Update on ALL the guineas. (Warning: Huge post with lots of pics)

[Debbienmousey]

Well, I've got so much guinea-news I decided I'd put it all in one spot.

We're down to 5 adult guineas, 2 cocks and 3 hens. So far the lavender hen has made 1 nest but got scared off, we're incubating those eggs, and she has just recently started her 2nd, or "replacement" nest, which is just below the chicken run. This should hopefully help with the predators, we'll just have to watch out and make sure the dogs don't get her nest. Here's some pictures.

She has 4 eggs, and she's laying 1 a day. Her last nest had 24 eggs total, and I hope she gets up to at least 20 this time.

Looking through the chicken wire of the chicken run. The nest is almost right up against the run fencing.

The pretty pair.


Our last Pearl Grey hen also has a nest. Her's is about half way in our neighbors field. She has about 16 eggs. I think we're going to put a dog crate over her and if she gets broken up, oh well! Better having her alive then predator food. Sorry I don't have pics of the nest, but I do have one of her and her white cock.

Pearl hen and white cock

I don't think our white hen has a nest, but she might. I'll have to follow her some day.

White hen

From our first batch of keets this year (Randomly collected white, pearl, and lavender eggs) we got 7 keets.(Out of 16 eggs) 3 Lavender and 4 Pearl Grey. I almost lost one of the lavenders when they were 3 weeks old, but thanks to some help from Munchies and Jobmcd he made it through and they'll be celebrating their 6 week birthday tomorrow. Here's some pics. They're fully feathered now I think, and I'll be expecting some buck-wheating coming from them soon

On their roost in their brooder

Here are 6 of them. 1 Pearly Grey is pied and 2 of the Lavenders are pied.

Alreay grouping themselves together

The little baby Lavender infront is the one who was sick nearly 3 weeks ago.

Checkin' me out.

Their brooder

Now onto our second batch of keets for this year. 42 eggs were set (Various of our eggs, some almost a month old, and some from our friends) 10 were infertile and 5 died along the way. We set the remaining 27 eggs for hatching on the 8th. By then (3 days from hatching) we already had about 2 pips! Egg 1 and egg 19 started pipping on the 8th. By the 9th eggs 2, 40, and 35 had pips. Egg 1 still had not hatched and we were getting worried. By bedtime(11:34PM) of the 9th we had 1 keet, egg 2 had hatched. He is a pied pearl

By the 10th my dad and I decided egg 1 need helped getting out. I know many of you don't agree with this but he had been going for about 2 days, he was a strong lil guy. He had some-what of a foot deformity but we ended up splinting that. He was a pretty white keet

Eggs 20, 38, 33, and 26 were pipping also. (On the 10th). Later eggs 19, 33, 26 and 35 hatched. Eggs 14 and 30 were also pipping. Later, eggs 14 and 20 hatched. Later, eggs 30, 38, and 40 hatched. Eggs 22 and 28 were pipping. That night befor bed my mom helped me move 9 of the 11 keets from the incubator to the brooder-aquarium. We gave 3 of the keets splints on their feet because they had crooked toes. Egg 25 is also pipping. On the 11th (Day 28 for the eggs) eggs 32, 28, and 22 hatched. The R.I.R. hen which had been brooding 4 guinea eggs hatched 3 of 4 keets on the 12th. Somehow one of them died, and she wanted off her nest so we took her last egg and put it in the incubator. This morning I awoke to keet #2, the one we helped, dead in the brooder. I was so sad, he was our only white from, so far, the whole hatch. Later in the day egg 25 is STILL pipping (Remember, he started on the night of the 10th), and the egg from outside is still pipping. The one from outside looks like he's drying up, but egg 25 still looks moist.

27 eggs good to hatch and 2 pips on day 25.

Keet #1 from egg 2

Keet #2 from egg 1, also with keet #1 in this pic.

Many more keets have hatched

Tammy, purebred R.I.R. from McMurray hatched 3 out of 4 keets but lost one. She now has 2 babies.

This is the egg from outside. He looks like a white too, but he's having an awful hard time getting out. If he's alive in the morning Dads thinking we should wrap him in a wet paper towel before we go to Church.

Egg 25, still going after over 3 days of pipping. Do you think he has much of a chance? Dads thinking we'll wrap him up too if he lives till morning. Should we help him?

And here are all the healthy babies. 13 total, all pearls, and 2 pied pearls.

So we have a dozen more eggs which will hopefully hatch, they're just late. Before we throw them out I want to "pip" them on the end with the aircell to make sure that they're dead. That's pretty much it. I'll try and 'keep you posted'.

If you've got any advice for the rest of this hatch or the next hatches, please share it

Also, any advice on pipping the maybe dead un-pipped eggs? (The eggs were supposed to hatch on the 11th, and we've had no new pips since the 10th)

Thanks if you've read all that

 

[Cherstin]

Thank you for the terrific post! I loved seeing all the pictures!

I will be attempting an incubator hatch of three guinea eggs in the coming week. I started looking for a remedy earlier this spring for all the blasted ticks we had on our property. I'd never noticed it before but everyone seems to be having a hard time with dog ticks in my area this year. One website swore by Guinea Fowl. I'd never heard of them!

I started doing the research and found my property is a little small to house a flock of guineas. I live on a half-acre. Many people wrote to say, however, that guineas won't free-range over such a large area if you have chickens. I thought that was interesting so we ordered three bantam Sultan eggs.

Only one of the three hatched and I can already tell I'm hooked. I got my guinea eggs from Ebay from a farm in Florida which is where I am, too. I'm looking forward to being a good owner to Guineas as well as the bantam Sultan, the dogs, cats, cockatiels, fish, and my son. Wait, I don't technically own my son. LOL

Thanks again for posting the pics. Your brooder pics gave me some ideas for materials I have already around the house. Best of luck to you and your flock!

 

[New adventure]

Thanks for all the great pics. I just got my first 4 guineas. They are adorable! Can you tell me how much they should weigh when full grown?

 

[rooster0209]

Quote:
I can't catch mine to weigh them, unless I sneak them off the roost when its dark. They look about the same size as my 2yr old mixed breed hens.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Cherstin, thanks. Good luck with your hatch, guineas are so adorable and beware: they're very addicting

(But what kind of poultry isn't?)

Yeah, my dad and brother made the brooder. The keets (And chicks when we hatch some of those) absolutely love it.

New adventure, congrats

I know, they're very adorable

Like rooster0209 I can't catch my guineas in order to weigh them(And we've never killed one for meat), but I'd say 3+ lbs.

Also Cherstin, you can train your guineas to stay inside your yard. I've never really done this because our chicken run has a covered roof and the guineas/chickens have lots of land to free-range on when their out, but I've heard of people doing it. There are a few others post around which have more details on training them to stay in your yard.

Here's one.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2354773#p2354773


Update on the hatching eggs: Egg 25 which had been pipping sine the 10th died last night in his shell. Somehow he was laid wrong in the shell I assume, and couldn't really pip out any more. The egg which we brought in from outside (The one which looks like it has a white keet in it) hadn't hatched by the time egg 25 died so I decided to wrap a wet paper towel around it before I went to bed. In the morning he still hadn't hatched so after we got back from Church dad cracked some of the shell and the keet popped out. He was kinda doing this funny thing where he kind of bounces around but doesn't actually walk. I've seen acouple other keets do this before though. I'm hoping he's not deformed but only time will tell.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Update: Well, the last keet which we helped out (The one from outside) is still alive, but his feet are deformed kinda. His toes kind of fold under/to the side and he doesn't stand like a normal keet. He's still living and doing okay, but I don't expect him to live much longer. The other dozen eggs which should have hatched we removed from the incubator today. I candled them and 1 was totally dark (Rotten I assume), 3 had blood rings(Or something like them), and the rest look like they should've hatched. My dad tried to pip one (Using some kind of knife, he gently scraped the shell trying to wear some of it away I guess) it busted somewhat and gave off an awful smell. So we decided to do the rest outside. Dad tried to pip one more but once he got towhere it would've had a hole in it it popped the large end of the egg off. We decided we would just toss the rest.

So currently we have 13 young keets, I think. 1 white, 2 pearl grey pied and the rest are just pearl grey.

Unfortunately the pearl grey hen which had a nest of 15 or 16 eggs was taken by something (I'm assuming fox) during the night or early morning. I went to check her today and there were 3 broken eggshells around the nest and only 9 eggs in the nest. Such a shame that we lost her

We put the 9 eggs in our borrowed incubator.

I decided to check the lavenders 2nd nest while I was at it and I saw that all 4 of her eggs were gone(No eggshells were nearby so I suspect a snake was the culprit here). I was very unhappy. Before we let the chickens out today I asked my sister to put 4 smallish chicken eggs in the lavenders nest site, thinking we could trick her. Well, I think we did. The lavender went to her nest almost as soon as she was let out, sat down, laid an egg, and went off to look for food with her mate. It seems like she's still accepting the nest.

AND on top of that I believe I've found our white hens nest!! Woohoo..One more nest to try and save, lol. I love my guineas but they sure give me a work out.

And also, I was feeding the 6 week old keets today and I heard their first "buckwheat". I wasn't able to catch which keet it came from though.

Sooo, I really hope these 6 week old keets make it to maturity, because we desperately need them. (We only have 4 adult guineas now, 2 hens, 2 cocks.)

What an update..I hope the next will be better.

 

[kgeorge]

Could you tell me what pied means? I'm new to guineas. I have 14 about 6 weeks old and they have strips on their head and down their back like some of yours. They already got out of their brooder (by accident) and get up on the roost with the chickens at night. I still turn on their brooder light in case they get cold but they don't seem to want it.

 

[Whispering Winds]

I devoured your post, love those guineas. They are sweet babies! I think its just amazing they look all bald and bare when hatched, but their little feathers dry and they are a full blown fully dressed baby!!! What part of Ga. are you in? My husband was born in Bainsbridge, left when he was 6 to St. Louis and then to Illinois. His heart and soul is still in Ga. though.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Sure kgeorge,

Pied means that the guineas have white feathers on their chest and wings. (Not sure about belly). I don't think white guineas can be pied. (Since they're already white all over)

Here's a color chart for guineas: http://www.guineafowlinternational.org/colorchart/

Note: Not all pied pearl grey guineas will have as much white as the one in the picture on the color chart.

Hope that helps.


Whispering Winds,

Thank you

I am totally in love with my guineas. I can't believe how adorable the babies are. And I know, they do look awful bald right after they hatch, huh?

We live in Washington, Georgia. Washington is about 45 minutes away from Augusta Georgia. (The two-state)

I wasn't born here, but I love the land. Bainsbridge is quite a far distance from us. (If I found the right one on Google Maps) But yes, the land is lovely and we love seeing all the nature, stars, and beautiful sun sets. (Plus we get to have the birds and over farm animals)

Thanks

 

[Cherstin]

Thanks so much for your reply and the further updates! (I forgot to subscribe to this post but just happened to wander here again without realizing it. Isn't that weird?! Weird or pathetic, as in I'm spending WAYYY too much time on here. I'm undecided which as of yet.)

I have my three eggs in my incubator and I'm counting down the days! Here is a pic. They should be either pearl, white, or lavender. I'm excited to see what I've got! Is anyone here an expert on determining guinea color from the markings on the egg, or can that not be done? I haven't looked into that yet but I'm curious.

I am really looking forward to the hatch and hoping to learn from my mistakes with my last hatch (the bantam sultans). Since he or she was all alone, I ended up getting ten more young chicks to keep him or her company. I'm learning so much already and I can't wait to learn all about the guineas!

I'll leave now to check out the link you posted about training the guineas to stay in the fence. Thank you for taking the time to do that! Hopefully I can become an expert on training them to do the right thing and then I'll write my own thread to help other people out.

Good luck with your keets!