Quick question about guinea fowl and mating

[ChiefSuperFly]

I have another quick question about guineas and mating! I've got some 4 month olds and some keets. Are my chances good next year they will mingle and make fertile eggs? The lady I spoke with said they mate for life and usually 1 female to 1 male (( id like my males to get down with more than one female for more fertile eggs. Any way to help this happen? Thanks in advance!

 

[R2elk]

I have another quick question about guineas and mating! I've got some 4 month olds and some keets. Are my chances good next year they will mingle and make fertile eggs? The lady I spoke with said they mate for life and usually 1 female to 1 male (( id like my males to get down with more than one female for more fertile eggs. Any way to help this happen? Thanks in advance!

It is a popular belief that guineas mate for life and are monogamous. It is my experience that male guineas are not monogamous and will mate with more than one hen during the breeding season.

At the start of breeding season the hens choose the males they want to be with. As it gets farther into breeding season, the more dominant males take the hens they want and ignore what the hens previously chose. Some males will make a mad dash in and breed the hen or hens that another male has claimed. Some males show a preference to staying with their one hen and other males will take and keep more than one hen. This behavior usually occurs in flocks that are approximately 50/50 in male/female ratio.

Some people keep up to 5 hens for each male and get a high rate of fertile eggs.

Messing with your male to female ratio during breeding season can greatly upset the flock and decrease the rate of fertile eggs. For best results make any changes in the flock when it is not breeding season.

 

[ChiefSuperFly]

Thanks for the info! I cracked 3 eggs before I found a fertile one from my rogue guineas

 

[ChiefSuperFly]

These guineas! I've managed to wrangle up an ENTIRE 6 eggs woooooo! I go into the coop and she's finally made a dang nest! My dilemma: I was going to do a staggered? Hatch with chicken eggs and these guinea eggs. Make a lockdown area with an old cooler I have and just shuffle them thru. But now I'm thinking I should put her eggs in her nest and let her sit til I steal