Pics of free range guineas and keets..

Great pics Critters! Those babies are so cute. Glad you were able to scoop some of them up before the mama lost the others.

I had a Guinea that managed to hatch 4 keets out of 13 eggs recently, and she also managed to lose every one of them! Wish I had listened to Peeps when she told me to get them asap when they first hatched. Like Toby said, someone needs to teach Guineas how to count as they always leave some behind and don't bother to go looking for them again. GRRR!

I think I will stick to stealing the eggs from the nests and putting them under my perpetual broody Silkie. She loves to hatch eggs for me and doesn't care who laid them. LOL!

PeepsCA said:

Bummer Critters... that's stinks. Good thing you managed to take half away and get them in a brooder. It's always a good idea to confine the Momma and keets to an area in the coop or pen for a week or so... 'til the babies are a little heartier and rest of the flock has a chance to get used to them. I don't have that option tho, when I finally let my brooding Guinea hatch some keets out, and I'm worried about it. I keep swapping out her eggs on day 24/25 and bringing them in to hatch, cuz I needed the keets to fill orders and I have been worried if I let the Momma finish the job she'll be left with none in no time too. So I've basically been using her as a spare incubator, (a cranky one) lol. She's been really good about getting off the nest for me and getting back on and accepting a younger batch of eggs each time at least, lol (but is always very vocal and tattles to the rest of the flock about me taking her eggs). I think by the time I finally do let her hatch some out she'll either be so ticked off that she'll kill them all out of frustration, or she'll be a REALLY protective Momma and do a really good job. She's on another 12 eggs that are due soon... and I am stressin' about them already.

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I am curious Peeps usually guineas abandon a nest when they see you messing with it. Is this a first?

deb

I am so happy you posted these beautiful photos. Love the green grass and babies. Sorry you lost them!
I had 2 girls sit on a nest and I took all the eggs except for about 16 that I marked and put back. They hatched out 9 and 2 mornings later they only had one left so I got it but was thoroughly flogged by both girls doing so! Why could they not be that concerned with the others?

Anyhow, they are quite vicious about me taking the eggs so I have to shoo them away and keep them back with a net while I get eggs from nests but my girls go right back and sit again. I have been able to do this without a problem of them abandoning the nest. Maybe because they know I am their care taker?

Seriously, how have they made it this long with being such bad moms? They should have been extinct by now!

Adorable keets! Sorry to hear that you lost some.

I have one week old baby keets and they are so unfriendly....my chicks were nothing like that. When I hold them they freak out and cannot get away from me fast enough....they never settle down after a few minutes and sit in my hand.....

chichichickapea said:

I have one week old baby keets and they are so unfriendly....my chicks were nothing like that. When I hold them they freak out and cannot get away from me fast enough....they never settle down after a few minutes and sit in my hand.....

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In my limited experience, this seems to be common. From my understanding Guineas are not very domesticated yet. They have quite a bit of their wild instinct left in them. They live by their Fight or Flight intinct, in which case you are experiencing the Flight.

chichichickapea said:

I have one week old baby keets and they are so unfriendly....my chicks were nothing like that. When I hold them they freak out and cannot get away from me fast enough....they never settle down after a few minutes and sit in my hand.....

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Welcome to the world of Guineas. Very few learn to appreciate human company. At best they will follow you around for food or treats. But they tend to calm down later in life like a couple of months. My little ones were fully fledged and getting their casques before they started eying me for food and wanting to know what I was doing.

deb

very cool pictures

am glad you all have enjoyed my pic....
I do still have 9 of the keets and momma 0...