Farming Friends

At only a day old my khaki campbell ducklings knew how to swim. It is amazing to see their instincts kick in and watch them as they happily swim around the bucket.

My husband’s uncle rears ducks on a large scale and they said that if a new born duckling doesn’t look too lively then a swim in some wather can help to revive the duckling.

Sallyanne purchased some guinea fowl hatching eggs from farmingfriends over a month ago and the eggs hatched out after her broody Silkie hen sat on the eggs.Here is the latest progress report and photos of the two guinea fowl keets and Mother Silkie on a very windy day!

Dear Sara,

I am thrilled to be included on your website - thank you. It is a great way for people
to learn from reading post like yours. The photo of my Keets looks really great.

As promised I have some more pictures for you and more news that all is going really
well. They have integrated with all the other chickens and are currently sunbathing with
my Silkies! My Belgium Bantam cockerel is very protective of mother and Keets and keeps
a close watch on them. He has been chasing the collared doves and pigeons away if they
get too close. They are spending all day scratching around amongst the daisies with the
other hens and in the evening Mother Silkie takes them in to their own hen house. It is
just brilliant!

Hope you like the photos. It was a bit windy when I took them and they all look a bit
fluffed up.

Will be in touch
Best wishes
Sallyanne

I look forward to following the progress of Sallyanne’s guinea fowl as they progress.

Positioning eggs in an incubtor depends on the type of incubator and whether or not you are using an automatic egg turner.

Hi i was just wandering how do i position chicken eggs in an incubator do i lie
them down or can you leave them standing up like the point of the egg pointing
up.
Thanks
Shane

Hi Shane,

You can lay the eggs on their side in the incubator and if you mark one side in pencil with a cross and one side with an 0 then when you are turning the eggs you will know which side to turn onto next. it is recommended that you turn the eggs 3 or 5 times a day if you don’t have an automatic egg turner. Some turners are just rollers that roll the eggs over on their side and some are trays that tilt the eggs from side to side. My egg turner is a tray that requires that the eggs be placed with the point facing downwards.

Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

I am often asked how to identify male and female guinea fowl. once the guinea fowl are starting to call out it is easy to identify them although it is not so easy to distinguish them by looks.

Hi, can any one advise me on sexing my guinea fowl? I have been given 6 adults and find an egg each day in the run but cannot decide which are the girls!
Bob

Hi Bob,
Once the guinea fowl are adults and have a voice it is very easy to sex them.
There are a number of ways to tell if a guinea fowl is male or female.

Females make 1 and 2 syllable calls .V. Males only make 1 syllable call.

Females hang lower to the ground .V. Males have more upright posture.

Females have smaller wattles .V. Males have longer, larger cupped wattles.

Females have smaller helmets .V. Males have larger helmets.

Here is a link to a video clip of the female guinea fowl call. http://www.farmingfriends.com/female-guinea-fowl-call/
Hope you find this helpful. Let me know how many of each gender you have.
Sara @ farmingfriends

If you would like any help identifying your guinea fowl then just leave a comment.

Does anyone have any advice for Pauline whose broody hen has hatched on of the duck eggs and then dserted the rest to sit on the duckling?

Just found your site and it seems ideal. I have had 7 duck eggs under a broody hen and on Wednesday (the 28th day)the first hatched. Against all odds too, as its the second broody (the first deserted) and the eggs had gone very cold for a time. Unfortunately the hen again left the remaining eggs to sit on the duckling so I have just removed the 6 today unhatched. I am very disappointed and quite anxious as I duck will be lonely. Pauline

Hi Pauline,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I am glad that you like the look of my website. Congratulations on your duckling hatching out but I am sorry that the hen deserted the eggs and the other eggs didn’t make it.
Maybe you could try incubating some eggs in an incubator and placing some pot eggs under the broody hen and then when the ducklings hatch in the incubator you can put them under the broody hen so that she will still adopt them. I know that Sallyanne has done this successfully with her silkies before so that might be worth a try. I hope that your duck doesn’t get too lonely.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

Any advice about what to do when a broody hen deserts the eggs would be appreciated.

From about 5 weeks of age it may be possible to tell the difference between a duck and a drake.

how would u know a duck from a drake i got them 8 weeks ago they are starting to get there feathers and i am curious to know. Marcella

Hi Marcella,
My ducks are coming up to 5 weeks old, so I should soon know myself whether I have ducks or drakes or both.
Apparently you may be able to tell the difference by their tail feathers and it is the male that has curling tail feathers. Some breeds of duck the male are more brightly coloured. Also some breeds show a different colour in their bills from about 6 weeks between the male and female, where the females is usually darker.
I believe that drakes usually have larger bodies and heads and a softer quack, whereas the female has a louder more distinctive quack. The distinction by call can be made from 5 weeks onwards.
I hope you find this information useful. Let me know what breed you have and how many males and females.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

I look forward to finding out the gender of my 7 khaki campbell ducks. I’ll let you know once I have found out!