So, you’ve decided you want to try out hatching your own guinea fowl eggs – exciting! Whether you’re an egg-hatching pro or a first-time egg parent, in this blog post, we’ll walk you through the process and give you our best advice for a successful hatch. 

If you haven’t already, hatching chicken eggs is a great place to start if you have never hatched eggs before. Guinea eggs take a little longer than chicken eggs to hatch but are a relatively similar concept.

Guinea Fowl Hatching Eggs

Now, onto acquiring your guinea fowl hatching eggs. The start of any hatching journey is clean, fertile eggs. If you have male and female guineas of your own, you don’t have to go far to get some eggs, although it might take you a little while to locate where they are laying them. Once they’ve been collected, maybe over several days, you’ll want to let them rest a little bit in an egg carton slightly titled before setting them in a prewarmed incubator. If you aren’t planning to set them for several days, make sure you rotate them daily in the egg carton.

A reputable hatchery is also a  great place to source your hatching eggs from. Meyer Hatchery carries Guinea Hatching Eggs, sold by the dozen. We carry assorted, fancy, and rare options. They are carefully packed and shipped to you via USPS. 

Always wash your hands before you handle eggs and, just like with your home eggs, if you’re waiting more than 24 hours to set your eggs, use a cardboard egg carton, slightly tilted, to prevent embryos from sticking to the shell.

It’s important to note that if you’re ordering eggs, they need to rest after arrival. Let them rest for at least 12-24 hours before setting them in a pre-warmed incubator.

Incubation

Find a quiet, draft-free spot away from direct sunlight, kids, and curious pets for a stress-free 26 to 28-day incubation period. Remember to set up your incubator at least 24 hours before introducing your guinea eggs.

You’ll want to be sure to maintain the correct temperature and humidity during the 28-day incubation period. The temperature and humidity for guinea eggs are very similar to chicken eggs; the difference being the time frame before lockdown. In forced-air incubators, you’ll want to keep the temperature at 99.5 degrees F, and between 100-101 degrees F for still-air incubators. Humidity ranges from 45-50% for the first 25 days and bumps up to 65-70% in the final 3 days. 

Be sure to turn the eggs every 6-8 hours for the first 25 days and candle the eggs at 7 and 14 days to remove eggs that aren’t developing.

Be flexible with humidity adjustments, especially in different seasons. Follow your incubator’s instructions to adjust the humidity, add water for higher humidity, and increase fresh air intake for lower levels. You can find more detailed instructions on our help desk.

Lockdown and Hatching Day

Days 25-28 are the home stretch, aptly named “lockdown.” Stop turning the eggs, increase humidity, and let the keets get ready for their entrance into the world. Typically between day 26 and day 28, the symphony of peeping keets begins! Allow a full 24 hours for all keets to hatch, and resist the urge to assist struggling ones. Patience is key.

There you have it – a quick guide to the guinea fowl hatching process. If you want more detailed instructions on incubating and hatching guinea fowl eggs, check out our help desk article.

Have you hatched guinea fowl eggs before? Which guinea fowl varieties are your favorite? Tell us in the comments below! Happy hatching!