Surrogate mom :)

[Sheri and Jon]

My Guinea was sharing a nest with our Welsh Harlequin duck..the duck gave it up but the guinea has stayed vigilant. Well, finally tonight some of the eggs hatched. There is 1 baby Guinea and 2 ducks. Mom took the babies out of the nest and ventured back into the coop leaving the rest of the nest alone. We gathered them up (some eggs are wiggling) and put them in the incubator to finish hatching. My question is...will the baby ducks be ok with the guinea mom ??

 

[sunnie7]

I’d wait for an expert to chime in but I’ve heard guineas are poor mothers!!!!

 

[R2elk]

My Guinea was sharing a nest with our Welsh Harlequin duck..the duck gave it up but the guinea has stayed vigilant. Well, finally tonight some of the eggs hatched. There is 1 baby Guinea and 2 ducks. Mom took the babies out of the nest and ventured back into the coop leaving the rest of the nest alone. We gathered them up (some eggs are wiggling) and put them in the incubator to finish hatching. My question is...will the baby ducks be ok with the guinea mom ?? View attachment 2230517

I recommend putting the hatchlings in a brooder.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

My Guinea was sharing a nest with our Welsh Harlequin duck..the duck gave it up but the guinea has stayed vigilant. Well, finally tonight some of the eggs hatched. There is 1 baby Guinea and 2 ducks. Mom took the babies out of the nest and ventured back into the coop leaving the rest of the nest alone. We gathered them up (some eggs are wiggling) and put them in the incubator to finish hatching. My question is...will the baby ducks be ok with the guinea mom ?? View attachment 2230517

Wow! More pictures!!!! I brooded WH ducklings and keets in a brooder 2 years ago, and I had to rehome half of the guineas for viciously attacking the ducks at about 2-3 months old. When they were hatchlings, the ducklings were so much bigger that they stomped and terrified the keets. I theorized that the 2-3 mo guineas were looking for payback...

 

[AgnesGray]

I have broody WH ducks that were totally freaked out when the eggs started hatching so I had to bring the ducklings in and my guineas hatched this weekend too so my brooder probably looks a lot like your hatchers right now! I have 3 keets and 1 duckling (lost a guinea and a duckling). After my recent fiascos with broody ducks and chickens, I am not feeling too confident in leaving the littles with broodies right now unless I can hang out and be sure they're up for the task.

 

[Sheri and Jon]

I moved the baby ducks (hatched the last one in the incubator) to a brooder..figured it was safer and they can be ducks! Right now I have the baby guinea still out in the coop with mom and one just hatched in the incubator this morning...not sure what to do now..lol

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I moved the baby ducks (hatched the last one in the incubator) to a brooder..figured it was safer and they can be ducks! Right now I have the baby guinea still out in the coop with mom and one just hatched in the incubator this morning...not sure what to do now..lol

Oh man! Let us know what you do with your singleton! I’ve never been brave enough to try slipping a keet under a guinea - I’m guessing that they don’t sleep soundly enough to let you do that... I have a wondered, if keet were hatching, and I put a keet in a cage near the mom, would she accept that keet then? I haven’t actually tried that either... Good luck!