Ok I'm commited and need advice before I jump

[kyle7630]

I have a hen sitting on 20 some eggs. She is my only hen, and while I want more guineas, I don't want to loose her to a predator. I have the bator ad a steady 99.5+-1 and 50%ish humidity. What would be the best way to go about stealing her eggs? Should I wait until she is off or just go get them? Any other advice? This will be my first guinea hatch. Also, IDK when she began to sit so how do I do lockdown? TIA

 

[PeepsCA]

Either/or... the longer she and those eggs sit there the more chance there is that they could become predator food. She's gonna be mean if ya push her off the nest, (or if she happens to come back to you raiding her nest, lol)

so be prepared for an explosion. Keep one eye on her at all times, she may come flying at your backside hoping to take a chunk or 2 out of ya, lol.

Does your incubator have a fan? If not, the temp needs to be 101.5-102 degrees in a still air incubator. I'd candle the eggs and check for fertility, development and also look at the air cells, then candle them every few days (and check the air cells). When the embryo masses in the eggs are solid dark and the air cells start slanting... it's time for lockdown

(or if one of the eggs pips, then it's definitely lockdown time!).

Best of luck!!!

 

[kyle7630]

Thanks. I will try to catch her off of the nest today. The bator does have a fan. I hope I hatch some!

 

[kyle7630]

Ok, I've been trying to catch her off of the nest this morning, with no luck. So I got all geared up with long pants and boots on. Donned a pair of gloves, grabbed the basket, and headed outside prepared to fight off the guineas for the eggs. We have 4 straight days of rain coming so I felt like waiting any longer would be a bad idea. I get outside and the guineas, along with the hen, are chowing down in a turnip green patch that I haven't turned yet. Went and got the 21 eggs without incident. I don't even think the guines noticed me over there. The eggs are now in the bator and I feel alot better about the situation. I wonder if she will lay in the same nest when she starts back up??? I doubt she'll make it that easy for me, but I can hope.

 

[PeepsCA]

If she was brooding the eggs, which are now gone she probably figured the nest was raided and will find a new spot in about a week. It's rare that any of my Guinea Hens will go back to an empty nest and lay again... but you never know, Guineas are pretty unpredictable.

Try candling the eggs like I mentioned, you should be able to see embryo development if she's been sitting on them for at least 10 days.

Congrats on the successful egg collection. Mission one accomplished, lol.