Mating in January?

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I’ve posted on my flock several times - I had a flock of seven hens and one cock, who mates all hens but had a favorite, core group of four hens. We added juveniles in a new guinea coop in the fal - 10 in total split between 5 boys and 5 girls. The juvenile group is now 4-5 months old. I need to integrate the two flicks and have them all roost in the new coop. I plan to do this by fencing in all guineas for 4-6 weeks, but this will be stressful on all of them as the older guineas are very attached to their old coop and the new guineas get chased by the old ones. So, I had planned to wait until the end of February, when young guineas are full grown and before breeding season craziness to fence them all in together and condition to the new coop.

Last year, the established flock did not start breeding and egg laying until mid-April, and continued until October. So, I was quite surprised to see my older male breed his favorite hen just now! Why are they breeding in early January?? Will she lay eggs, do you think?

I have noticed that my older cock has been a little crazy/more aggressive for the past month. I’m guessing that he’s just realized that there are males in the new group and he’s trying to assert his authority, but I’m surprised that this has led to out of season breeding! Any thoughts on how this should affect plans to merge the two groups?

 

[R2elk]

I believe it has to do with the difference in the weather this winter compared to last winter. Of course if supplemental light is supplied, it can cause an earlier than normal breeding season.

Just in the past week of relatively mild temperatures here, my guinea hens are all "buckwheating" constantly which is a prelude to mating season.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I believe it has to do with the difference in the weather this winter compared to last winter. Of course if supplemental light is supplied, it can cause an earlier than normal breeding season.

Just in the past week of relatively mild temperatures here, my guinea hens are all "buckwheating" constantly which is a prelude to mating season.

Yes, mine have all been buckwheating a lot too, though I put this down to the two flocks spending more time “together” (next to each other sometimes). No supplemental light here. Do you think that the hens will lay earlier? Also, any more thoughts about when to lock them all in together to retrain to the new coop? I’m still debating late Feb vs April, since I’ll need to lock them in for at least part of the day when they start laying, in order to encourage them to use the new nest boxes...

 

[R2elk]

Yes, mine have all been buckwheating a lot too, though I put this down to the two flocks spending more time “together” (next to each other sometimes). No supplemental light here. Do you think that the hens will lay earlier? Also, any more thoughts about when to lock them all in together to retrain to the new coop? I’m still debating late Feb vs April, since I’ll need to lock them in for at least part of the day when they start laying, in order to encourage them to use the new nest boxes...

Whether or not the hens will lay earlier will probably depend on how the rest of the winter goes. My hens laid so late last year that I expect them to lay earlier this year but....

I would recommend attempting and completing the merger and new coop training before full blown mating season. Anything done differently during full mating season and the start of laying season can adversely affect breeding and laying. If they were mine, I would have already started on it once the last laying season was over.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Whether or not the hens will lay earlier will probably depend on how the rest of the winter goes. My hens laid so late last year that I expect them to lay earlier this year but....

I would recommend attempting and completing the merger and new coop training before full blown mating season. Anything done differently during full mating season and the start of laying season can adversely affect breeding and laying. If they were mine, I would have already started on it once the last laying season was over.

In October the juveniles were still keets, and you and I had actually discussed waiting until keets were six months so that they could stand better against the adults... They are very near adult size now: do you think I should try now instead of waiting for them to fully mature? I am not worried about maximizing fertility, etc. My primary goal for this year is just to get them all together in one coop... Thanks for weighing in!

 

[R2elk]

In October the juveniles were still keets, and you and I had actually discussed waiting until keets were six months so that they could stand better against the adults... They are very near adult size now: do you think I should try now instead of waiting for them to fully mature? I am not worried about maximizing fertility, etc. My primary goal for this year is just to get them all together in one coop... Thanks for weighing in!

I would start now. It should be easier to do while hormones are not raging.