I have 3 lavender Guinea hens, going on 3 years old. Today they were gathered in the garden near the patio when I heard that tell-tale egg song of theirs. Sort of a whistling whee-hee-hee-hee that's hard to describe, but unmistakable for us who know what that sound means. That's how my kids & I know where to look in the yard for the guinea nest, we listen for that call and investigate the area when they've moved along.
The 3 hens tend to use the same nest spot. I'll mark a few of the older eggs, and leave them there to mark their place. Then we collect the fresh eggs each day. After a week or so one of them will go broody on the nest. We'll pull the hen off each night and set her up in the barn with her sisters to sleep. If the hen gets really insistent on staying in the nest, we'll have to cover the spot and then the guineas have to select a new nesting place for us to discover.
I had to dispatch their husband after he attacked my youngest boy, so there's no use for them to brood their eggs. We're glad to have them for eating. Since they forage more & eat less feed, their eggs taste richer. But they are awfully hard to crack, I have to smash them on the counter to get them to break.
The 3 hens tend to use the same nest spot. I'll mark a few of the older eggs, and leave them there to mark their place. Then we collect the fresh eggs each day. After a week or so one of them will go broody on the nest. We'll pull the hen off each night and set her up in the barn with her sisters to sleep. If the hen gets really insistent on staying in the nest, we'll have to cover the spot and then the guineas have to select a new nesting place for us to discover.
I had to dispatch their husband after he attacked my youngest boy, so there's no use for them to brood their eggs. We're glad to have them for eating. Since they forage more & eat less feed, their eggs taste richer. But they are awfully hard to crack, I have to smash them on the counter to get them to break.
