Guineafowl Eggs:
Hatching Live Stream

Guineafowl Eggs: Hatching Live Stream

Due Dates:

These eggs were brought to us in two batches by two local farmers:

Non-spotted expected due date: Around the 3rd of September.

Black-spotted eggs expected due date: Around the 11th of September.

We do not know eggsactly when the eggs were laid so we could be a little earlier than those predictions.

We’ve included a little bit about the back story of these eggs under the live stream below.

The Eggciting Backstory of the Eggs.

You may be aware that the Safe Security Solutions team specialise in high-end security. You may not know that we are keen animal lovers and live in the heart of Lincolnshire!

Mike, the company owner already has a wide array of animals he cares for, ranging from chickens, guineafowl, cockerels and several (thankfully) tamed cats who absolutely love the birds. He even managed to nurse an injured baby owl back to health back in May this year until it was well enough to be on its way.

We had a few requests for owl updates at the time and quite a bit of interest on social media regarding these guineafowl eggs so we thought we’d share some of the details and create a live feed.

We currently have two batches of guineafowl eggs brought to us by local farmers after the nests were abandoned. While there may be every possibility we cannot help these poor birds, we thoughts we’d give them be best fighting chance possible… So we’ve invested in incubators to see if we can hatch them ourselves.

We currently have an old laptop set up and dedicated to providing a live feed of the momentous event.

Guineafowl: A Bit of Information About The Birds

Did you know?

Guineafowl eggs typically take 26 to 28 days to incubate before hatching.
Turkeys have a very similar incubation period
Broody chickens are often used as surrogate mothers to help incubate abandoned eggs… But we chose to use an incubator!
Eggs must be turned 3 to 5 times a day.
You can stop turning the eggs about three days before the hatching date.
37.2 degrees Celcius is the optimum temperature, very similar to the heat of the human body.
Depending on the breed of guineafowl, they can lay between 4 to 12 eggs.
Guineafowl was originally an African bird that has adapted well to the UK.
There are 7 species of wild guineafowl with the helmeted guineafowl being the most common.
Guineafowl was one of the most effective traditional forms of security; offering an alarm system for farms, smallholdings and protecting cattle by alerting them to predators. *Truly a bird with our values in mind!*
In the UK, people often refer to them as “original fowl” or “pet speckled hens”.
Other people call them “mini Raptors” on account of being generally considered to be descended from dinosaurs and… well… their attitudes!
A group of guineafowls are called… wait for it… “A confusion”.
Famed for their loud crowing, the call of these birds sounds a little like someone shouting “Buck-wheat, buck-wheat”.
Their call is on-par with the noise levels of roosters.
Guineafowl can make ideal pets: They provide a (very loud) alarm system, are generally hardy and easy to maintain and all have uniquely quirky personalities and skills.
These birds can live between 10 to 15 years.
They are deeply social creatures and will call out if a member of their group is lost or if one of their party dies, they will gather around and call out.
Guineafowl can actually scare predators away and in their native Africa, are known to see off snakes with their loud cries.
They are more highly strung than chickens and Google claims they are easier to tame and train. We’d beg to differ!
Guinea fowls can scare away foxes, much like snakes, making them an ideal addition to any farm… If you can handle their near-continuous chatter!
Typically they enjoy eating cracked corn, whole wheat, sunflower seeds, millet, greens and bugs.