Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[duluthralphie]

Well done! How many do you keep for breeding? 25ish?

That is exactly the number I kept. But counting Guineas is more of an estimate than a hard count. Even in a pen they refuse to hold still.

These 25ish will not get a chance to free range until next summer after I get my 500 eggs from them.


Last spring (2015) I had 30 guineas for breeders. I am down to 3 of that group. They are such stupid birds they do risky things that get them killed. I had my NPIP inspection and testing done on April 15th, I had 13 guineas on that day.

They were locked up until the Early June when I took my last eggs from them, 10 have gotten killed in 3 months. I am thinking of putting a sign out by the road, that would hopefully slow down the idiot drivers.

I was thinking : "Guinea lives matter, too! "

 

[guineapeeps]

That is exactly the number I kept.   But counting Guineas is more  of an estimate than a hard count.  Even in a pen they refuse to hold still.

These 25ish will not get a chance to free range until next summer after I get my 500 eggs from them.  


Last spring (2015) I had 30 guineas for breeders. I am down to 3 of that group.  They are such stupid birds they do risky things that get them killed.    I had my NPIP inspection and testing done on April 15th, I had 13 guineas on that day.

They were locked up until the Early June when I took my last eggs from them, 10 have gotten killed in 3 months. I am thinking of putting a sign out by the road, that would hopefully slow down the idiot drivers.

I was thinking    : [COLOR=FF0000]"Guinea lives matter, too! "[/COLOR]

Great idea for a sign...love it! You could sell them. I would definitely buy one!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I had to wait 2 months and then I finally got them but all but one died. NEVER ORDER FROM CACKLE!!!

Sorry to hear that. I got my original 30 from cackle and all were healthy.

 

[duluthralphie]

Sorry to hear that. I got my original 30 from cackle and all were healthy.

I am agreeing with the "never order from Cackle" people..

I ordered 32 chicks straight run 26 were roosters. and that included cuckoo maran that are autosexing. You cannot tell me the person loading the box did not know 7 out of 8 Cuckoo maran were cockerel.

I am willing to be instead of killing the cockerel they just throw them back in the straight run pen. My chances of ordering from Cackle ever again are extremely low!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I am agreeing with the "never order from Cackle" people..

I ordered 32 chicks straight run 26 were roosters.  and that included cuckoo maran that are autosexing.  You cannot tell me the person loading the box did not know 7 out of 8 Cuckoo maran were cockerel.

I am willing to be instead of killing the cockerel they just throw them back in the straight run pen.  My chances of ordering from Cackle ever again are extremely low!

Or it could be that no one ordered sexed pullets so that batch was never sent to be sexed and not every worker will necessarily know how to sex even auto sexing breeds. They just grab them and box them. Obviously that is a risk you take buying straight run and can happen with any hatchery. I've never ordered chicks from cackle but likely will next year, though.

 

[duluthralphie]

Or it could be that no one ordered sexed pullets so that batch was never sent to be sexed and not every worker will necessarily know how to sex even auto sexing breeds. They just grab them and box them. Obviously that is a risk you take buying straight run and can happen with any hatchery. I've never ordered chicks from cackle but likely will next year, though.

Not buying it. There is no way they had a hatch and no one ordered any "sexed" chicks. You know as well as I do on breeds like that the pullets go fast and few people want males. I think, but am not 100% sure the choice I had on the date I wanted them was "Male" and straight run. Males were cheaper, I should have ordered males I would have gotten the same number of pullets with their 85% error rate.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Not buying it. There is no way they had a hatch and no one ordered any "sexed" chicks. You know as well as I do on breeds like that the pullets go fast and few people want males. I think, but am not 100% sure the choice I had on the date I wanted them was "Male" and straight run. Males were cheaper, I should have ordered males I would have gotten the same number of pullets with their 85% error rate.

Yeah, I was just thinking about it and these are not $2-4 birds and not generally thought of as "dual purpose" so people would likely be inclined to order them sexed. I bought a straight run assortment recently and got to wondering about what you just mentioned. I know breed wise you get whatever else wasn't specifically bought, but do you also get males that are thrown back into the bin, or are they sent directly to the macerator? I suppose it partly depends on having enough birds to cover their orders.

 

[Navajo Brahmans]

I have 13 Guinea Fowl eggs under a clucky hen and 15 eggs under a Guinea Hen. I was planning on taking the eggs from the Guinea hen and putting them under a heat lamp and leaving the ones under the clucky hen with her. Will the hen raise the the guinea fowl like she would chickens? Will she sit on the eggs for the extra 6-8 days? Any advice would be apreciated.
Thanks Cherry NSW Australia

 

[duluthralphie]

I have 13 Guinea Fowl eggs under a clucky hen and 15 eggs under a Guinea Hen. I was planning on taking the eggs from the Guinea hen and putting them under a heat lamp and leaving the ones under the clucky hen with her. Will the hen raise the the guinea fowl like she would chickens? Will she sit on the eggs for the extra 6-8 days? Any advice would be apreciated.
Thanks Cherry NSW Australia

HI.
Welcome to BYC and the thread.

I want to make sure I have this correct. The two groups of eggs are a week apart in incubation?

You want to let the Guinea hen hatch the eggs? Or take them before they hatch?

Is the Guinea in a cage or pen? Can you put a cage over her and her keets?

I am not sure you would get a chicken hen to take keets a week older than hers. I would not put the keets in while she still has eggs, she would leave them. If you cannot cage the guinea hen , hand raise her keets in a few weeks the 2 batches of keets will become one on their own. Guineas are pack animals. They will pack up. They just need to be old enough.


I hope I got you predicament correct. Good luck.


Oh,,, the problem with leaving the Mother Guinea with her babies is he stupidity. She will not keep them dry in the early mornings. She will not look out for them like a chicken does, (well, most chickens) If you can keep her locked up or indoors she will do fine for a few weeks.


Now Good luck!! LOL

 

[pearlGuinea]

Navajo Brahmans, Chicken hens raise guinea keets just like chicks. I have one raising some now. If you were referring to the extra days it takes guinea eggs to hatch about the chicken hen sitting those extra days, she will. Hope this helps you.