I failed as a Guinea Fowl mum!! Help

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

We had around 18 Guinea Fowl eggs collected and set up in the incubator, water added, 37-38 degrees. Tuesday should have been E.T.A. Only 4 started pecking at the shell Thursday. I helped the shell on 2 of them a little bit last night. Thismorning nothing else happened. No movement or sound from any of them. At midday I cracked open the shells. Half were only a bit formed. The other half were fully formed but only 2 had the tiniest of movement. I looked in on them a while ago, no movement from them either.
I noticed the shells are extremely hard.
Is there always this kind of percentage of partly formed eggs?
Did they die because of the hard shells they couldn't break open?
Any advice?
We have one adult Guinea Fowl sitting on another 20 or so. She has a few more days to go. Is it likely to be the same scenario

Stt · **Joined:** Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:01 pm **Posts:** 3006

I too just hatched keets all hatched but one and the shell was really hard but im not too sure as this was my first time hatching keets

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

Thanks for the reply Stuart. So it could be the hardness of the shell??
I wonder how to get them softer lol.

danny boy · **Posted:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:49 pm

Guineas egg shells are always quite hard so dont let this be a worry.
I would say it might have been the way they were incubated but havent got enough info to go on.
I incubate the bulk of my eggs & never had the trouble of what you had.
It could be that you opened the incubator too much or the line of keets may have been genetically weak.
Did you allow 28 days for incubation?

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

Yeah, we worked out 28days, marked it on the calendar. Do some take longer in a batch??
We only opened it once per day to turn them in the first 3 weeks, then marked the tops of them to know which side is up.
Only thing I can think, last weekend we made a large box enclosure in preparation for them hatching and thought we'd be able to use the top of the incubator to keep them warm still and so we took the top off a couple of times to mark the size on the larger polystirene box.
Do you have to help yours out or do they get out on their own given enough time?

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

Rise and fall of incubator temp can mean some come out later, especially if you have a manual turn bator you have to keep opening. Did you remember to fill all the water for the last few days of the hatch to lift the humidity? Some people don't mist the eggs in the last stages either but I find it helps the eggs especially the harder shelled ones.

Better luck next time.

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

Thanks Sebduck,
Yes we do have a manual turn one.
Sounds like we should have misted them...and allowed for a longer time if the temperature fluctuated.
Shall follow this advice for next time!!!

danny boy · **Posted:** Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:29 pm

Okey dokey, opening an incubator that often can be detrimental to eggs. Especially if they are the small foam bators.
I also mist my eggs morning & night but usually only when I have water fowl eggs in. I Also run batches of guineas thru with no misting & only my incubator water tray full, so can say for sure misting doesnt really affect them.
As for time guineas dont really take much longer to hatch, I have earlier hatches but not heard of much later than 28 days. If they are only half formed ect, something went wrong during incubation, from experience its nearly always too much peaking in the incubator that will cause it, however it can be ther things as well.
Basically to sum it up, if your guinea hen has a good hatch from her eggs you could bet it was the incubator.

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

Thankyou Dannyboy,
That gives me lots of info to work on.
The guinea hen isn't off her nest yet...we shall see what happens.
I shall let you know what happens there.

BirdOfAFeather · **Joined:** Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:01 pm **Posts:** 11

Hi Guys,
Just as an update on my little situation...
The mother guinea fowl sitting on a large batch of eggs..3 hatched, I believe on Christmas Day and are still surviving! The group of fowls have taken good care of them. The mother with her babies has chosen to sleep just outside our fencing which keeps us ever worried that they will come to grief! They come in each day and the 5 others greet them asap each morning. We have experienced quite an amazing sight - 2 days ago a wild dog appeared at the back fence, brought to our attention by the 5 guineas being very very agitated. When we looked to see the problem, the dog was being chased by the 5 fowls. They were amazing! The dog eventually ran off.
Our Maremma sheep dog has been given the posting at night to sit on the back area closest to where the mum and babies are.
I am wondering if the genetic line might be weak, as was suggested, since only 3 survived from this batch also. Any thoughts?

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