BYC Guinea hen club

[wooded acres]

Lol! The pizza delivery guy was scared of ours bc they were screaming at him when he pulled in! At least I don't have to worry about unwelcome visitors, they let me know when the wind blows lol!
I had my young chickens and keets in the garden last year and after replanting my pumpkins 3 times I kicked them all out! It was mostly due to them digging for a dust bath but still, very undesirable! I've also heard that they love red so tomatoes stand no chance- no experience there though, I kicked then it before my tomatoes came in (thank goodness!)
Good luck!

 

[gander007]

wondering if any of you have introduced baby chicks or raised them alongside adult guinea hens ... or how to do it?
Would it be ok if the chicks were in a crate (like with hardware cloth) for the first few weeks, then gradually introduced to the adult guineas with an escape hatch where they go back to safety?

Some of my kits running around the yard

In my yard it is a free for all environment

This lady had a nest of over thirty eggs

I haven't much of a problem having a mixed flock but I have noticed the geese do like to pull the tail feathers off of the roo's

gander007

 

[Hofcahs]

Hello, I just found this thread. We are new to guineas and chickens. We received one guinea keet by mistake with our chick order. Our chick feed is 20% protein and I have read that the keet needs 29% protein. I have tried to separate it to give it some egg yolk and chick grit, but it got very upset at being by itself. Any suggestions on how to feed the chicks and the keets together. I was told that the keet will be ok on 20% feed, but it will not grow as fast. It is definitely not growing as fast as the chicks. Thank you for your help!

 

[R2elk]

Hello, I just found this thread. We are new to guineas and chickens. We received one guinea keet by mistake with our chick order. Our chick feed is 20% protein and I have read that the keet needs 29% protein. I have tried to separate it to give it some egg yolk and chick grit, but it got very upset at being by itself. Any suggestions on how to feed the chicks and the keets together. I was told that the keet will be ok on 20% feed, but it will not grow as fast. It is definitely not growing as fast as the chicks. Thank you for your help!

The keet can survive on chick starter but it will never reach its full potential and may suffer from other issues. When I brood chicks and keets together, I feed all of them turkey or gamebird starter that is 28% protein. I have never seen any evidence that the higher protein harmed the chicks. I am currently brooding one turkey poult with chicks. Turkey poults like keets need the extra protein for proper development. I am feeding all of them the 28% protein turkey starter that the poult needs.

Good luck.

 

[Hofcahs]

Thank you. I have been trying to find information on if it is OK to feed baby keets fruit flies, but I cannot find any information. Has anyone here seen any information about that? Thank you.

 

[R2elk]

Thank you. I have been trying to find information on if it is OK to feed baby keets fruit flies, but I cannot find any information. Has anyone here seen any information about that? Thank you.

It is the same with any kinds of treats in that they need to have grit available in order to digest the treats. In season keets, poults and chicks will all help themselves to millers. Some people like to feed dried mealworms and others feed live crickets. Those that live where ants are a problem will feed ants to the keets so that they will feed on them when they are adults. One has to be careful when feeding ants to keets that only a few ants are introduced at a time and that the keets are old enough to handle them. If too many ants are introduced to too young of keets, it is the ants that will be dining on the keets instead of the keets dining on the ants.

Good luck.

 

[guineapeeps]

I would not separate the keet from the chicks. Guinea are very much flock animals and I don't think it would do well all by itself. I feed our adult Guineas and keets the same thing.....22 percent game bird crumble. They all grow just fine on it but mine all get a lot of extra protein from bugs, crickets, etc. I normally let all my hens lay on and hatch their own eggs so the keets follow the mothers out and free range during the day. The keets, even very young ones, catch on very quickly and eat all of the same critters that the adults do and seem to do just fine with it. I would think that fruit flies and other bugs would be just fine, but you could introduce it slowly to make sure it tolerates it ok. The few times that I have incubated Guinea fowl eggs and raised them in a brooder, I gave them only 22 percent game bird crumble (without the bugs or extra protein) along with chick grit and they did just fine. I would think you could give the keets and all the chicks 22% without any problems. I have always heard that you should not give guinea keets the medicated crumble, so I've always avoided that. Maybe someone else could could comment on this if they have heard differently on medicated vs non medicated crumble.

 

[R2elk]

I would not separate the keet from the chicks. Guinea are very much flock animals and I don't think it would do well all by itself. I feed our adult Guineas and keets the same thing.....22 percent game bird crumble. They all grow just fine on it but mine all get a lot of extra protein from bugs, crickets, etc. I normally let all my hens lay on and hatch their own eggs so the keets follow the mothers out and free range during the day. The keets, even very young ones, catch on very quickly and eat all of the same critters that the adults do and seem to do just fine with it. I would think that fruit flies and other bugs would be just fine, but you could introduce it slowly to make sure it tolerates it ok. The few times that I have incubated Guinea fowl eggs and raised them in a brooder, I gave them only 22 percent game bird crumble (without the bugs or extra protein) along with chick grit and they did just fine. I would think you could give the keets and all the chicks 22% without any problems. I have always heard that you should not give guinea keets the medicated crumble, so I've always avoided that. Maybe someone else could could comment on this if they have heard differently on medicated vs non medicated crumble.

I am too lazy to dig up the post but @PeepsCA in my opinion is the guinea expert. You should read the Guinea Fowl 101 thread and pay particular attention to posts made by @PeepsCA

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/312682/raising-guinea-fowl-101

She explains why guinea keets need a higher percentage protein than what you are advising. She also recommends a medicated starter with amprolium as the medication.

I believe that you are confusing waterfowl here because waterfowl need to be fed a non-medicated starter. There have been many guinea keets raised using a medicated starter which in some cases saved keets from coccidiosis.

 

[guineapeeps]

R2elk,
Thank you for the info...it's good to know. I will check out that link. I live in a small Iowa town and can't find anything with a protein higher than 22% in my area. Do you get your food at a feed store or do you have to special order it? I will try checking out some online sources for higher protein crumble. Again, thanks for the info!

 

[R2elk]

R2elk,
Thank you for the info...it's good to know. I will check out that link. I live in a small Iowa town and can't find anything with a protein higher than 22% in my area. Do you get your food at a feed store or do you have to special order it? I will try checking out some online sources for higher protein crumble. Again, thanks for the info!

I get my feed at a locally owned feed store which is not a chain store. While he will order in requested feeds, what I get is regularly carried. It is my experience that chain feed stores often will not carry the proper feed for anything but chickens. Part of this is because it is very rare to find an employee at a chain store that knows anything about other poultry than chickens and partially it can be because of the chain store's policies. Some of the chain stores even carry feed that isn't even appropriate for chickens because all they are interested in is their profit line.

Some of the chain stores will order in the appropriate feed for a good customer. Most of the chain stores will allow a person to order in the proper feed (if the company carries it) on line with free delivery to your local store.

Most people recommend feeding chopped hard boiled eggs in order to boost the protein content. There are some other ingredients that I have seen recommended but I do not recall what they were for sure.

Good luck.