Pages collated by 
Jill Bowis of

started November 1999

Does anyone know if the eggs of guinea hens are edible?
All eggs are eggs. That means edible ;-)
Guinea eggs are quite tasty

Also, does anyone know anything about guinea eating ticks?
Yes - in africa they do eat ticks if they can get hold of them, in fact they eat pretty well anything!

I am looking for someone who can help me sex my guineas.  They are equally ugly (though I am sure their mother doesn't see it that way) and the only difference I have been able to discern is that one of them has a single white feather on each wing.  They are both about 4 1/2 pounds, have the same foot coloring (mottled brown/bright orange-yellow).  Neither  one seems to be dominant, and as far as my feeble human ears can tell, they sound the same.  They are about 4 1/2 months old, I haven't found any eggs yet ( I don't even know when they are supposed to start laying).  When  I handle them one is more aggressive than the other.
 

I was wondering where I would be able to get hold of about a dozen fertile pheasant or grouse eggs, with the purpose of hatching them under a broody hen and raising them for us to eat.
Q - Murray McMurray sells them for $43.25 for 25 eggs, and these were going for $1.50 each, last I checked.  You can get chicks for $3.59 each through McMurray, and I'm sure someone local would have them for less.  As for grouse, I understand they're very hard to find, and are very hard  to raise (not recommended for beginners--much to the chagrin of my husband). 
You can order pheasant eggs from some hatcheries, just have to do it in season.  It may be that you have to order a certain amount--I don't know.  I believe (and this is not gospel) they lay in spring/summer
only.  Murray McMurray ships them May-June, don't know who other suppliers are.
I don't know how easy/hard it is to hatch them under a broody hen, sorry.
Q - Townline Poultry Farm here in Michigan sold day-old  pheasant chicks for $1.30 each last spring. No shipping or handling if you picked them up at the local feed store when they had "Chick Day". All they have is the common "Ring-Neck" but they are a nice looking bird when full grown. If you get more than 12 here in Michigan you have to get a permit from the DNR.
We've got 5 guineafowl of undertermined sex. When are they likely to start laying? as far as I know they haven't yet. Anyone got any hints and tips on the breeding of guineafowl.
Guineas should start laying in late spring early summer. (mine haven't started yet) You say undetermined sex. Guineas are quite easy to sex once they have reached seven weeks or so. Listen to the voice. Females are the ones that make that annoying two tone noise that sounds just like an old cartwheel turning on a rusty axel. ( Ker Klark  or Buckwheat)  Males never make this noise, just a one tone warning cry (the females can make this noise as well)
The females will try to steal a nest away in the most inaccesable place they can find, usually in large piles of nettles, brambles or somesuch. They lay very large clutches with several hens sharing one nest if they can. Watch for the male he will stand guard near where she is laying, its a good clue as to where the nest is.
Best to take the eggs and hatch under a broodie hen.
Baby Guineas are the sweetest chicks ! They are really adorable, its a shame they grow up ;-) They get VERY fond of their foster mother and will follow her for months...in my case I still have one that remembers she was hatched out by a Light Sussex hen two years ago and always rushes up to every Light Sussex to say hello!
If they were hatched under a broodie and followed her into the hen house at night you might be lucky and find they will lay in a nestbox. I have had this happen. but its not common. 
 

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