody now, on only 3 eggs!

Do you let them hatch eggs?

 

[jolenesdad]

I swear I have the worlds broodiest guineas!!! I have another that’s gone broody now, on only 3 eggs!

can guineas get Mareks.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Omg have you had a broody guinea since last years mess????

Yeah, I’m a glutton for punishment! Do you remember that after we cleaned the giant mess of a nest, two guineas continued to be broody? I only left them a few eggs, and they hatched one keet. All was good at first, but they abandoned after a few days. That keet was Viceroy, who’s the broody on eggs. Her biological momma just went broody next to her! Anyway, I decided to let Viceroy give it a try, as integrating last years babies has been so so hard, and I’ve lost several birds this year. What I’m doing different as compared to that giant communal nest last year is that I kick all broodies off the eggs once a day and collect new eggs, so the broody is sitting on eggs that are hopefully all the same age, and there is no possibility of a giant nest. Viceroy doesn’t let many other hens lay their eggs under her, so I left three steamed, marked eggs in an adjacent nest, which is where Whelch went broody. No real eggs for her right now...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Do you let them hatch eggs?

I’m letting one of them hatch eggs. I had a disastrous, huge nest last year, where eggs broke and the moms killed the hatching keets. I had one other tiny hatch last year that went better, but moms abandoned the keet after a few days. I’m a glutton for punishment!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

can guineas get Mareks.

I don’t believe so. I can’t find published scientific evidence that they can, and I’ve not seen one of our guineas sick with anything Marek’s-like. Mostly my guineas’ health problems all come down to injury: self, fighting, or eaten by predator!

 

[FortCluck]

I’m letting one of them hatch eggs. I had a disastrous, huge nest last year, where eggs broke and the moms killed the hatching keets. I had one other tiny hatch last year that went better, but moms abandoned the keet after a few days. I’m a glutton for punishment!

I have 3 broodies so I will probably be in the same boat. They all went broody at the same time.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Yeah, I’m a glutton for punishment! Do you remember that after we cleaned the giant mess of a nest, two guineas continued to be broody? I only left them a few eggs, and they hatched one keet. All was good at first, but they abandoned after a few days. That keet was Viceroy, who’s the broody on eggs. Her biological momma just went broody next to her! Anyway, I decided to let Viceroy give it a try, as integrating last years babies has been so so hard, and I’ve lost several birds this year. What I’m doing different as compared to that giant communal nest last year is that I kick all broodies off the eggs once a day and collect new eggs, so the broody is sitting on eggs that are hopefully all the same age, and there is no possibility of a giant nest. Viceroy doesn’t let many other hens lay their eggs under her, so I left three steamed, marked eggs in an adjacent nest, which is where Whelch went broody. No real eggs for her right now...

I had to do the same with my turkeys. One hen would set and the others just kept adding, and adding, and adding... I learned to mark initial eggs then remove anything that wasn't marked or I'd a get a hot mess really fast.
Though turkey moms, guineas too (I used to have them) are not good moms so I would remove anything that hatched and give it to a broody chicken hen.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

*sigh*
I WISH I'd have a hen go broody here. Much prefer giving chicks to a hen to raise, so y'all.....feel free to send any extra broodies my way!

 

[jolenesdad]

I’m letting one of them hatch eggs. I had a disastrous, huge nest last year, where eggs broke and the moms killed the hatching keets. I had one other tiny hatch last year that went better, but moms abandoned the keet after a few days. I’m a glutton for punishment!

@FortCluck dont listen to her. It was more than disastrous. It was one of the most dedicated and incredible series of events I’ve seen from someone on BYC with how she and her DD had to handle the hatch.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

@FortCluck dont listen to her. It was more than disastrous. It was one of the most dedicated and incredible series of events I’ve seen from someone on BYC with how she and her DD had to handle the hatch.

Awww, you’re sweet Jolenesdad - thanks!