Guinea Keets Coming Soon...Have Arrived!

[R2elk]

Quote:
If you followed the recommended heat guidelines (95°F for first week and reduce by 5°F each week), your keets should have been acclimated 70°F by week 6. Yours should be fine without heat at night if your overnight temps are only going down to 70°F at night.

I have keets that are from 4 weeks to either 7 or 8 weeks and where I am keeping them they are doing fine without any added heat. In their location, the overnight temp is getting down into the low 60°F area.

Good luck.

 

[hyelaw]

Yes, but I was asking the original poster, why they feel their keets sleep better without it.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

My Keets are outside in their coop and the temps are in the mid 60s at night (if we are lucky!) and they seem to be doing fine. I don't have any additional heat source for them. My "night light" goes on from 7-8 pm, and then shuts off.

They all roost up on the highest roosting branch.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

The Keets will be 7 weeks old on Monday. They have spent the first of six weeks confined to the coop. My goal is to free-range them during the day.

I switched them over to the Starter/Grower mix and everyone seems happy. They have access to chick grit and I throw in any leftover veg peelings I accumulate from my dad's garden fresh veggies. After my husband mows the lawn I collect grass and through it in the coop. Once a day they also get one or two fried up egg yolks leftover from my egg white breakfast and I crumble up the shells too. I get local free range eggs, so I figure it should be good for them too.

I enjoy hearing their buck-wheat and chirping noises. A few will eat millet out of my hand and perch on my arm.

Their feathers are starting to thin out on their heads and necks.

I am not sure how to get them to start using the chicken nipple watering bucket. They haven't touched it. Will I just have to remove their two quart water dishes and hope they can figure it out?

 

[BlueShadow]

Your guineas are 3 weeks older than mine, so I enjoyed looking at your pictures to see where we are headed with my birds!

I also am new to guineas, so take this with a grain of salt, but one thing I have heard is that guineas are more difficult to train to nipple waterers than chicks. I hope you have success with it!

 

[DeAnzaJig]

Thanks for that bit of info Blueshadow ! It makes me feel better if I have to abandon the nipples for something different.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

The guineas and chick are 8 weeks old!

I had been gone for a week on our family vacation and my dad would stop by to feed and water and check in on everyone. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, the kids ran down to see how our flock was doing, with me right behind!

Everyone looked good. There was a lot more buck-wheating and noise when we got to the coop. The birds looked larger and their heads and necks are starting to lose their fuzz. They are getting rough purple colored skin in place of the feathers. Their wattles are also starting to grow out.

I was able to get several to eat millet out of my hand and my daughter fed them grass. While feeding them, I observed Snow White letting out some buck-wheats, so my daughter was happy she is a girl.

They had eaten through the bag of starter/grower I had purchased before we left and my dad had to buy another bag and more grit. I will need to buy another bag to get through the next week and a half.

The coop didn't smell awful, nor was it filled with flies. Feathers and fuzz were collecting in the corner under the roosts.

I took some pics inside and outside the coop, but the outside ones had better lighting.

 

[DeAnzaJig]

Wow! The guineas and Big Fat Chick are now 10.5 weeks old. They only have one more week of confinement left!

Their wattles are getting thicker, and most of the feathers are gone from their heads, and boy are they expanding their lung capacity. Those birds can sure belt out their buck-wheats and chi-chi 's. It's almost deafening, while I squat down to hand feed millet, to listen to 13 guineas at their level. Good thing I am a loud talker, so I appreciate their volume. I can see why people who don't have land or guinea loving neighbors should try a different fowl.

They seem to have accepted BF Chick. He sleeps with them on the top roost.

My daughter doesn't enjoy feeding the guineas seed by hand as they can really give your hand a pinch while grabbing for the grains. So now she just gives them strands of grass.

The coop doesn't stink or have many flies...maybe 2 or 3? No success on getting them to use the nipples for water, so tomorrow I will pick up a more traditional waterer.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

How big are your coop and run?

 

[DeAnzaJig]

My coop is 8x8 and the run is 8 x 20.