The Poultry Keeper

tracey061196

Hi All

Yesterday i was given 3 Guinea Fowl eggs to put in incubator or under broodie.

Has anyone had or got Guinea Fowl who can tell me what they are like, (tempermant, requirements etc)

I know that they take 28 days to hatch the same as ducks, i have thought of putting some duck eggs in with them.

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3452 Location: Monmouthshire

Actually they take 26 days. They need to be tightly confined with a broody for at least a week so they all speak the same language. If not with a broody they must be kept in a covered brooder or they'll escape. They are very quick and active from the moment they emerge from the egg. They'll be up trees from 6 weeks if they have the chance.

tracey061196 · Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject:

Thanks Henwife

Ive now got 7 as the lady who gave me the 3 kept 4 for herself to put in a incubator but she changed her mind.

I have a Barnvelder broodie (fingers crossed she will stay sat) and i have moved her completly away from the other chooks, i put her in the cage with a box of straw, but the eggs in and within 5 mins she was sat on them.

Will they eat the same as the chickens, chick crumb to start with then rearer and then layer pellets?

And also how will they get on with the chickens and ducks?

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3452 Location: Monmouthshire

I treat mine as chicken. They start with medicated chick crumb and work through to layers pellets, though by the time they;ve reached that age they are living their own way, fossicking in the forest and sleeping up trees. They appear twice daily for feed wheat and have a feed hopper of pellets which they can eat if they chose to. Mine are a wild flock.

tracey061196 · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:20 am Post subject:

Well they are on their 10th day BUT are now in one of my incubators.

Had a broodie hen sat on 6 chicken eggs and due out last thursday, she decided she no longer wanted to sit (on day 20) and the eggs went cold. Sad

I decided to try something so i moved the G/F eggs that were under a Barnveldor and put them in an incubator and moved the chicken eggs under that broodie. On thursday/friday 6 chicks were hatched and the hen has taken really well to the chicks (bet she must be thinking that was a quick sit, ive only been sat 6 days Very Happy

)

All 7 G/F eggs are fertile.

JC · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 1099 Location: Sussex

Yay the eggs hatched! Very Happy

goodluck with the G/F eggs, my friends got a wild flock off 4 or 5 i think, they are pretty noisey and spend most of the time within 50 metres of the chickens. Either in the field or up a tree!

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2620 Location: South Cumbria

Mine have they own hut now but used to live with the silkies they are not tame in that we can't handle them though they do stay in the garden 99% of the time and come when called and sleep in their hut sometimes some silkies join them or vice versa I bought 3 originally and tamed them by only letting 1 out at a time they stay close to each other the rest were hatched by a silkie they were very lively chicks and can get through small wire ! they have ad lib pelletts but eat mostly bugs and greenery mine are guard birds as they kick off if anything strange happens ! the eggs taste just the sameand same size as the silkies just thicker shells and are good layers in the summer months only