Lone Keet in a Banny Flock?

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ambhyr

ambhyr

Hatching
Jun 25, 2015
9
0
9
Mazomanie, wi
Long-story short (because I typed this on my phone once and lost it all), I have a lone guinea keet that is about 2 weeks old. I'm worried about her/him going nuts without a buddy/flock...

I have a Banny hen with two 3-week old babies, who is of course majorly protective. Would she accept a 1) a keet and 2) something so much tinier than her babies?

Or am I better to add to a polish and brahma hen pair that are small and only about 8 weeks and very timid?

Or just leave Au Lait (the keet) solo until she is bigger?
 
Welcome to BYC!

I would suggest adding the polish and brahma hen or at least housing them in view for a little while. Animals raised alone sometimes don't develop proper social skills later in life.
You have to be careful, large chicks can hurt smaller ones simply out of excitement or curiosity, and may hog all the food.

I would think a mother would attack a chick that is not her own, fearing it may injure her own chicks or just thinking it is something good to eat (chickens will eat baby birds, mice, snakes, ect).

Best of luck!
 
I have done this by taking the new one and placing it under the mother at night. I also dab a little vinegar on the new and older chicks to have them all smell the same. Check on the keet in the am and see if the banty has accepted it.
 
chickbird said:
I have done this by taking the new one and placing it under the mother at night. I also dab a little vinegar on the new and older chicks to have them all smell the same. Check on the keet in the am and see if the banty has accepted it.
Click to expand...

Certainly could work
smile.png
, but remember that the keet has to imprint on her as well. An older keet may not know to follow her. It may be too small to keep up with the others or be unable to fly as well as them.

Hope it works out.
 
An update of the fate of little Au Lait. I added her to the brahma/polish pair, in a small clear-sided tote. She calmed down almost immediate and the crazy sprints in her brooder box are gone! The hens were curious but not aggressive and curled up next to her box the first night, snuggling her with their heads. By day two she figured out how to escape the tote and get into bigger pen, and everyone seems happy. No violence or craziness!

Thanks all for help!
 

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