What to do...What to do...Oh my!

[melroseladi]

Well I knew my hens had started laying again and I took all the eggs....grandkids thought they were great. I didn't find any eggs in their run for a couple of days after I took the eggs out of the dogloo. They had been free ranging so I started getting concerned. I kept them penned for 2 days and they did lay again in the dogloo, which I left. I let them out today to free range hoping that if they had nests in the woods I would be able to follow them.

Sophia and Bob were pretty easy. They went off into the woods not to far from the pen. I found her nest which only had 4 eggs in it. I took the eggs and destroyed the nest. I put the eggs in the dogloo and both Bob and Sophia went back in the pen.

I heard Rocky making a ruckus outside the pen so I went out. Lacey was no where to be seen. I walked around the woods close to the house but no sign of her and no peeping. I decided to wait for Rocky to head to the woods, which he eventually did. Deep, deep into the woods, off of our property. After about an hour Lacey suddenly appeared and walked off back to the house with Rocky. I knew I would find the nest since I had the area to search in. And a nest I did find. A nest next to a fallen tree with branches hiding it, with 23 eggs in it.

So not sure what to do now. She was gone a good part of the day so I am sure she has begun sitting on them. I do not have an incubator and the thought of letting these hens hatch out again, well lets just say, the thought will give me nightmares. The thought of what Lacey did to my little lavender scares me, what kind of a mom will she be. I don't have space to separate them into 2 pens so they can't get to each others keets.

Suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

 

[jcatblum]

I vote for find someone locally with incubator space -- split the hatch 50-50. I only say that because my ladies don't appear to be good moms & it is too hot where I am the eggs are exploding from the heat. Not sure your temps but guessing it is warm enough in floridia!

 

[PeepsCA]

If you are content with the number of Guineas you have already... then destroy the nest and toss out the eggs.

Obviously she can't brood the clutch there, a predator or stray dog will most likely take her and the eggs/keets... and if you move the nest, she'll most likely abandon the eggs (but you could try if you really want more keets).

I doubt she'd kill her own keets after brooding the eggs and feeling them move, hearing them peeping while still in the egg, and having them hatch underneath her... but you never know, some Guineas are just not right in the head

So you have to figure out... do you want more keets and all the hassles, or do you just hunt down everybody's eggs the rest of the laying season? Decisions decisions, lol. If you do decide to destroy this nest and decide no more keets, then I'd start keeping everybody in the pen until after the Hens lay every day and then let them out to free range for a few hours in the afternoons. Guinea eggs are nutritious, and you are feeding those birds, which costs $$$, so you deserve their fresh eggs IMO, lol

Keep in mind the Hens will lay a little later and later each day until they skip a day, so if you don't find eggs by 4pm that doesn't mean they skipped that day (sometimes my Hens lay as late as 7pm)... prolly just means they are holding out on ya and they will go make a nest in the bushes, lol.

Aren't Guineas FUN !?!?

lol

 

[melroseladi]

FUN??????????????? I never had a gray hair on my head until I got guineas, hahahaha. I did take the eggs and destroyed the nest. And my grandkids loved the eggs that I had taken out of the dogloo last week, scrambled, for breakfast.

I honestly thought with our heat that they had stopped laying and that is why I was letting them out to free range. Then I found some eggs in the pen and thought, what the heck.

My six month silkie has gone broody, sitting on an empty nest and I had planned on letting her hatch out some guinea eggs next season, when it was cooler but I didn't know she would go broody so soon and that the guineas would just keep on laying, and laying, and laying. Hahahaha.

I am trying to find an incubator but so far no luck with that. I am going to try to figure out something. I have a big dog crate that I could put in the run instead of the dogloo, which would be much cooler for them to brood in. What are the chances if I set up two nests in it that they would both sit in their own nest? I know last time Lacey was laying in the dogloo and Sophia stole every one of the eggs and pulled them under herself. I guess I will try that and see if they will go back to the nests. Sophia had no issue with me moving her nest around a couple of times last time, maybe she will be just as easy this time. Now when it comes to Lacey, anything goes, no way to predict what she will do, hahaha.