I just got my first guinea keets....

[BackYard Sheena]

So I am new to Guineas.... I am raising ducks, and helping my mom with chickens and we decided to get a few guineas to make our flocks safer so they an free range some. Can anyone tell me what color these will be? And which feed is best for them? Will the flock raiser that I am feeding my ducks be ok? Or the Starter/Grower that is for the chickens? I was told they were a week old but they seem way too small for that... I think the lady might have some that old (there were bigger ones but they were spoken for) so I think these hatched later.... They don't seem too interested in their food and seem lethargic compared to very jumpy and flighty when I first got them a few hours ago.

 

[farm316]

Their are different species of waterfowl here on backyard chickens.com
What you do is scroll to the top and see the word "forum"run you mouse on that, then run your mouse on "Other Backyard Poultry" and look for the word "Guinea Fowl" then click on that and there is a whole bunch of information regarding "Guinea Fowl"

 

[BackYard Sheena]

Their are different species of waterfowl here on backyard chickens.com
What you do is scroll to the top and see the word "forum"run you mouse on that, then run your mouse on "Other Backyard Poultry" and look for the word "Guinea Fowl" then click on that and there is a whole bunch of information regarding "Guinea Fowl"

I am pretty sure that is exactly the section my question is posted......

I have looked at a bunch of pictures of babies and I do not see any babies so far that looks exactly like mine so I am wondering if they are mixed. That is why I am asking. I also was told when I bought ducks to feed it chick food and saw a lot of people say to give it chick food and it wasn't until one started having leg trouble that I found out that feeding it chick food is NOT the best thing for ducks.... so I was trying to prevent that same problem happening again.

They have perked back up and finally ate so I am less concerned with their health now. Maybe they just took a bit to get adjusted to the change.

 

[R2elk]

So I am new to Guineas.... I am raising ducks, and helping my mom with chickens and we decided to get a few guineas to make our flocks safer so they an free range some. Can anyone tell me what color these will be? And which feed is best for them? Will the flock raiser that I am feeding my ducks be ok? Or the Starter/Grower that is for the chickens? I was told they were a week old but they seem way too small for that... I think the lady might have some that old (there were bigger ones but they were spoken for) so I think these hatched later.... They don't seem too interested in their food and seem lethargic compared to very jumpy and flighty when I first got them a few hours ago.

Guinea keets start out very small compared to chickens and ducks. I can't tell from the pictures what age they may be but if you are going by corresponding sizes of ducks and chickens then these are probably older than you are guessing. If they are a week old they still need to be kept in the 80° to 90°F temperature range. If they seem lethargic there are a number of possibilities one of which is that they feel chilled or possibly they just happen to be tired. They are babies and babies do require their rest.

Guinea keets need the higher protein provided by turkey or game bird starter which is in the 28 - 30% protein range. Neither flock raiser nor standard chick starter has sufficient protein for guinea keets.

My guess on your keets is that they are pied pearls.

Check out the Raising Guinea Fowl 101 thread for much valuable information and pay particular attention to the posts made by PeepsCa.

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

Good luck.

 

[BackYard Sheena]

Guinea keets start out very small compared to chickens and ducks. I can't tell from the pictures what age they may be but if you are going by corresponding sizes of ducks and chickens then these are probably older than you are guessing. If they are a week old they still need to be kept in the 80° to 90°F temperature range. If they seem lethargic there are a number of possibilities one of which is that they feel chilled or possibly they just happen to be tired. They are babies and babies do require their rest.

Guinea keets need the higher protein provided by turkey or game bird starter which is in the 28 - 30% protein range. Neither flock raiser nor standard chick starter has sufficient protein for guinea keets.

My guess on your keets is that they are pied pearls.

Check out the Raising Guinea Fowl 101 thread for much valuable information and pay particular attention to the posts made by PeepsCa.

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

Good luck.

Thank you very much!! I haven't heard of pied pearls but I will look them up I'll try to find them some of that kind of food ASAP, thank you

 

[R2elk]

Thank you very much!! I haven't heard of pied pearls but I will look them up I'll try to find them some of that kind of food ASAP, thank you

Here is the link to a color chart for guineas. At the bottom of the page are the images of the keets.

http://guineafowl.international/colorchart/

Here is the link to a pied pearl guinea. The white may be in slightly different patterns,

http://guineafowl.international/colorchart/color/pied2.jpg

 

[farm316]

I am pretty sure that is exactly the section my question is posted......

I have looked at a bunch of pictures of babies and I do not see any babies so far that looks exactly like mine so I am wondering if they are mixed. That is why I am asking. I also was told when I bought ducks to feed it chick food and saw a lot of people say to give it chick food and it wasn't until one started having leg trouble that I found out that feeding it chick food is NOT the best thing for ducks.... so I was trying to prevent that same problem happening again.

They have perked back up and finally ate so I am less concerned with their health now. Maybe they just took a bit to get adjusted to the change.

I am sorry Backyard Sheena. My Bad.