Return of the Guineas... (UPDATE!) and a couple questions

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
LOL shhhhh, it's only been 42 adults total for this year.
Don't even ask about next year tho lol

 

[southern oaks]

Quote:
LOL shhhhh, it's only been 42 adults total for this year.
Don't even ask about next year tho lol

can't fool me. last count was 50 NEW ONES.................. has it increased with all the new fluff balls. huh.. huh.. do tell....

 

[PeepsCA]

I'm not admitting to ANYTHING until later in the year or early next spring, lol

 

[zzGypsy]

So this morning, the folks from the electrical company were out to replace my meter with one that can be read from the street (the pole's a football field's lenght from the street side). The meter replacement guy's out there for perhaps 40 minutes and he's finishing up. I go out there to find out what I need to know about the new meter and as he's explaining it he takes a step to the left and all of a sudden says "Woah! there's a nest here!"

Found her.

the missing pearl hen has been setting a nest in some johnson grass about 18" from the utility pole at the back of our generator shed all this time. I don't know if the others were setting with her, or if they had nests elsewhere, but at least we know where she is! looks like about a dozen eggs, and my guess is they won't hatch given when she likely started laying them (after the fertility span of her previous life with the roosters.)

you were sure right about being able to look right at them without seeing them... she's been 25 feet from the house the whole time, in an area I'm sometimes in, and I had looked around there. not to mention that the meter replacement guy worked with his left foot not more than 18" from where she was for about 40 minutes without ever seeing her!

I'd like to try to candle the eggs this evening to see if there's anything viable going on there, but I don't have a candling setup.
any thoughts on what to use for an impromptu candling tool? and what I should expect to see? I'm thinking she's been setting for about 2 weeks.

 

[PeepsCA]

Wow, glad ya found her, now if only the eggs are viable that would be awesome

A small maglight or any bright flashlight like an LED that you can cup your hand around, contain the light and shine it thru the egg will work for candling. You can also tape down some cardboard with a nickle sized hole cut from the center of it to shine the light thru the egg with. You want complete darkness except for the flashlight and you want all of the light to go thru the egg to be able to see any development.

What you see when candling Guinea eggs kind of depends on how dark the egg shells are and how bright your light is tho, the shells are super thick. As far as what you should see at around the 2 week stage...

Usually in a fertile egg at that stage the whole egg will have a pretty obvious pinkish/redish hue to it (except the air cell at the big end), and if your light is bright enough you should even see some veins spider webbing on the internal membrane and an embryo about the size of a pea (usually you can just see a small mass with a dark eye). The embryo may wiggle as you shine the light thru the egg. Make sure not to let the egg get hot in one spot for too long from the light, and you may need to rotate it slowly to actually find the embryo (if there is one). If the egg is not pinkish or reddish color there won't be an embryo tho

An infertile egg (a clear) will be light and clear or have just a slight yellowish tint to the whole thing, and the air cell won't be as easy to see. You could shine the light thru a regular store bought egg so you know what a clear looks like.

Good luck! Let us know what ya see!

 

[GuineaLady93]

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When I candle my guinea eggs I just use the flashlight on my cell phone. It is real bright and does a good job. When you do it make sure that you are in a very dark place. When you hold the light up to a BAD egg you can tell that it is empty. All you will see is the yoke. Since these have been incubated for 2 weeks, with a GOOD egg you will most likely just see a big dark spot. But if you look kinda at the edge of the black you can see the keets heart beating. Just keep the egg still while you do it and you will be able to see it move around.
Good Luck! Let us know how it goes!
Ashley

 

[zzGypsy]

So here's a little update.

After upsetting my setting hen trying to get the electrical meter in, and deciding that she's probably in a pretty safe location, give our security lights and proximity to the dog pen, I decided not to upset things further by trying to remove and candle the eggs. I'll just let her set, might be as much as a week and a half left. I figure if she goes much more than two, she's sitting on 18 duds.

interesting note... I've got 3 royal purples and they run together. I've got 2 pearls and they run together. the five don't generally hang as a flock. tonight when I went to check on my setting pearl, the other pearl was there with her... not sitting on the eggs, but sitting right by her, face to face, as if they were having tea.

how lovely to have a friend stop in for a chat when you're nest-bound!

 

[PeepsCA]

Hmmm... Anxious Nanny Hen? Hope so

Or it might be that some of her eggs are in that pile too and the setting Hen won't let her squeeze in with her, lol.

 

[zzGypsy]

Last update I think...

so this morning both of the pearls were in the feed area with the rest of the birds, and no keats. we've had some thunderstorms here, yesterday and today (including strikes in my yard!!!! YIKES!!) and I'd set up a bit of shelter for her, but today the eggs were unattended.

looks like no-hatchers. several of the eggs were broken this morning, all looked undeveloped, no dark ones, no stinkers, just yolk and white on the ground in the nest.

so I guess we're all done being broody, and laying, until next year. now all I need is a guinea roo...