Question re: guinea keets and raising them with a broody hen:
I have a flock of only 4 guineas due to woefully inadequate planning last year. I also have 3 males with only one female. The female has laid 2 eggs and left them on the floor of their coop but she has shown no signs of wanting to put them together and nest with them; she has laid no eggs in the last 5 days. I absolutely need to get more guineas for this tiny flock because they have insufficient numbers to keep everyone happy and to fulfill all the necessary roles they have. I have ordered fertilized guinea eggs which will arrive in a few weeks. A couple of my hens are broody so it might be an option to put the eggs under them.
One lives in her own separate coop but the rooster stays with her at night- will he hurt the new keets or assume they are his?
The other lives in a group of 11 with some very forceful personalities (she is the second in the pecking order). Will the other hens try to hurt the keets just because they aren't theirs? They all seem to like to sit on everyone's eggs in turn.
I don't know how many eggs one hen can sit on and I also don't know if the moms will be able to keep the keets sufficiently warm when they hatch in early July.
MOST importantly, will the existing adult guineas accept the little guys if they encounter them outside with a hen? They were raised by one of the hens I'm speaking about but I don't know how they would take to a new set of keets wandering around outside, particularly with a hen in tow. I need the guineas to all get along so they can make a sufficient flock.
Sorry for so many questions but the more I thought about the eggs, the more concerned I became about these issues. Thanks-
I have a flock of only 4 guineas due to woefully inadequate planning last year. I also have 3 males with only one female. The female has laid 2 eggs and left them on the floor of their coop but she has shown no signs of wanting to put them together and nest with them; she has laid no eggs in the last 5 days. I absolutely need to get more guineas for this tiny flock because they have insufficient numbers to keep everyone happy and to fulfill all the necessary roles they have. I have ordered fertilized guinea eggs which will arrive in a few weeks. A couple of my hens are broody so it might be an option to put the eggs under them.
One lives in her own separate coop but the rooster stays with her at night- will he hurt the new keets or assume they are his?
The other lives in a group of 11 with some very forceful personalities (she is the second in the pecking order). Will the other hens try to hurt the keets just because they aren't theirs? They all seem to like to sit on everyone's eggs in turn.
I don't know how many eggs one hen can sit on and I also don't know if the moms will be able to keep the keets sufficiently warm when they hatch in early July.
MOST importantly, will the existing adult guineas accept the little guys if they encounter them outside with a hen? They were raised by one of the hens I'm speaking about but I don't know how they would take to a new set of keets wandering around outside, particularly with a hen in tow. I need the guineas to all get along so they can make a sufficient flock.
Sorry for so many questions but the more I thought about the eggs, the more concerned I became about these issues. Thanks-
