Is my guinea hen getting ready to lay eggs?

[GuineaMania]

I have 12 pearl guinea fowl who are about to be 12 weeks old. One guinea hen in particular keeps looking for tall grass/a safe spot and hunkering down to sit there. It could be something else but is she looking for a safe spot to lay eggs even though she isn't ready yet? I know 12 weeks is too young to lay eggs. How long before laying age do guinea hens start looking for a nesting spot? Any advice is appreciated!

The picture is of a different guinea hen her age.

 

[Some Old Guy]

I read a study a few weeks ago about guinea fowl reproduction. The takeaway was, guinea fowl aren't expected to be sexually mature until about 6 months. But, not all guinea fowl are ready at 6 months, many take as much as 9 to 12 months. And, some smallish percentage may not mature sexually - ever. My own guineas are about - uhhhm - 15 weeks now. They are just entering the crazy chase phase. As near as I can tell, they aren't very close to laying eggs.

Keep an eye on your birds, they may be exceptional. But, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[GuineaMania]

Okay, thanks. I think it also varies by type of guinea fowl, what type are yours?

 

[Some Old Guy]

Oh, I've got the bog standard pearl guineas. It seems that almost all research on guineas is done in Africa, using the ubiquitous pearl gray birds. If research exists on other varieties, I've not stumbled across any of it.

 

[GuineaMania]

Okay. Thanks for the info.