New Incubation Questions

[Sydney65]

I may just be lucky but this is the second year I have had a successful broody hatch and rearing all in the coop with only 3 out of eleven hatchlings getting trampled or exposed to cold. They were all hatched over the july 4th weekend where we had an exceptionally cold few days where highs were in the mid 60s and 50's at night. It is the second year with my white hen teaming up with my oldest cock and another pearl hen. Last year my lavender hen was the second hen involved. After reading all the posts the last few months with all the disappointing results of incubating and integrating of keets I just feel fortunate that I didn't have to go through any of that. And though the little incubating I have done has been more a result of luck than skill, I do feel that a lot of the problems with integrating of keets ,even after they have been successfully introduced within the coop all hinges on flock dynamics.

This years 8 keets where reared in the coop amongst the general population(12) from day one and all three guarded the keets with abandon especially the cock who never let any of the other guineas anywhere near the keets. I am not real sure exactly how much the other population guineas tried to attack the new keets, I saw some aggression but not a lot. I'd like to think that being the oldest and biggest he carries some clout but after the 8 keets started free ranging with the general population, him, being my oldest and biggest cock was challenged constantly by younger and faster cocks. By September he looked the worst for wear as far as lost feathers out of all of them, but that being said, he's still top dog as things are settling out. I have one big flock now ,but as it stands I have to many hens so it looks like guinea cacciatore is going to be on the menu soon. I feel it is important to maintain the good dynamics with just a few more hens than cocks, and as long as I have coop reared keets coming the dynamics should stay the same.
Here's a vid of the three adults with keets and the cock is telegraphing to me I am close enough. And I understood!

Lol..those big ol' wattles. I miss my crew so much. They weren't a big flock, but I could - and did - spend hrs just watching the teamwork they had in order to protect "the flock".
Watching 2 males who had been sparing the week before now walk side by side w/just enough room for the 2 keets I introduced to fit in between them - well, it was just one of THOSE experiences, you know?

 

[Sydney65]

Most turkey hens are both excellent broodies and mothers. Young hens may abandon the nest before hatching but once they figure it out they are good at it.

Each turkey hen is an individual with her own idiosyncrasies. I had one hen that abandoned her newly hatched poults at one week old when she started laying again. The hen that was broody in the same area with her gladly adopted her poults and raised them with her own.

The problem is that there are far too many things that can go wrong when they are in the general population. There are reasons wild turkey hens seek out hidden areas where the toms can't find them to lay, brood, hatch and raise their poults.

Their behavior is instinctual and has nothing to do with whether they were hen brooded or hatched in an incubator.

As far as guineas go, not all of them will go broody. The ones that go broody are capable of hatching the eggs as long as they are not allowed to have a ginormous nest. I don't let any of my guinea hens brood eggs because that would mean allowing them to sit outside at night in a predator filled world.

I did have a unique situation this year where a hen was so well hidden that I did not find her until she came off the nest the next morning. It was two more weeks before I found the nest. That morning I caught her and put her in my grow out pen with a lone keet that I had in the brooder. She did not attack the keet but she also did not mother it. They spent about 6 weeks together in the grow out pen before I returned her and the keet to the coop with the others.

After a couple of days in the release pen without any attacks by the others, I released them. The hen merged right back in with the group. Due to the timing the youngster went through an awful period of being attacked by all of the guineas except her. It was right when breeding season was over and everyone was returning to the main group. All of them were in constant turmoil due to pecking order readjustments. It took several more weeks before the youngster found his place in the flock.

I never thought abt that; we see groups of female wild turkeys & poults in the field, but never males.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I may just be lucky but this is the second year I have had a successful broody hatch and rearing all in the coop with only 3 out of eleven hatchlings getting trampled or exposed to cold. They were all hatched over the july 4th weekend where we had an exceptionally cold few days where highs were in the mid 60s and 50's at night. It is the second year with my white hen teaming up with my oldest cock and another pearl hen. Last year my lavender hen was the second hen involved. After reading all the posts the last few months with all the disappointing results of incubating and integrating of keets I just feel fortunate that I didn't have to go through any of that. And though the little incubating I have done has been more a result of luck than skill, I do feel that a lot of the problems with integrating of keets ,even after they have been successfully introduced within the coop all hinges on flock dynamics.

This years 8 keets where reared in the coop amongst the general population(12) from day one and all three guarded the keets with abandon especially the cock who never let any of the other guineas anywhere near the keets. I am not real sure exactly how much the other population guineas tried to attack the new keets, I saw some aggression but not a lot. I'd like to think that being the oldest and biggest he carries some clout but after the 8 keets started free ranging with the general population, him, being my oldest and biggest cock was challenged constantly by younger and faster cocks. By September he looked the worst for wear as far as lost feathers out of all of them, but that being said, he's still top dog as things are settling out. I have one big flock now ,but as it stands I have to many hens so it looks like guinea cacciatore is going to be on the menu soon. I feel it is important to maintain the good dynamics with just a few more hens than cocks, and as long as I have coop reared keets coming the dynamics should stay the same.
Here's a vid of the three adults with keets and the cock is telegraphing to me I am close enough. And I understood!

What a beautiful guy!!! Is the white hen Ebay? I’m glad that you had a successful coop hatch. My previous broody guinea hatches were in the coop with no separation from the flock. This year was different because the “dad” was attacking the keets… Like you though, I’m generally happy with my broody hatch this year!

 

[southwind00]

Is the white hen Ebay?

Yep, and if you remember she was the only one of eight eggs I bought off of ebay that hatched. I now know a lot more about the pitfalls of shipped eggs from the posts here over the last few months. One of the keets from this years hatch is also a white hen and it is surprising how much the two white hens hang together, grooming and dusting together. Do guineas see/sense similarity in color? The way they act it sure seems it.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

One of the keets from this years hatch is also a white hen and it is surprising how much the two white hens hang together, grooming and dusting together. Do guineas see/sense similarity in color? The way they act it sure seems it.

My chickens sort of do this too but usually based on breed. Maybe it's due to similar personality traits in their genetics?
I have 4 Ameraucanas that are glued to each other, 2 Lavender and 2 White (The Olive Egger, Marans, and Polish that were raised with them hang out but clearly aren't in their "click" lol).
Same experience with 2 Mottled Orpingtons glued to each other, 1 black mottled and 1 lavender mottled (the jet black English Orpington wasn't invited to thier click, lol)
I had a couple of White Leghorns, one passed away and the sister stopped laying for about 2 months, nothing was wrong with her but I think she must have been depressed.
I would say that it's related to them being raised together but I have plenty of hens that were raised together that could care less about each other, lol.

 

[R2elk]

Yep, and if you remember she was the only one of eight eggs I bought off of ebay that hatched. I now know a lot more about the pitfalls of shipped eggs from the posts here over the last few months. One of the keets from this years hatch is also a white hen and it is surprising how much the two white hens hang together, grooming and dusting together. Do guineas see/sense similarity in color? The way they act it sure seems it.

All fowl recognize and if given the choice will segregate with their own color/variety right up until breeding season. At that time the males exhibit pretty much the same traits as human males by seeking out any females.

 

[Sydney65]

What a beautiful guy!!! Is the white hen Ebay? I’m glad that you had a successful coop hatch. My previous broody guinea hatches were in the coop with no separation from the flock. This year was different because the “dad” was attacking the keets… Like you though, I’m generally happy with my broody hatch this year!

Was the daddy young/1st timer? -have I asked you that before? (sorry guys, it's going to be males, dads or boys, I just can't bring myself to walk around saying or writing cock all the time) it makes ppl around here titter nervously.
Just curious abt concept maturity. I often see "never hatch 1st yr eggs" - w/rebuttals that "I do it all the time w/o problems." But never an explanation as to why.
You all know my hen and boys were 3 when she had her first hatch, and as I've said, it was pretty amazing to watch the 3 of them (plus little Mia) take care of the keets. So I could possibly see a maturity link.
Likewise, Rosie's first yr of laying consisted of a lot of shell-less eggs. So I cld see the debate that her reproductive system wasn't up to speed.
Conversely, I've read that hens stop laying around their 3rd yr and eggs shldnt be hatched -obviously Rosie wasn't convinced. We'll see what she decides this year,

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yep, and if you remember she was the only one of eight eggs I bought off of ebay that hatched. I now know a lot more about the pitfalls of shipped eggs from the posts here over the last few months. One of the keets from this years hatch is also a white hen and it is surprising how much the two white hens hang together, grooming and dusting together. Do guineas see/sense similarity in color? The way they act it sure seems it.

I’ve had two white cocks at separate times. The first was killed at 4 mo old, and he seemed to be in the thick of things in his flock. The second was Hamlet, who is Welch’s mate and a keet killer (I guess I can’t ever talk about him now without mentioning his keeticidal ways… ) One year old Hamlet has been a bit on the periphery his whole life, which could be because he was my only white bird. He was also late maturing too, so maybe he’s just a little different anyway? He picked so many cock rights this summer! The racing, feather pulling kind. Then the keet killing thing… He’s also one of my favorites. I just added two white keets so it will be interesting to see if they particularly hang out together! I’ll also add that my only violet and slate birds are on the periphery of the group, but so is Viceroy who is purple and Scout black who is Pearl grey.

 

[R2elk]

Was the daddy young/1st timer? -have I asked you that before? (sorry guys, it's going to be males, dads or boys, I just can't bring myself to walk around saying or writing cock all the time) it makes ppl around here titter nervously.
Just curious abt concept maturity. I often see "never hatch 1st yr eggs" - w/rebuttals that "I do it all the time w/o problems." But never an explanation as to why.
You all know my hen and boys were 3 when she had her first hatch, and as I've said, it was pretty amazing to watch the 3 of them (plus little Mia) take care of the keets. So I could possibly see a maturity link.
Likewise, Rosie's first yr of laying consisted of a lot of shell-less eggs. So I cld see the debate that her reproductive system wasn't up to speed.
Conversely, I've read that hens stop laying around their 3rd yr and eggs shldnt be hatched -obviously Rosie wasn't convinced. We'll see what she decides this year,

Be careful when trying to apply chicken information to guineas. There is a lot of disinformation posted about chickens. The "they quit laying after 3 years" has some value when talking about production layers. It is a load of crock when talking about non-production layers.

I set all eggs regardless of whether they are pullet eggs or old hen eggs. I don't coddle the eggs or the offspring. If they are meant to live, they will. If they have issues, I don't want them to be a part of my breeding flock or anyone else's flock.

 

[Sydney65]

I’ve had two white cocks at separate times. The first was killed at 4 mo old, and he seemed to be in the thick of things in his flock. The second was Hamlet, who is Welch’s mate and a keet killer (I guess I can’t ever talk about him now without mentioning his keeticidal ways… ) One year old Hamlet has been a bit on the periphery his whole life, which could be because he was my only white bird. He was also late maturing too, so maybe he’s just a little different anyway? He picked so many cock rights this summer! The racing, feather pulling kind. Then the keet killing thing… He’s also one of my favorites. I just added two white keets so it will be interesting to see if they particularly hang out together! I’ll also add that my only violet and slate birds are on the periphery of the group, but so is Viceroy who is purple and Scout black who is Pearl grey.

I remember asking @R2elk abt that when Nug (lav) became the outcast. They protected him at first, I assume bc he was so tiny. But once they moved to the coop, they excluded him from everything. We had to put up special shelves for him to sleep and eat at bc they'd chase him from the food and roost.
He and Blue (RP) were the only ones to actually fight, but they all made a game out of chasing him around the yard. I'd put my arm out for him to land on to escape. Eventually he started being allowed on the roost, but he still preferred his own dining area.
When I was giving treats I had to put celery or millet behind my back for him bc he wldnt come infront where the rest were. That never changed.
When I added Mouse and Bella 2, they joined in the chase until mating season. By this summer, he and the 2 jumbos were all I had left from the original crew. Then PJ started chasing and 1/2 heartedly fighting him while Rosie was on the nest.
When the keets started being added is when the dynamics changed and I could tell he finally fit in.
Still, even as an outsider, he guarded. He took it upon himself to make sure everyone was in at night before he went in, perching ontop and calling out, chasing Rosie down when she meandered.
He was smitten w/Bella 2. Losses didn't much phase him before, but w/her, he mourned. - and she was a buff dundotte, so also light colored.