San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[perchie.girl]

Thanks I'll listen for the special two syllable butt-crack call!
Ps; do the eggs incubate the same as chicken eggs? Hmmmmm do I dare?

28 days exactly one week longer. You can hatch em in with chicken eggs you just start the Guineas one week earlier. I went to the house today to strip eggs out of the coop to make sure when I collect on Saturday all eggs will be no older than three days old. I was able to get to reach about two thirds of the guinea eggs. Most were very very light indicating they have been sitting a long time. So hopefully by Saturday they will have layed some more where i can reach them. I know they are firtile just dont know how old they are so don't be surprised if you have to toss several.

Guinea eggs are about the size of bantam eggs and when you crack them open they are fifty percent yolk. They have tough shells so in order to crack them open for cooking you have to get them started by whacking it with the back of a knife. Probably why they survive being played soccer with by the whole flock.....

Oh and the Keets are little Jackbooters.... They run in a flock in mass and screech at you EVERY time they see you. LOL. They can fly by their second week having grown from Bantam sized to chick sized with flight feathers that stick out behind them like Batmans capes..... And were not talking flittering up to a perch six inches off the floor..... They can shoot up at least four feet. By three weeks in the wild they would be perching with mom in the trees.

So incubation time 28 days give or take. Brooding takes a brooder with a lid. You can try to tame them but good luck on that... it has been done not by me.....

Provide perching for them as soon as you can build it. They eat Game bird starter and copious amounts of it because they grow so fast they need the higer protien.... Thankfully they dont require that higher protien as adults. As adults they eat the same as chickens though adding in some Small sized dog kibble now and then is appreciated. Or Catfish sinking pellets the kind that are the same physical shape as Lay pellets. The reason being is they are more into eating insects than grains. Actually you can feed dog or cat fish pellets to your chickens too for a treat.

They remain wilder than Chickens but they can be "conditionied" to come in to the coop at night. Best way to do it is provide White millet at bed time and get them used to you calling out something or blowing a whistle or using a clicker to associate that noise with getting some Guinea CRACK..... White millet. I had my whole flock launch them selves from the rocks above the house and fly over the house to land in the poultry yard when I hollered out "TREAT TREAT TREAT"..... It was a sight to see. Trick is Not to ever feed white millet except when you provide that stimulus. The noise has to be something they can hear from a couple of acres away. Because they do range far.

I lost my little previous flock by not cooping them up at night. I figured they wanted to roost in the tree next to the coop so they would be safe..... I forgot that Bobcats are very good climbers.... Sigh.

deb

 

[OffGridMAMA]

Its official...

I have three broodies!!! Two set on Monday and one more today! Came home late was collecting eggs and my (only) buff orpington pecked me and growled. She is on maybe 10-12 eggs? Everything set in that pen today... I am not complaining first two are sitting on purebreds (hrir, spr, sfh & marans) and a few of my bluest ee eggs. The orp has the lavender orp roo over polish, rocks, and a few others... lol.

Here are the first two in their broody apartments

 

[ozexpat]

Its official...

I have three broodies!!! Two set on Monday and one more today! Came home late was collecting eggs and my (only) buff orpington pecked me and growled. She is on maybe 10-12 eggs? Everything set in that pen today... I am not complaining

first two are sitting on purebreds (hrir, spr, sfh & marans) and a few of my bluest ee eggs. The orp has the lavender orp roo over polish, rocks, and a few others... lol.

Here are the first two in their broody apartments

i have some coronation, silver or speckled sussex you can try under a broody if they are not all booked

 

[Mayerling]

Can hens and eggs be moved to a safer location once they go broody? My hens picked a dangerous spot for their babies to be born and I would love to move them to safer spot with out affecting the nest.

 

[OffGridMAMA]

i have some coronation, silver or speckled sussex you can try under a broody if they are not all booked

Sure! Broody #3 is just sitting on eggs she gathered LOL. Bring some on Sunday I'm planning on moving her into another broody apt (kennel) in the big coop. And then give her the eggs I actually want her to hatch and then there's all the hatching eggs people are bringing on Sunday! Definitely swapping out her eggs LOL. she's a pretty big orp....hmmm!

 

[alisar]

Maybe it's in the air in VC. When I went to feed and water the chickens this afternoon, the older Olandsk girl and EE (Jellybean) were doing this tag team thing. Olandsk was setting on the eggs, EE sitting right next to her. I have a few girls that are almost at point of lay, and when they come by to think about laying, Jellybean does her pterodactyl screetch at them. Olandsk just sits there with half slitted eyes.
So random. Also I have a mystery egg layer. I thought my bantam dark cornish girl was laying a small white egg, but it turns out she lays a rose colored egg. I have about 5 possible suspects, but they are all at or under 5 months! So crazy.

 

[Mayerling]

There's a swap this Sunday? Where, when? Would love to be there.

 

[alisar]

Can hens and eggs be moved to a safer location once they go broody? My hens picked a dangerous spot for their babies to be born and I would love to move them to safer spot with out affecting the nest.

You can try. I think it'd be better for her to abandon the eggs than something happening to the chicks.

 

[ozexpat]

Sure! Broody #3 is just sitting on eggs she gathered LOL. Bring some on Sunday I'm planning on moving her into another broody apt (kennel) in the big coop. And then give her the eggs I actually want her to hatch

and then there's all the hatching eggs people are bringing on Sunday! Definitely swapping out her eggs LOL.

she's a pretty big orp....hmmm!

i also have light sussex. the silvers, speckled and coronation are all greenfire lines, lights are heritage may be better not to have coronation and lights. could take a while to tell them apart if not banded at hatch

 

[perchie.girl]

Can hens and eggs be moved to a safer location once they go broody? My hens picked a dangerous spot for their babies to be born and I would love to move them to safer spot with out affecting the nest.

It can be done but its trickey. Probably the best thing you could do is build a temporary cage out of PVC and wire and drop it down over the top of her nest and all.

Another way is to get a dog crate the plastic kind and set her a nest up in there wait till dark and have someone grab her up another person grab up her eggs and put them in the dog crate nest. Then set her in with the eggs and cover the whole thing up with a blanket so she will settle down and remember she needs to set on her eggs. That may take more than a day..... Once settled in the crate you can move her anywhere you need her for safety.

ONce they become broody you have some leeway. Because it usually takes a while to break a broody. So if you can get her moved and settled and safe feeling as quickly as possible her broodiness should take over.

But like someone said its more important to assure the hen is safe than the eggs.

Good luck.

deb "this process cannot be done with Guineas by the way"