Need advice

[Shaunowens]

As @chrissynemetz pointed out, if it is just the one that is not coming back at night, she is sitting on a hidden nest. You are most likely going to lose her to a predator. The odds of a hen surviving 28 days sitting on a nest in an area that is not predator proof at night are not very good.

How would I go about finding a hidden nest

 

[R2elk]

Yes it’s just 1 that is not returning at night but in the morning she returns to my property with the others. She hangs out all day then disappears at night agian. Also no there are no neighbors by me.

Almost a guarantee that she is sitting on a hidden nest at night.

How would I go about finding a hidden nest

By diligently searching for it. If you look for it at the right time (when she is on the nest during the day) you might be able to spot her mate standing nearby. He will be standing erect and acting like a lookout. If you approach, he will move away while sounding the alarm and try to lead you away from the nest. This doesn't always happen so you may just have to walk back and forth in the area the the nest is suspected to be in.

If you have the time to follow her, she will eventually lead you to the nest or at least close to it. Another aid can be if you hear the egg song, you can walk and search in the area that the song is coming from.

Good luck.

 

[Shaunowens]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions.im going to try and see were she’s going and will keep you updated.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Please do keep us posted!. I'm super curious to see what this little guinea is up to

 

[Shaunowens]

Good afternoon everyone this is a update on need advice. So first off I want to thank everyone on the advice you gave. So I have located my hen in the woods she was buried under a tree with a bunch of pine needles as cover. She has 10 little eggs in the nest. So my new question is should I move them to an Incubator or leave them alone??????

 

[Anime2lover]

If you put them in your bator, the mom might return to the flock on her own, or just start a new nest???

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 1925561 Good afternoon everyone this is a update on need advice. So first off I want to thank everyone on the advice you gave. So I have located my hen in the woods she was buried under a tree with a bunch of pine needles as cover. She has 10 little eggs in the nest. So my new question is should I move them to an Incubator or leave them alone??????

If you want to hatch the eggs and want the keets to have the best chance for survival, by all means, put them in the incubator. If you allow her to continue sitting on the nest, the most likely outcome is that a predator will take her. In rare cases a guinea hen has managed to survive hatching on a hidden nest but to also manage to bring the keets home with her. If you want to incubate the eggs and have her continue to use the nest, make sure she does not see you taking her eggs and replace them with fake eggs. Some people get by with using golf balls as fake eggs.

Good luck.

 

[DonnaScott]

So just for my understanding ...she comes home during the day and leaves at night?

Is that common? I thought they never left the nest.

How old are your guineas?

 

[Unicornlife3316]

So just for my understanding ...she comes home during the day and leaves at night?

Is that common? I thought they never left the nest.

How old are your guineas?

They leave the nest to get food/water.

I just had a guinea hen who didn’t come to roost, I know her usual nesting spot so I was able to find her and take her to the coop. I took her 13 eggs, she’s now back running with the flock and started a new nest in the exact same spot, so we’ll do the same thing again in probably another month.