March 10th 2008

Guinea Fowl Egg Laying Seasons Begins

Saturday 8th March 2008, saw the guinea fowl egg laying season begin.

I found one guinea fowl egg laid in the paddock. I don’t know if this is where the guinea fowl laid the egg or if a magpie has tried to move the egg but it was certainly an unusual place for the guinea fowl to lay it’s egg as they like to lay their eggs in a dug out ground nest that is covered with foliage or greenery such as a thick patch of nettles.

I will now begin my guinea fowl egg count. Last year I collected 275 guinea fowl eggs but think that I lost over 300 guinea fowl eggs to the magpies. The guinea fowl began laying on the 23rd February 2007 and finished on the 20th September 2007.

My guinea fowl free range and so finding their nest sites is not easy. I have to watch their movements carefully so that I can track down their eggs and I also need to make sure that I get their before the magpies who are partial to stealing guinea fowl eggs. We currently have about 6 magpies in and around our farm. I will let you know when I find the official guinea fowl nesting site.

Posted in: Guinea Fowl, Diary Extracts, Game Birds

6 Comments »

  1. An acquaintance of ours has guinea fowl and they are also laying eggs right now. He is finding them over his property as well. He is going to collect some for me and I will incubate them start my own little guinea fowl flock!

    Comment by Diane — March 14, 2008 @ 1:52 pm

  2. Hi Sara, Magpies can be such a nuisance, I counted as many in my tree the other day, not a good thing to have in a small garden, or anywhere, as they are not good news for small birds or eggs. x

    Comment by Louise — March 14, 2008 @ 5:24 pm

  3. I just read in your link that the egg shells are very hard - I suppose you have to be extra careful when you’re using them!

    Comment by nikkipolani — March 16, 2008 @ 12:30 pm

  4. One of these days I will have enough land to home some Guinea Fowl!!!

    Comment by Libby — March 18, 2008 @ 2:25 pm

  5. I can’t wait for Cloud our guinea fowl hen to start laying!

    Comment by Cottage Smallholder — March 19, 2008 @ 6:43 am

  6. All this sounds like a wonderful life for the guinea fowl. I never realised how many eggs the magpies ate though. It must be difficult to lose so many. I love looking at giunea fowl with their pretty feathers :)

    Comment by Wildlife Gardener — March 19, 2008 @ 10:41 am

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