Nest conundrum

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

This is Slate, an unimaginative name for a two year old slate guinea hen. She’s my only slate guinea and throws Pearl grey keets with her pied Pearl grey mate. As I still haven’t found time to work on my run, my guineas coop at night and are free range in the day. They have kept me on a merry chase with their nests this year. I’ve found most but am quite fearful that they will nest off property at some point, which would likely be disastrous.

So, Slate failed to coop up three nights ago and has continued that for three nights total. I knew she was on a nest but couldn’t find it until today. Today I followed her for two hours until she finally lead me to her nest. Side note, she made a fuss when she got in the nest so I peeked in and found a box turtle right on the eggs! Slate was freaking out trying to get it to leave but it was shut up tight, so I moved it for her. Anyway… I’m in a conundrum about what to do with this nest. I’d like to incubate the eggs since they will have started development, but my incubator is full of keets ready to hatch, so it would be about a week, which seems too long to hold already developing eggs. I could buy another incubator, but DD says that is crazy talk, and she’s probably right. DD sells the guineas eggs and keets, but I don’t sell developing eggs so that seems out without a last minute, unicorn buyer. DD votes for composting for eggs since three days development mean tiny little embryos still.

I’m also undecided on what to do with Slate. I could remove all eggs when she’s off the nest, and hope that breaks her broodiness. I could replace with marked eggs and grab her off the nest every night to place in coop. She’s a little wild so I don’t know if I can reliably grab her. Herding wouldn’t work either - too far from the coop and too much underbrush she could dart into along the way. Keeping her nest would hopefully stop a new nest from springing up somewhere due to communal nesting.
Bleh! No really great choices. I need that run so I can retrain them to nest in the coop!!!

 

[R2elk]

Most have failed but some have been successful by moving the nest into something like a dog carrier and leaving it open during the day and then closing it at night with the hen inside.

You put the carrier right where the nest was once you have moved the eggs into it. The worst that will happen is the hen will abandon the nest. The best that can happen is that she will accept the nest and be safely locked inside it at night.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Most have failed but some have been successful by moving the nest into something like a dog carrier and leaving it open during the day and then closing it at night with the hen inside.

You put the carrier right where the nest was once you have moved the eggs into it. The worst that will happen is the hen will abandon the nest. The best that can happen is that she will accept the nest and be safely locked inside it at night.

That’s a great idea! Thanks R2elk!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

An update to anyone following this: I did try R2elks excellent suggestion, but it didn’t work. It was getting dark, so I raided Slate’s nest and put the eggs into a cat carrier. Slate was not happy and kept trying to attack me, so I hated that she knows I’m a dirty egg thief! I put the carrier where the nest was then walked away in hopes she’d settle down and go in. Instead, she showed up back at the coop 30 min later, waiting to be let in. She also ignored the carrier with eggs in the coop, and placed back in her nest. Poor baby, I felt so bad that she thinks I’m a big bad predator now! Half of the eggs were grabbed by something (probably a snake) when I left the carrier in Slate’s nest for the day, so the remainder will just be composted… Despite how it turned out, I’m glad she didn’t spend one more night out there: I found another hidden nest in that general area, but the eggs were all broken open by a raccoon or opossum. Slate would not have lasted long in that area.

 

[Sydney65]

Since this is bound to happen again...I'm assuming by cat carrier you mean the plastic dome ones? What if you find a used dog crate-the metal kind?
I'm staring at puppy's time out cage, it's a medium sized one. What I'm thinking is that if you removed the tray insert, you could scoot that puppy right under the nest w/o you touching it. Bluey spent some time in it when the foot thing was going on & seemed to enjoy his reprieve from being outside in the coop.
I'm not sure what happens next. If you want to move her and the nest once she's in, I think w/help gently raising, you cld slide the tray back in as it sits lower in it's own slot.(see pic)
But to leave it, you'd have to anchor it in place and hope for the best. I guess you cld wire over the top and sides but still risking diggers. Good luck!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Since this is bound to happen again...I'm assuming by cat carrier you mean the plastic dome ones? What if you find a used dog crate-the metal kind?
I'm staring at puppy's time out cage, it's a medium sized one. What I'm thinking is that if you removed the tray insert, you could scoot that puppy right under the nest w/o you touching it. Bluey spent some time in it when the foot thing was going on & seemed to enjoy his reprieve from being outside in the coop.
I'm not sure what happens next. If you want to move her and the nest once she's in, I think w/help gently raising, you cld slide the tray back in as it sits lower in it's own slot.(see pic)
But to leave it, you'd have to anchor it in place and hope for the best. I guess you cld wire over the top and sides but still risking diggers. Good luck!View attachment 2679553View attachment 2679557

Yes, I do have one of those, currently occupied by my chicken hen with a prolapse! See pic; Cholo says Hello! That would probably be much better accepted by a guinea hen. However, those dog crates are heavy, and this nest was a fairly long distance away. I could see carrying the cat carrier back and forth, but there is no way I could see myself schlepping that wire crate back and forth between nest and coop every day! At least, I believe that’s how the OP that posted on this technique some time ago did this…

 

[R2elk]

Yes, I do have one of those, currently occupied by my chicken hen with a prolapse! See pic; Cholo says Hello! That would probably be much better accepted by a guinea hen. However, those dog crates are heavy, and this nest was a fairly long distance away. I could see carrying the cat carrier back and forth, but there is no way I could see myself schlepping that wire crate back and forth between nest and coop every day! At least, I believe that’s how the OP that posted on this technique some time ago did this…

The object is not to carry the nest back and forth but rather to provide a safe place for the hen to be on the nest at night. I cannot see a guinea hen taking kindly to her nest being moved back and forth.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

The object is not to carry the nest back and forth but rather to provide a safe place for the hen to be on the nest at night. I cannot see a guinea hen taking kindly to her nest being moved back and forth.

I was aiming for the technique outlined in this post…
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/17232959

 

[R2elk]

I was aiming for the technique outlined in this post…
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/17232959

She got really lucky. The object with a carrier is to leave it at the original nest site and lock the hen in at night once she has gone broody. There is no moving the nest, just closing the carrier at night and opening it each morning.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

She got really lucky. The object with a carrier is to leave it at the original nest site and lock the hen in at night once she has gone broody. There is no moving the nest, just closing the carrier at night and opening it each morning.

It would have to be a really predator proof carrier to work here, due to snakes, bobcats, raccoons, etc. I wouldn’t leave any of my cat or dog carriers outside with a bird in it as I’d be afraid that a raccoon could get it open or flip it, plus a snake could get through anything bigger than 1/2” hardware cloth. It was all a moot point anyway since she apparently didn’t fancy that whole idea!