Comments on: Incubating Guinea Fowl Eggs http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/ Meet the animals and harvest the information without getting your hands dirty! Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:37:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.6 by: Sara @ Farming Friends http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-14543 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:46:42 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-14543 Hi Linda, Thank you so much for this comment. I am not sure why your guinea would move the eggs out of the nest. Have you seen her physically move them or are they just out of the nest when you go and look? In my experience guinea fowl like to turn their eggs regularly and may just be vigorously turning the eggs so that they move out of the nest. Has your female guinea fowl shown signs that she wants to sit on the eggs. From my experience when they go broody they won't leave the nest, so you will know when she wants to sit on the eggs. If you wish the guinea to hatch the eggs then leave them in the nest and any she moves out put back in the nest and then she may eventually sit on the eggs. Just to let you know that I have recently set up a forum for guinea fowl enthusiasts which is free to join and you may find useful. http://farmingfriends.com/forums/forum.php?id=2 Let me know how you get on. Sorry again for taking some time to reply to your comment. Kind regards Sara @ farmingfriends Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for this comment. I am not sure why your guinea would move the eggs out of the nest. Have you seen her physically move them or are they just out of the nest when you go and look?
In my experience guinea fowl like to turn their eggs regularly and may just be vigorously turning the eggs so that they move out of the nest.
Has your female guinea fowl shown signs that she wants to sit on the eggs. From my experience when they go broody they won’t leave the nest, so you will know when she wants to sit on the eggs.
If you wish the guinea to hatch the eggs then leave them in the nest and any she moves out put back in the nest and then she may eventually sit on the eggs.
Just to let you know that I have recently set up a forum for guinea fowl enthusiasts which is free to join and you may find useful. http://farmingfriends.com/forums/forum.php?id=2
Let me know how you get on.
Sorry again for taking some time to reply to your comment.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

]]> by: linda http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-14139 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:18:47 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-14139 I have 1 female and 1 male guinea and I would like to know why she keeps moving her eggs out of the nest. she has 10 and has moved 5 out of the nest. They are in a pen all by there self. I go in and feed but that is all. Please help I don't know what I am doing this is my first time haveing something like this. I have 1 female and 1 male guinea and I would like to know why she keeps moving her eggs out of the nest. she has 10 and has moved 5 out of the nest. They are in a pen all by there self. I go in and feed but that is all. Please help I don’t know what I am doing this is my first time haveing something like this.

]]> by: james stokes http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-12613 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:55:39 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-12613 hi could anyone tell me if it maters that the temp is at 39c because in my incubator i have hen eggs that have to be at 39c if anyone could let me know if this is ok james_stokes06@hotmail.com thanks james hi
could anyone tell me if it maters that the temp is at 39c because in my incubator i have hen eggs that have to be at 39c

if anyone could let me know if this is ok

james_stokes06@hotmail.com

thanks james

]]> by: Sara @ Farming Friends http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-11433 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:00:32 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-11433 Hi Thelma, Guinea fowl eggs take 28 days to hatch. In the wild they will usually sit on about 12 eggs per clutch. You may decide, if you can get any of the eggs that you leave half under your guinea hen and put half in the incubator or under a broody hen. I have read that in the wild guinea fowl make great parents. They don't like to sit on eggs in an aviary or a hut and I know from experience that if I try to put a run over my sitting guinea hen to protect her from predators she normally gets off the eggs. Guinea fowl should sit if they feel secure and hidden away. My advice if you want your guinea hen to continue to sit is to try not to disturb her but make sure that she is well hidden and protected from predators. A couple of farmingfriends have hatched my guinea fowl eggs under broody hens who looked after the keets very well but I am not sure if the guinea hen throws the keets out of the nest. I imagine that if a guinea hen goes to the trouble of sitting on the eggs until they have hatched then she will look after the keets as well.I have only ever managed to hatch guinea fowl out using an incubator. When my guinea hens start to sit outside and I place a run over them it usually disturbs them and they get off the nest. This has happened 3 times this Summer already. I hope this information is useful for you. Let me know how you get on. Sara @ farmingfriends Hi Thelma,
Guinea fowl eggs take 28 days to hatch. In the wild they will usually sit on about 12 eggs per clutch. You may decide, if you can get any of the eggs that you leave half under your guinea hen and put half in the incubator or under a broody hen. I have read that in the wild guinea fowl make great parents. They don’t like to sit on eggs in an aviary or a hut and I know from experience that if I try to put a run over my sitting guinea hen to protect her from predators she normally gets off the eggs. Guinea fowl should sit if they feel secure and hidden away. My advice if you want your guinea hen to continue to sit is to try not to disturb her but make sure that she is well hidden and protected from predators.
A couple of farmingfriends have hatched my guinea fowl eggs under broody hens who looked after the keets very well but I am not sure if the guinea hen throws the keets out of the nest. I imagine that if a guinea hen goes to the trouble of sitting on the eggs until they have hatched then she will look after the keets as well.I have only ever managed to hatch guinea fowl out using an incubator. When my guinea hens start to sit outside and I place a run over them it usually disturbs them and they get off the nest. This has happened 3 times this Summer already.
I hope this information is useful for you. Let me know how you get on.
Sara @ farmingfriends

]]> by: Thelma Williams http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-11416 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:56:43 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-11416 I have a guinea sitting on eggs. How many days does it take to hatch and should i let her set instead of trying to incubate as i don't know for sure how long she has been on nest.Do they throw babies out of nest at hatching? some one said you have to be there when they hatch. She has 25 eggs. Is this a lot of eggs for one guinea? Thank you for any info as i am new at this. I have a guinea sitting on eggs. How many days does it take to hatch and should i let her set instead of trying to incubate as i don’t know for sure how long she has been on nest.Do they throw babies out of nest at hatching? some one said you have to be there when they hatch. She has 25 eggs. Is this a lot of eggs for one guinea? Thank you for any info as i am new at this.

]]> by: Jep http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10534 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:24:50 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10534 My Guinea Fowl keets were born with a yolk and the yolk was almost as big as they were. Plus the yolk was attached. Can You tell me why this is? My Guinea Fowl keets were born with a yolk and the yolk was almost as big as they were. Plus the yolk was attached. Can You tell me why this is?

]]> by: ollie http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10295 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:13:02 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10295 its my first time of haching guinea fowl and i wanted to know if on the day of haching if you had to help them by cracking the egges and punchuring the embreo. its my first time of haching guinea fowl and i wanted to know if on the day of haching if you had to help them by cracking the egges and punchuring the embreo.

]]> by: Sara @ Farming Friends http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10100 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:12:20 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10100 Hi Lori, Thanks for visiting and commenting. Your questions are very interesting. Depending on when the last eggs were laid can depend on when the eggs will hatch. Sometimes the eggs can hatch up to a week after the hatch date. It is a good sign if the guinea hen is still sitting on the eggs as I believe that they continue to sit if they can feel movement inside the eggs, but I don't know for certain. Guinea fowl often share nests so this is not unusual to find two guineas sitting on the nest. The other guinea may have gone broody and decided to sit as well. I think I would hang on in their and let the guineas sit and hatch the eggs. If they do come off the nest you could try candling the eggs http://www.farmingfriends.com/candling-eggs/ to see if they have chicks inside. It is difficult to tell a female and male guinea fowl until they are 8 -12 weeks old. You can identify them by their call - females have two calls and males only one. Males have larger wattles than females. http://www.farmingfriends.com/guinea-fowl-sexing/ Good luck with the guinea fowl eggs and let me know how you get on. Sara @ farmingfriends Hi Lori,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. Your questions are very interesting. Depending on when the last eggs were laid can depend on when the eggs will hatch. Sometimes the eggs can hatch up to a week after the hatch date. It is a good sign if the guinea hen is still sitting on the eggs as I believe that they continue to sit if they can feel movement inside the eggs, but I don’t know for certain.
Guinea fowl often share nests so this is not unusual to find two guineas sitting on the nest. The other guinea may have gone broody and decided to sit as well.
I think I would hang on in their and let the guineas sit and hatch the eggs. If they do come off the nest you could try candling the eggs http://www.farmingfriends.com/candling-eggs/ to see if they have chicks inside.
It is difficult to tell a female and male guinea fowl until they are 8 -12 weeks old. You can identify them by their call - females have two calls and males only one. Males have larger wattles than females. http://www.farmingfriends.com/guinea-fowl-sexing/
Good luck with the guinea fowl eggs and let me know how you get on.
Sara @ farmingfriends

]]> by: Lori http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10097 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:12:09 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-10097 I have a guinea sitting on eggs, it is past the time of hatching, but I can't get near the eggs unless I want to get attaacked, there is 2 quineas siting on these eggs. another thing how do you tell female or male? I have a guinea sitting on eggs, it is past the time of hatching, but I can’t get near the eggs unless I want to get attaacked, there is 2 quineas siting on these eggs. another thing how do you tell female or male?

]]> by: Sara @ Farming Friends http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-439 Thu, 31 May 2007 09:12:53 +0000 http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-guinea-fowl-eggs/#comment-439 Hi Kimberley, I am sorry that you are not getting the eggs to hatch, especially as they are obviously fertile. Do you check the temperature and humidity in the incubator. A way of checking the humidity is with a wet bulb thermometer. http://www.farmingfriends.com/a-wet-bulb-thermometer/ Do any of the chicks pip (crack) the shell or do they all die without pipping? There are a number of reasons for eggs pipping but not hatching. http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-pipped-eggs-but-chicks-not-hatched/ There are many reasons for a poor hatch rate or no hatching eggs. <a href="http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-a-poor-hatch-rate-or-no-hatching-eggs-in-an-incubator/" rel="nofollow">http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-a-poor-hatch-rate-or-no-hatching-eggs-in-an-incubator/</a> Kimberley the reasons for chicks being fully formed but not hatching out can be specifically due to; low average humidity in incubator, incorrect incubator temperature, incorrect ventilation in incubator, improper turning of eggs, eggs too cold before incubation, disease, poor diet or poor health in the flock. Egg turning seems to be really important and if eggs are stored before hand they still need to be turned manually at least 3/4 times a day. Egg rotation then stops three days before the hatch. <a href="http://www.farmingfriends.com/final-day-of-egg-rotation-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/" rel="nofollow">http://www.farmingfriends.com/final-day-of-egg-rotation-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/</a> When I first started with my guinea fowl breeding, like you I didn't know much and when the keets came to hatch they started to pip but then stopped so I had to help them which all the books say don't do. I would never have had half as many guinea fowl if I hadn't helped them. The last two times I have hatched eggs� from the incubator required no help from me so I am now obviously getting the conditions right and I got 14 healthy keets and 10 healthy keets. On these occasions I have monitored the level of water in the incubator carefully and topped it up regularly to keep the humidity up. http://www.farmingfriends.com/humidity-levels-for-egg-incubation/ Do you put different breeds in at the same time? as they have different incubation periods, so only the eggs with the same incubation period can be put in the incubator. <a href="http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubation-periods-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/" rel="nofollow">http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubation-periods-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/</a> I would say don't give up and keep trying with the incubator but you might want to just put a few eggs in next time. You might want to candle them so that you know they are all fertile. <a href="http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-pipped-eggs-but-chicks-not-hatched/" rel="nofollow">http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-pipped-eggs-but-chicks-not-hatched/</a> You could also try using a broody hen to hatch the eggs. If you know someone who has a different incubator that has had successful hatches you could ask them to incubate your eggs so that you can rule out if it is the incubator. I hope this information is helpful. If you want any more help just leave a comment. Good luck and let me know how you get on in the future. Sara @ Farming Friends Hi Kimberley,

I am sorry that you are not getting the eggs to hatch, especially as they are obviously fertile. Do you check the temperature and humidity in the incubator. A way of checking the humidity is with a wet bulb thermometer. http://www.farmingfriends.com/a-wet-bulb-thermometer/
Do any of the chicks pip (crack) the shell or do they all die without pipping?
There are a number of reasons for eggs pipping but not hatching. http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-pipped-eggs-but-chicks-not-hatched/
There are many reasons for a poor hatch rate or no hatching eggs. http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-a-poor-hatch-rate-or-no-hatching-eggs-in-an-incubator/
Kimberley the reasons for chicks being fully formed but not hatching out can be specifically due to;
low average humidity in incubator,
incorrect incubator temperature,
incorrect ventilation in incubator,
improper turning of eggs,
eggs too cold before incubation,
disease, poor diet or poor health in the flock.

Egg turning seems to be really important and if eggs are stored before hand they still need to be turned manually at least 3/4 times a day. Egg rotation then stops three days before the hatch. http://www.farmingfriends.com/final-day-of-egg-rotation-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/

When I first started with my guinea fowl breeding, like you I didn’t know much and when the keets came to hatch they started to pip but then stopped so I had to help them which all the books say don’t do. I would never have had half as many guinea fowl if I hadn’t helped them. The last two times I have hatched eggs� from the incubator required no help from me so I am now obviously getting the conditions right and I got 14 healthy keets and 10 healthy keets. On these occasions I have monitored the level of water in the incubator carefully and topped it up regularly to keep the humidity up. http://www.farmingfriends.com/humidity-levels-for-egg-incubation/

Do you put different breeds in at the same time? as they have different incubation periods, so only the eggs with the same incubation period can be put in the incubator. http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubation-periods-for-different-species-of-birds-eggs/

I would say don’t give up and keep trying with the incubator but you might want to just put a few eggs in next time. You might want to candle them so that you know they are all fertile. http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-for-pipped-eggs-but-chicks-not-hatched/

You could also try using a broody hen to hatch the eggs.

If you know someone who has a different incubator that has had successful hatches you could ask them to incubate your eggs so that you can rule out if it is the incubator.

I hope this information is helpful. If you want any more help just leave a comment.

Good luck and let me know how you get on in the future.

Sara @ Farming Friends

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