Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[southern oaks]

Thanks for the replies on the pic. The 20 I have in the bator are from a pied hen and a lite lavender or pearl gray male... the lite lavender is the one who led me to the nest( I was sneaking and watching him) so not real sure. but I am hoping for good luck. I just love BBC

 

[PeepsCA]

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Depending on the brand/quality of incubator you used... I've found that even if the RH remains stable, fluctuations (or spikes) in the temps during day and night (up or down even a couple degrees) are sometimes enough to give you a poor hatch rate. Besides that, there are tons of other possible reasons... such as how the eggs were handled and stored prior to incubation, possible bacteria issue within the incubator, improper hand turning of the eggs (or lack there of), bacteria that were on the outside of the eggs entering the shell pores, oil from your hands clogging the pores, automatic egg turner vibration, a constantly bumped or jiggled incubator if it's in a high traffic area in your house or barn etc, bad genetics; poor quality sperm/egg from parent birds due to nutritional inefficiencies etc etc etc... it's really difficult to pinpoint the exact reason any hatch success was low. Sorry your hatch wasn't as successful as you had hoped, better luck with your next hatch!

 

[southern oaks]

what color is the light one. I have looked and looked and it looks like it could be a few diff options. that is the male that I think was the daddy of the pied's eggs I have in the bator now. Again I seek pro help.. lol

 

[PeepsCA]

He looks like a Buff to me, from that pic... but I'd need closer pics of him and a detailed description of his markings and color. Does he have pearling (dots like the Pearl Greys have) all over his body, or just some on the wing feathers and flank area... or none at all? Is he pied?

Without knowing what he is exactly (other than his color being recessive to Pearl Grey), it's safe to assume 50% or more of the keets will probably be Pied Pearl Greys like the Hen. A few of his color, (and maybe Pieds of his color) and a few plain Pearl Greys may show up as well... but there may be a keet or 2 of random recessive colors that they may both be carrying the genes for... depending on how well the hatch goes.

Hopefully it's a really colorful hatch for you, good luck!

 

[southern oaks]

here is a closer pic of him! Thanks for the info and the help on what I can expect of keets.. I am excited.

he does have dots on lower flanks but not on the back, under the neck area or on the wings themselves...

 

[PeepsCA]

Thanks for posting a pic and giving additional details. So as I guessed originally, he still seems to be a Buff

I'm jealous, I only have one, lol. Since he's a partially pearled bird, that opens up another few possibilities of what colors of keets may show up... like Royal Purples for example, depending on if the Hen is carrying a hidden recessive partially pearled gene. Now I can't wait to see what hatches from your batch of eggs either, lol!

 

[southern oaks]

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here are the first two new arrivals.. color help please..lol.... 2 down 18 to go..

 

[southern oaks]

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https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/76789_6631.jpg

here are the first two new arrivals.. color help please..lol....

 

[southern oaks]

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thanks for the feedback..I have posted 2 more.. and 18 more to go IF I dont find the other nest then I will keep on batoring.. lol.. love watching them.. my first 5 are growing like weeds. I just feel so bad i didnt take the whole nest and something got the others. And the one of my hens that is still MIA should be hatching anytime as she disappeared the same time as this one and these are coming on.. soooooooo exciting...

 

[joe17]

I was thinking about hatching guinea fowl to keep around here with my chickens. I was thinking of letting my silkies raise the guineas from chicks so they don't fight as much. My silkies don't like foraging so I was planning on letting the guinea fowl free range during the day and letting them back in with the silkies at night. I was wondering how fast do guinea fowl run and how far do they like to free range? My neighbor has a mean dog an acre away that's contained in an electric fence though. I also have a cat but he doesn't mess with my chickens and is pretty skittish.

If I would get guinea fowl, I would have to hatch them or get them as chicks. If I hatch two males, would they fight a lot together?