Please tell me if I'm on the right track....

[JanO]

I could probably write a book about chickens, and raising chicks. However quineas are a different story. I remember that we had a few of them when I was a child, but I just thought they were some sort of funny looking chicken and never paid any attention to them. Needless to say, now I'm trying to educate myself on the fine art of quinea. I've got some keets coming towards the end of April, first week of May from someone in my area who is incubating eggs from her flock.. I've reserved 10 from the first hatching, but will more than likely take 12 or 15 since I'm told that they do better in larger quantities.

Now, here is where I need some input from those of you who are more in tune with this particular breed. Allowing for any losses due to preditors, or any other mishap, I hope to have at least a few that will breed and lay eggs next spring. I highly doubt that any of the will be mature enough to breed and lay this year since they are seasonal...correct? Anyway, if I'm able to collect eggs next spring I hope to incubate some of them just to help keep the numbers up and not have to buy more down the road. If I have too many of them I can always sell them since they seem to be more and more difficult to find in my area.

Is this a realistic goal or just wishful thinking on my part? I've read that guineas are prolific layers so I would assume that there will be plenty of eggs to incubate if I find them quick enough after laying. How many eggs would a hen lay in a season anyway?

I'm sorry if this sounds kind of weird, I just want to know if what I want to do is actually possible.

 

[jcatblum]

I don't know how many eggs a yr. I can say mine seem to lay an egg a day from April-mid-July. They may lay before & after that time frame, but that is when we are swimming in eggs. With your keets not arriving for a few more wks I wouldn't expect them to lay this yr. I do know of some who bought the first guineas of the yr from mail order & theirs laid the same yr. have no idea what hatcheries do to get them to lay in the winter. I personally prefer to let my birds live a natural life, no supplemental lighting, etc.
As far as selling keets, get a feel for you area. We hatch 8dz a wk, with first hatch in the middle of May & stop by 1st of July. (We may do a few other small hatches, but we have 6wks of big hatches. Once it is hot in July not many people are interested in buying.

My daughter loves her guineas, she is 13 & hatching pays for their feed & keeps her pockets full. I would consider it more a hobby than a business though.

 

[JLeigh]

No, they won't lay until next spring. It sounds like you've got everything ready and under control, except finding the eggs if you allow them to nest outside a pen or coop. Lots of people pen them at night, wait for the eggs the next day and then let them out to free range. Finding the nests can be difficult if left to their own choices, but it can be done.

Letting guineas raise the keets is also a problem They aren't good mothers. You'll lose more keets than you keep if you go that route.

Yes, guineas are seasonal layers.

 

[JanO]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like I'm not too far off track. I should just keep them penned up until they are done laying for the day. So, next on my list is going to have to be building a run off of the coop. I've been wanting to build one for quite some time but it hasn't necessarily been on top of my list. I think it just moved up a few notches though.

I'm really not interested in selling them as a business. I would only sell them from time to time to keep the numbers under control, or help pay for feed. They are very difficult to get here locally and it seems like it's getting more difficult every year. When you do find them they are very expensive.

 

[JLeigh]

When building a pen off a coop, take my advice, the bigger you can build it the better. It doesn't have to be beautiful, but it should be predator proof (as much as possible) and be enough space for each bird. Don't overcrowd or you'll have aggression issues. Build it big enough and you can get MORE guineas!! LOL. That's the best reason of all!

I put chicken wire over the top of my pen, and then cover it with heavy duty tarp to get the rain off. Cheap and effective. I "gable" the tarp so the rain runs off. Hubby ran a large 6" pvc pipe down the center, over the chicken wire and then put the tarp on top of the pipe. Like tenting. Easy, and did I mention cheap? But hey, if I had lots of money, I would cover it with something snazzy and permanent...but I don't, so....tarp.