sexing and mating?

[rudy6482]

How do you tell the gender of guineas? How old do males have to be before they can mate? We have three pearls that are about 7 months old and ar least two of them are females i think. Theres two nests in the pines and one has 18 eggs! Our black australarp has been sitting in the nests also. Could these eggs be fertile?

 

[red horse ranch]

How do you tell the gender of guineas? How old do males have to be before they can mate? We have three pearls that are about 7 months old and ar least two of them are females i think. Theres two nests in the pines and one has 18 eggs! Our black australarp has been sitting in the nests also. Could these eggs be fertile?

At 7 months old the eggs are fertile if the third guinea is male. If you haven't heard the two syllable 'goback, goback, goback' sound by now then the third one probably is male. They usually have larger wattles and helmet.

Australorps make great mothers for brooding keets but I wouldn't let any of them go broody without being protected at night.

 

[rudy6482]

Thanks. So the goback sound is female? I definately hear that sound often but not sure which of the three birds make it though. What sound do the males make? Another thing is the hen has been laying eggs in the nests also and my oldest rooster other than a bantam is 6 months. Could her eggs be fertile?

 

[red horse ranch]

The females can make every sound that the males make but the male can't make the 'goback' sound. You may have to separate them for an hour or two and see who is making the sounds.
A 6 month old rooster is VERY fertile! I find that young roosters produce the best hatches.

 

[Duckie48]

When you think the eggs are about 2 weeks old you can candle them.
In the dark put the egg above a torch cupped in your hand. The light will go straight through the egg.
If you see what looks like veins and a small blob, the egg is fertile.
I mark my eggs with the date of laying but in your case it might be a tad hard.
Take a crate over to the chook and make a nest inside and put her and the eggs in it.
Lock her in and take her back to the coup.
She and the eggs will not last for long unprotected. I don't know how long guinea eggs take to hatch, but chook eggs are around 21 days.
Good luck.