Is there is 'right' time to introduce them to grass? Almost 2 weeks old

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Mistahbue

Mistahbue

Songster
6 Years
Jun 7, 2013
245
37
128
Brook Park, Minnesota
I watched a video this week of keets eating grass as well as millet. I have started putting millet in as a treat but stopped - need to get a whistle so they can associate that sound with the millet treat (thanks to mkewsh for mentioning the whistle with millet in a previous post).

At any rate I decided to try some grass clippings yesterday and had grabbed a seed stem from broadleaf plantain (had to look it up) - oh my word - the race was on!!! Then I fretted that it might be too much on their systems.

Thoughts? Experience feeding grass clippings?
 
Okay great!!! I will keep offering it to them then. I was worried there might be a time when they shouldn't eat it then got to thinking well if they are hatched and survive in the wild they are most likely eating it soon as their fluff is dried - but wanted to make sure. LOL

I am enjoying these keets - this is better than reality tv
 
Just a little warning about feeding long blades of grass. It's important to offer only cut grass that has been cut into very short lengths. Long pieces of grass can get wound up in their crops and may cause the crop to become impacted. When foraging in the wild, guinea keets grab long blades of grass by the tip, which then snaps off in little bits. Occasional long blades may not cause any problems, but a steady diet of them could become a serious health concern.
 
I've been cutting it up -- was afraid they might choke on long stuff - but I didn't know it could get hung in their crops. Thanks for that information! I feel so dumb because I am just realizing how much about raising chickens, guineas, peafowl that I do not know!!!!

Stupid question - impacted crop - can that be unimpacted or is that a DOA keet?
 
Sorry for the slow response. Impacted crops can be treated, but treatment is not always successful, especially if the crop has soured or if the keet has become weak from food not being digested. It's always best to begin treatment as soon as you notice there is a problem. Larger balls of impacted material are a lot harder to successfully treat than smaller ones. One method to treat an impacted crop is to give the keet a little olive oil and then gently massaging the hardened mass in hopes of it breaking up so it can move on down the digestive tract.
 
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