Incubator problem - NONE of our 2nd batch of guine eggs are hatching!

[J35]

She will not sit. Guineas are terrible brooders... Incubator was my only option.

David

She will sit but you got to let her pick the nest sight, most likely out in the woods someplace, one of the males will stay near her when she goes broody.

Then it's a toss up between the snakes and the varmints and luck if she hatches or not. It's tough with only one hen.

good luck

 

[Soundguy]

most defects I have seen are lowmoisture defects...

 

[J35]

i have about 4 coops, and I usually let whoever is the borrdiest do their thing. the chickens seem to run 'community' more or less. one day 3 chickens will have bitties under them.. the next day one mother banty will be spread out near flat setting on all of them.

heck.. I have one old .. say.. 10 yer old tom royal palm turkey that has lost his mat a year or 2 ago.. and he's real broody. in that pen I have a rooster, 2 hens, and 3 juveliles.. has 3-4 bittis in it right now. all the chicken ar banty, thus small.. I've walked out ther eon colder morning and seen nothing but him setting and EVERYBODY else nestledupunder him or under wings...

I had a rooster and a pullet in a single mate pen once, the pullet went broody and hatched and then quit the chicks, I went out after dark and found the pullet on the roost and the rooster on the ground with all the chicks under him, he raised all those chicks by himself.

Later in the year I set up another single mate pen with that rooster and a different hen and all was normal.

good luck

 

[Tororider]

When I left for work (late) this morning, I had 6 hatchlings, 2 very fresh, and at least 2 or 3 who looked pretty healthy.

When I got home it seems all 6 are very defective and I'm not sure any will live more than a couple days/weeks...

This is depressing...

David

What are you using to monitor the humidity? I got a thermometer with a humidity sensor from Walmart for about ten bucks I think. It had the added benefit of being able to monitor what the temperature really was, my incubator had the ability to adjust the temp if the factory setting wasn't correct.

Sorry, things like this are never fun.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

3 of them have spinal defects, all they can do is lay on their sides and kick feet. Worst one cannot lift neck. The other 3 have their legs splayed out sideways and cannot stand. Often these are referred to as "swimmers".

I cannot see how this is humidity related?

I am hard pressed to figure out what I did wrong...

 

[Soundguy]

the hip / leg problem is called spraddle.

as for humidity.. it makes huge difference. not enough and you get adhesions and low weight and many other problems.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

She will not sit. Guineas are terrible brooders... Incubator was my only option.

David

Your guinea may be a terrible brooder, but I have friends who just hatched out a dozen healthy keats by leaving them under the hen.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

the hip / leg problem is called spraddle.

Chris,

I "hobbled" the 3 with spraddle and 2 are doing better, not giving up on the 3rd.

Info is that they get this from too slick footing in their brooder. I used newspaper this time, and sawdust on top of newspaper last time.

What SHOULD I use? Sandpaper?

David

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. that's what I use.

sometimes the hobble ( tieing legs close together with string ) will do it. I've had 50/50% success rate on turkey, and 90% on chicken. also.. the faster they grow witht he spraddle.. the harder to save. I hold off on the high protien chick feeder and keep them on regular feed till the spraddle starts to clear. then i put them on grower/startrer. otherwise you got a bird with weak legs that puts on body weight faster than it's legs get better and you get a big chick laying on it's side. worse with turkey. and yeah.. sand paper works great. 320-80 any of that works.. 400+ is too smooth.. and 60 is too expensive.. use the yellow stuff. not hte black stuff.

I also use this paper to coat perches in my bird cages..

 

[joshuabardwell]

used newspaper this time

I have never used newspaper myself, but I have read that slippery surfaces like newspaper are exactly what causes that problem. If they are spraddled this early in life, it doesn't seem like it could be environmental in nature, but I'm not a regular breeder, so take it with a grain of salt.

I use straw in my brooders, FWIW.