http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ Farming Friends Forum Topic: BEGINNER QUESTIONS en Sun, 19 May 2013 20:19:35 +0000 http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=1506#post-11950 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 09:03:58 +0000 admin 11950@http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ <p>Hi KarenK,<br /> Welcome to the farmingfriends forum. I have guinea fowl and they are a joy to keep and watch!<br /> Here is a link that may help with gender identification. <a href="http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=266#post-984" rel="nofollow">http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=266#post-984</a><br /> if you have a male or two males then I would assume that the guinea fowl eggs will be fertile. Unlike ducks you will rarely see guinea fowl breeding, at least in the 6-7 years I have kept guinea fowl I have rarely seen them mate! As I keep males and femlaes I assume the eggs are fertile and I have hatched some and sold them for hatching with good results.<br /> They are viable for hatching from 7-10 days after lay, as they get older the fertility of the egg reduces.<br /> Depending on the temparatures outside and how long they have been laid for they could be edible. From lay guinea fowl eggs can be kept for 3-6 weeks and can still be fresh if they are kept in a cool place. You can check they are fresh by placing them in water and if they sink they are fresh and if they bob up to the surface I wouldn't eat them!<br /> Now that you know where the nest is I would leave some eggs in the nest to encourage the females to continue to lay their. Mark the eggs you are leaving in so that when you visit the nest again tomorrow you can see which are the freshly laid eggs. Guinea fowl do tend to share nests so more than one female may be laying there. They lay anytime from morning until mid afternoon.<br /> A guinea fowl hen may go broody and sit on the eggs once there are enough in the nest and then she will need protecting from predators without being disturbed herself and leaving the nest! I have never managed to get a guinea fowl to continue to sit as they always lay their eggs in a vulnerable place and we get foxes, so when I place a run over her they have a tendency to got off the nest!<br /> Good luck with your eggs and guinea fowl.<br /> kind regards<br /> sara @ farmingfriends </p> http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=1506#post-11947 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:54:32 +0000 karenk 11947@http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ <p>Thanks for the support, guys. So, another question. A friend sent me a link that claims eggs needn't be refrigerated. So I guess I need to know thoughts on that since I can't be sure how long these eggs were lying outside before I found them and, more important, I guess I need to know how long they are good for. A friend would love to have them but I won't see her til Monday. Since I found them yesterday (with no idea how long they'd been there), can I trust they'll be ok? </p> <p>Someone said that we shouldn't eat the eggs if the hens are fed medicated food. Is that correct? They free range more than eat our food but it IS medicated. </p> http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=1506#post-11943 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:33:55 +0000 karenk 11943@http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ <p>I'd gladly sell them or give them away. Just don't know how long they're good for in what sort of weather. Don't want to get sued for someone getting sick because I don't know what I'm doing. &lt;g&gt; </p> http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=1506#post-11942 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:24:45 +0000 Mama 11942@http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ <p>Oh ,it sounds like great fun at your house !!. Your dogs can eat the eggs no problem but you can also cook with them , bake .Can you not sell them at your gate or the store ? As for the rest of your questions , sure Sara admin and some other members will be able to help. Happy eggs ,happy eating . Mama </p> http://farmingfriends.com/forums/topic.php?id=1506#post-11939 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:26:41 +0000 karenk 11939@http://farmingfriends.com/forums/ <p>I'm so new to guineas and have SO many questions. Just be patient and talk to me like I know literally nothing... which I don't.</p> <p>Last fall, my husband "surprised" me by bringing home 5 chicks which he got "free" from a woman who has millions of critters. (Her guineas are basically free ranging wild critters.) Of course, we immediately purchased a new 5x10 dog pen to sit in our existing open shed, hung deer fence on it so they couldn't escape, purchased a small coop to keep inside the pen, purchased a roof to go over the top of the pen, purchased medicated feed, feeders and waterer. So much for free.</p> <p>Finally, as spring approached, I told my husband these were supposed to be free ranging birds and we started leaving them out during the day, putting them back in the pen only at night. Now they are out all the time, though they can get in the pen if they want (which they don't).</p> <p>I've watched them carefully as they've grown, trying in vain to discern male and female, to no avail. The only difference I've observed is their call (which they do nonstop). I believe the females are supposed to have a two-syllable call and the males one. Based on that alone, I believe we have three females and two males but, possibly, only one male.</p> <p>Now come the million questions. Yesterday, I stumbled across four eggs sort of scattered in a general area. They were, of course, stone cold. I glanced under a bush I had seen one particular guinea going in and out of and found six more eggs. I think the four scattered had been scattered from the nest.</p> <p>So... what do I do with the eggs? How do I know if they are fertile? Let me say I do NOT want any more guineas at this point. When I get used to them and know better what I'm doing... maybe. How long can the eggs be cold before they are no longer viable? Can I assume they are edible? If so, for how long? (It's early spring here in north Georgia and still pretty chilly.)</p> <p>Not having any earthly idea what we are doing, we brought eight of the ten eggs in and put them in the refrigerator, leaving two in the "nest". Turns out we should have marked them as I returned from chores today to find four more and now don't know which are old and which are new, not that it matters I suppose since no hens are tending the eggs. ??</p> <p>Now, I've discovered another nest under another bush. We have trouble eating a dozen eggs from the grocery store before the expiration date. But I do have dogs (Mastiffs) so I suppose I should just give them to the dogs. Any reason I shouldn't? </p> <p>Will the hens eventually start nesting on their eggs? Silly question I suppose but can I just let nature takes its course and see if any chicks show up eventually? At this rate, I'll be rolling in eggs with nothing to do with them.</p> <p>In short -- HELP!!! I have no idea what I'm doing!! </p>