you won't believe what happened with my guinea hen

[julieschickens]

it is so sad when this sort of thing happens. i have learned that if you put mom in a cage they will come to her!!!! next year i willl try and catch any females i have and put them up for breeding seasson.

 

[Debbienmousey]

Badhbh, I am so sorry about your keets, but that picture is so sweet

. Does the cock care for the keets also? (our hen is in with the keets in a cage, her cock can see and hear her but he can't really "help out" with the keets since their in the cage.)

Yeah julieschickens, we found that out too when we couldn't catch our guinea hen while she was on the nest. Dad tried to grab her but he didn't get a good enough grip and she got away. She started running around (This was at night) screaming her head off and charging me! Mean while the babies were running under the rocks that the hen had nested by. We caught 6 of the keets and put them in a small cat carrier and then put that in the dog crate which had been over the hens nest while she incubated the eggs. The hen went right in the door so we shut it, and then the rest of the babies came out from under the rocks 1 by 1. It was scary having her run all over the place but once we got her in the dog crate she started calling for the keets and they came. I assume your missing keets must've heard their mother calling them, but it's still amazing that they could have lived that long without her!!

 

[Badhbh]

Quote:
Oh, yeah he does. He's as bad as the hen. He stays with them all the time, and will come after you if you get too close to the keets. I was pretty amazed how involved he is.

 

[featheredfriendlover]

My guinea hen is working on her fourth nest this year.
Her first nest she had about 40 or so eggs in it and all got eaten.
Then she laid 21 eggs in a second nest. All but 8 got eaten so I put them under some of my broody hens. All hatched ; but 5 died because I didn't know how bad of a mite infestation was in the nest box so the mites ate them alive.
She got up to 22 eggs or so in her third nest and all but 10 or those got ate so I put them under a broody hen and they are due to hatch sometime this weekend.
And I just heard her do her noise that she makes every time she lays an egg indicating she has started a fourth nest.
I know the general area but haven't figured out where it it yet.
That's not a sweet story but I think it's cool how shes laid over 80 eggs this year.

 

[Badhbh]

Here's the remaining 4 from the clutch of 14. Hopefully, now that they can fly, they'll make it. She's taking them back to the barn now, but not IN it.