New nest

[prairie]

One of my guinea hens has started a nest again and woohoo!!! she started it in the chicken house. My guineas (8) stay in the chicken house with our chickens (10) and ducks (4) so it is home for her.

I am hoping she will just keep laying and then go broody and hatch out the keets. I have 2 broody hens setting on guinea eggs now that should hatch the first part of July.

 

[JLeigh]

That's great prairie! I have a plan that hopefully will work like yours. Since I have the most evil, stupid neighbors in the world, I'm having to regroup and rethink my guinea plan, which is to have them contained, and then cross my fingers they'll lay and hatch eggs. I'm also working on figuring out this art to hatching eggs, in case I have hens that don't cooperate. I also have chickens - so it's possible I'll be able to let the hens hatch guinea eggs too, but they aren't old enough to lay yet. If none of that works out, I'll be eating lots of very good eggs for breakfast!

Thanks for the success story - gives me hope!

(I just love this bunny)

 

[GuineaMama]

Congrats! I wish I could get my Guineas to go in the coop to nest, but NO! They prefer the woods or the hosta by the front porch.

Arent broody chickens the best for hatching! I had 3 broody Silkies recently that hatched 16 guinea eggs for me.

 

[prairie]

JLeigh and Gunieamama, Our guineas are just about 1 yr old and they went broody this spring -- one laid her nest in the chicken house and the other out in the tall prairie grasses (aka coyote bait!) One got scared off her nest and the other just abandoned it

So I started gathering their eggs (I kept them in the run for about 4 weeks) and finally my hens went broody and I gave them the eggs.

I was just astonished that the guinea hen started laying again in the chicken house yesterday when she has many acres to wander. They are used to being in a chicken house ever since we got them at age 6 weeks so maybe that is why they come back there.

I am not going to get her eggs but just leave her to see if she can hatch out some herself. We will see!! They are not the brightest in the world. My guinea hens don't remember that they can fly down from the roosts in the morning. Some mornings they are still there at 10am just a lookin at the ground and I have to go in and talk to them and give them a nudge!!