Well I'll Be!!!

[PeaChick C]

I have been reading on here about people getting their guineas to lay in boxes inside the coop and I was skeptical. Our guineas have always prefered a more remote, untamed location to nest like a fence row or our windbreak.

But today I went to collect chicken and ducks eggs from our coop what did I find in the boxes? But a half dozen guinea eggs!!! My jaw about dropped. Not only did one of our ladies decide to lay in the boxes... but they ALL DID! We had just collected eggs Wednesday evening so we know its more than one! I hope this is a new trend. The Chickens lay there too so it would be great if one of our sitting hens goes broody on them and hatch them out.

Any suggestions on how I should treat them? Should I just let the eggs sit in the boxes? Should can I still collect the chicken eggs? I don't want to spook them off from laying there.

 

[tomingreeneco]

See my response to a simmilar question at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761632/guinea-nesting-boxes

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I pick up my eggs everyday. I had trouble last year with my broodies anyway. Everytimes the babies started hatching, the hens would start having custody battles over the babies and unhatched eggs and I'd end up with dead babies, so I gave up on doing it the natural way. I'd maybe try it, if I could have the hens in solitary confinement.
I do find hens are better than incubators though, so sometimes I let them set until they almost finished and then take them away.....I know....I'm mean.
Sometimes when I want to encourage setting, I put wooden eggs in the boxes and when I get a hen that refuses to leave the nest, I use them for my best purpose. I'll probably try putting that together soon, cuz some things are just hard to incubate.

 

[R2elk]

I pick up my eggs everyday. I had trouble last year with my broodies anyway. Everytimes the babies started hatching, the hens would start having custody battles over the babies and unhatched eggs and I'd end up with dead babies, so I gave up on doing it the natural way. I'd maybe try it, if I could have the hens in solitary confinement.
I do find hens are better than incubators though, so sometimes I let them set until they almost finished and then take them away.....I know....I'm mean.
Sometimes when I want to encourage setting, I put wooden eggs in the boxes and when I get a hen that refuses to leave the nest, I use them for my best purpose. I'll probably try putting that together soon, cuz some things are just hard to incubate.

I collect eggs until I set the first batch in the incubator (today). After that I let the hens set their own eggs. As you state, they do a better job than the incubator does. I do try to note when their hatches are due and I do take the chicks from them (sometimes at personal peril) and move them to the brooder. It isn't that the hens aren't good mothers but I have had hens kill chicks that aren't their own and I don't have the facilities to separate each hen and her brood.

I do the fake egg in the nest to keep the hens laying in the same location while I take their eggs. If I didn't do that, they would continue to find new places to hide their nests.

 

[PeaChick C]

At this point I don't think I have a choice. Every box is filled this morning with either a chicken or guinea hen and a couple feisty boyfriend guinea Roos are guarding the coop door. They let me in but when I got too close to the sitting ladies they started freaking out. I think I will let nature take its course and we will just eat duck eggs for a while