Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

Thank goodness for incubaters or guineas would be extinct with those odds. Good luck I hope she hatches more then that.

Sure is!

Lets hope she gets a full handful,,,5.. and 1 of them grows up and stays out of prison.

 

[harley587]

Well, we had torrential rains last night and the guineas nest looked like she moved them around and kicked a bunch out (according to Al). He grabbed 15 or so of the eggs and brought them into the chicken coop. It appears as though one of our wyandottes is on them (the last he checked).....

 

[pattyhen]

I am happy to announce that Spider and Mary Jane both are on the honor roll and received a ribbon for perfect attendence. Ralfie their not all bad. Here they are eatting their breakfast.

 

[puttycat]

I HAVE 5 FEMALE GUINEA'S AND ONE MALE. HAVE RAISED THEM FROM KEETS BOUGHT AT A FEED STORE. THEY ARE NOW GROWN AND MY LADIES ARE GOOD LAYING GALS. THEY HAVE STARTED BROODING AND I HAVE NOT GOT A BABY FROM ANY OF THEM YET.ONE THING FOR SURE THEY ARE FIGHTERS WHEN IT COMES TO THEM BEING BOTHERED WHILE ON THEIR NEST. LOL..... MIGHTY BRAVE FOR SURE. I HAVE GATHERED THEIR EGGS SEVERAL TIMES AND PUT THEM IN A BATOR....BUT HAVE HAD NONE TO GIVE ME LIVE BABIES. RAISED ALOT OF BABY CHICKS BUT NO KEETS.

THEY GET ALONG PRETTY GOOD WITH MY CHICKENS,GET KINDA BOSSY SOMETIMES,BUT USUALLY CALM DOWN AFTER A QUICK PECK....THEY DO KEEP TOGETHER AND DO THEIR ATTACKS AS A TAG TEAM. LOL..... MY CHICKENS TAKE A QUICK TURN TO ANOTHER DIRECTION, BUT THEY ALL SHARE THEIR NESTING BOXES. SOMETIMES THERE ARE 2 GUINEAS IN THE SAME BOX. REALLY FUNNY TO SEE.BACK TO THEIR EGGS HATCHING, MOST EVERY TIME IN THE HEN HOUSE I FIND THE GUINEAS CRACK AN EGG AND THERE IS A FORMED BABY INSIDE,AT LEAST IT SHOWS ME THEIR EGGS ARE FERTILE. WILL CONTINUE TO TRY TO PUT SOME OF THEIR EGGS IN THE BATOR AT A LATER DATE. MAY GET LUCKY. ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN GIVE ME TIPS WITH THIS I WILL BE GLAD TO LEARN ALL I CAN.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am happy to announce that Spider and Mary Jane both are on the honor roll and received a ribbon for perfect attendence. Ralfie their not all bad. Here they are eatting their breakfast.

I could show pictures of my guineas looking innocent, but even Ted Bundy looked innocent, it surely did not make him innocent. As a retired law enforcement officer I can tell you countless stories of kids we would bring home to their parents after committing some offense where we should really have charged them only to have the parents stand there and tell me " My Little Johnny did not do that! He is innocent. Why would you lie about him?"



So I stand by my position Guineas are the gangsters of the domestic fowl world. Only to be surpassed on the social castes system by waterfowl, who are really not a fowl but devil spawn.

 

[pattyhen]

Well I see your impossible to convince there are some good guineas in this world. When Spider and Mary Jane start reproducing I will mail you some eggs and you can see what a difference these guineas are. Spider is a perfect gentleman and Mary is a little on the wild side but I'm sure Spider will keep her in check.

 

[JimArcher]

Try setting a hen or Guinea hen on the ground or in a box with damp soil on the bottom. Keep it damp. The shells can be very hard to break through if humidity is too low. Maybe increase humidity in your incubator or spray the eggs for a few days before hatching. Good luck.

 

[JimArcher]

I could show pictures of my guineas looking innocent, but even Ted Bundy looked innocent, it surely did not make him innocent.  As a retired law enforcement officer I can tell you countless stories of kids we would bring home to their parents after committing some offense  where we should really have charged them only to have the parents stand there and tell me " My Little Johnny did not do that! He is innocent. Why would you lie about him?"



So I stand by my position Guineas are the gangsters of the domestic fowl world.  Only to be surpassed on the social castes system by waterfowl, who are really not a fowl but devil spawn.

Very funny. I will not keep any more geese or Guinea fowl. On their own they are fine, but not in a mixed flock. I had to make a new pen for my Guineas after the male attacked my small bantam cross hen who was resisting him making a big disturbance in the run. They liked to run right into the quietly feeding chickens and send them scattering. The gander was just too aggressive and it was hard to even feed them without being attacked.
Keep up the humor.

 

[guineapeeps]

I HAVE 5 FEMALE GUINEA'S AND ONE MALE. HAVE RAISED THEM FROM KEETS BOUGHT AT A FEED STORE. THEY ARE NOW GROWN AND MY LADIES ARE GOOD LAYING GALS. THEY HAVE STARTED BROODING AND I HAVE NOT GOT A BABY FROM ANY OF THEM YET.ONE THING FOR SURE THEY ARE FIGHTERS WHEN IT COMES TO THEM BEING BOTHERED WHILE ON THEIR NEST. LOL..... MIGHTY BRAVE FOR SURE. I HAVE GATHERED THEIR EGGS SEVERAL TIMES AND PUT THEM IN A BATOR....BUT HAVE HAD NONE TO GIVE ME LIVE BABIES. RAISED ALOT OF BABY CHICKS BUT NO KEETS.

THEY GET ALONG PRETTY GOOD WITH MY CHICKENS,GET KINDA BOSSY SOMETIMES,BUT USUALLY CALM DOWN AFTER A QUICK PECK....THEY DO KEEP TOGETHER AND DO THEIR ATTACKS AS A TAG TEAM. LOL..... MY CHICKENS TAKE A QUICK TURN TO ANOTHER DIRECTION, BUT THEY ALL SHARE THEIR NESTING BOXES. SOMETIMES THERE ARE 2 GUINEAS IN THE SAME BOX. REALLY FUNNY TO SEE.BACK TO THEIR EGGS HATCHING, MOST EVERY TIME IN THE HEN HOUSE I FIND THE GUINEAS CRACK AN EGG AND THERE IS A FORMED BABY INSIDE,AT LEAST IT SHOWS ME THEIR EGGS ARE FERTILE. WILL CONTINUE TO TRY TO PUT SOME OF THEIR EGGS IN THE BATOR AT A LATER DATE. MAY GET LUCKY. ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN GIVE ME TIPS WITH THIS  I WILL BE GLAD TO LEARN ALL I CAN.

Do your Guinea hens go broody and sit on the eggs? I've found the best hatching success rate is letting my Guineas sit on and hatch their own eggs.....plus they integrate immediately into the flock and adjust better. I've incubated a few times and had decent hatch rates, but nowhere near what it is if my Guineas hatch their own. Plus, once they were out of the brooder, the adults were not excited about the introduction of the keets and it took quite awhile to have them accepted by the others. If you do incubate yourself, keep in mind that Guinea eggs require a higher humidity than do chicken eggs. I would look up hatching Guinea eggs on this site.....there is a lot of knowledgeable people and good info on here. Good luck!

 

[R2elk]

Well I see your impossible to convince there are some good guineas in this world. When Spider and Mary Jane start reproducing I will mail you some eggs and you can see what a difference these guineas are. Spider is a perfect gentleman and Mary is a little on the wild side but I'm sure Spider will keep her in check.

Until you go through your guinea's first breeding season you don't know what guineas are really like. Unless you are NPIP certified and include the proper paperwork, it is not legal for you to mail Ralph any hatching eggs.