Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

If yours are laying in one place they are already smarter than the average Guinea...

I am not sure that is happening anymore. I left them golf balls and will know tomorrow if they are still laying there or elsewhere.

BTW IQ of a guinea as in people means nothing in relationship to behavior. Many Smart people elect like many smart Guineas to be criminals.

 

[harley587]

So one of our guineas disappeared...Al finally found her, sitting on a nest of eggs!!!! I asked him to send me a photo, so he sent this:



So I said to him, great! you sent a pic of the very back of our yard.... so he sent this:



Yeah!!! it's a close up of the very back of our yard!!!

Finally, he sends this:



It's a photo from the backside of the brush photos he just sent...he crawled in the brush and has advised me that she is in the photo. In the very center you can kind of see a white head with the red wattle!



And here we have the thug guards!!!

 

[pattyhen]

That is so funny she is well hidden even in the close up. It took me a while to see her but I finally did. Good luck I hope she hatches a bunch for you.

 

[Kim Z]

That is so funny she is well hidden even in the close up. It took me a while to see her but I finally did. Good luck I hope she hatches a bunch for you.

X2!!!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Ok folks, need help! please. My guinea eggs are starting to hatch. I have 1 keet hatched. I have 1 egg partially zipped imo (only one previous chick hatch at home) it is a patchy zip and may not be able to complete on its own. I did "lockdown" yesterday at 23 days because 4 eggs developed external pips. So this chick is a 24-day hatch. My question: This chick is alone, dry, but in order to keep the humidity high I need to keep things moister in there than is perhaps good for the keet? I have Mama-Heating-Pad all set up in a very safe place. The keet was calling and I went and checked and he/she was in the cup with the moist sponge (I reached in and moved her off the sponge). Now she's gotten it that I'll come and see her if she calls so she's calling a lot and making eye contact. I just "feel" the keet would like to come out. Is this me being overly empathetic and I need to just leave her be? Or open incubator quickly and move her, alone, to the brooder?

 

[duluthralphie]

Ok folks, need help! please. My guinea eggs are starting to hatch. I have 1 keet hatched. I have 1 egg partially zipped imo (only one previous chick hatch at home) it is a patchy zip and may not be able to complete on its own. I did "lockdown" yesterday at 23 days because 4 eggs developed external pips. So this chick is a 24-day hatch. My question: This chick is alone, dry, but in order to keep the humidity high I need to keep things moister in there than is perhaps good for the keet? I have Mama-Heating-Pad all set up in a very safe place. The keet was calling and I went and checked and he/she was in the cup with the moist sponge (I reached in and moved her off the sponge). Now she's gotten it that I'll come and see her if she calls so she's calling a lot and making eye contact. I just "feel" the keet would like to come out. Is this me being overly empathetic and I need to just leave her be? Or open incubator quickly and move her, alone, to the brooder?

Keep it moist, she will do fine.

What type of incubator do you have? They will hatch over a couple days. They do not need feed for 3 days.

I am never sure whether to help a chick out or not, you save one and lose another by having the eggs dry out.

If I see the membrane heat shrinking I help, but I use a 1202 and I mist like crazy before and after I open the door. I try to not open it. You have to make the call, and 50% of the time you will be wrong.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote: Hi, Thank you so much for being there! I have a HovaBator 1583, with fan circulation. Ok so you're saying, just leave her in there. Ok. I think the argument that the already-hatched help stimulate the not-yet-hatched is a good one.

Yes, I agree it's a 50/50 thing-- I helped 2 eggs in my first hatch-- 1 thrived and the other passed away. But I lost another 1 or 2 that were glued in/shrink wrapped (had a physical problem with my incubator that meant a lot of opening and closing). I can mist with a fine-spray bottle with warm water in it, something I didn't know for the other hatch.

However, let me describe what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a patchy zip (large areas chipped out but not attached-- so it's not a linear zip but 3-4 openings. Inside that, the membrane is visibly detached from the shell and white, not clear/translucent and not moist looking. I see movement of the egg as the chick is very much alive in there.

 

[harley587]

That is so funny she is well hidden even in the close up. It took me a while to see her but I finally did. Good luck I hope she hatches a bunch for you.

Thank you... we hope so too!! I'm more worried about predators and the fact that she won't move at all. Al thinks she'll be fine, but the other guineas roost in the trees and are not guarding her at night....

 

[duluthralphie]

Thank you... we hope so too!! I'm more worried about predators and the fact that she won't move at all. Al thinks she'll be fine, but the other guineas roost in the trees and are not guarding her at night....

Why let her have the eggs?

You better than most know she will either eat her young or sell them into the illegal feathered sex trade as slaves to fuel her own drug habit..

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

So I have a broody hen. This is her first time going broody, but she is my favorite so I want to let her try. I have heard you guys say hen raised Guineas are slightly better behaved, this might be the perfect opportunity for me to finally get Guineas. You guys said a minimum of ten, any advice in where to get them?