Keeping Guinea fowl in brooder

[ChickenMaman]

So….I have the GQF brooder. Right now I have the bottom lined with tea towels which I change and wash twice a day, because the Guinea keets are only 4 days old and I’m worried their feet will fall through the grating if I remove the tea towels this soon.

But they’re starting to fly, so how do I let them eat from my hand and change the tea towels without them flying out of the top of the brooder? Right now they only fly up an inch or so but it’s only a matter of time. The breeders in their main coop but they’re not ready to handle the 50° night temperatures yet. I would imagine they won’t be ready to leave the breeder until about five or six weeks. And while it’s inside the coop that they will be living in, they are not ready to be without this enclosure at this age.

 

[R2elk]

The temperature I’ll have them acclimated to buy their third week will only be 85°

I start my keets at 90°F measured at the bedding level. They are ready to go to 80°F by the end of their two weeks in the brooder. I move them to the grow out pen at that time. Their only source of heat in the grow out pen is one red heat lamp that is 32" above the ground.

The grow out pen is approximately 8' x 8'.

The first week they stay under the lamp on cold days and at night. By the time they are 4 weeks old the heat lamp is turned off because they are spending their nights on their roosts.

 

[Sydney65]

So….I have the GQF brooder. Right now I have the bottom lined with tea towels which I change and wash twice a day, because the Guinea keets are only 4 days old and I’m worried their feet will fall through the grating if I remove the tea towels this soon.

But they’re starting to fly, so how do I let them eat from my hand and change the tea towels without them flying out of the top of the brooder? Right now they only fly up an inch or so but it’s only a matter of time. The breeders in their main coop but they’re not ready to handle the 50° night temperatures yet. I would imagine they won’t be ready to leave the breeder until about five or six weeks. And while it’s inside the coop that they will be living in, they are not ready to be without this enclosure . I had to look the brooder up, as I wasn't familiar w/it. It says for small feet, paper towel can be used for the 1st week. That's what most use at first anyway.

I looked up the brooder, does this match?: brooder is 12" tall and 32"x 38", says it can be used to 4th week except poultry chicks, 2 weeks, capacity is 50 chickens for 2 weeks, or 50 pheasants for 4 weeks. I don't have chickens or pheasants to compare sizes, It seems as though this is meant for the first 2-4 weeks, and then you move to a grow out pen. @R2elk ?
By week 2, yours will be hopping out of your brooder.

 

[R2elk]

I looked up the brooder, does this match?: brooder is 12" tall and 32"x 38", says it can be used to 4th week except poultry chicks, 2 weeks, capacity is 50 chickens for 2 weeks, or 50 pheasants for 4 weeks. I don't have chickens or pheasants to compare sizes, It seems as though this is meant for the first 2-4 weeks, and then you move to a grow out pen. @R2elk ?
By week 2, yours will be hopping out of your brooder.

My keets are flying out of my 4'x4' brooder by the time they are 2 weeks old. I move them to the grow out pen at that time.

 

[R2elk]

Is it better for them to have the 2x4s wide or thin side up? It seems every picture I see of them had the 2x4 thin side up.

Convenience and strength makes the narrow side up more convenient. Wide side up is better for their feet in cold weather.

 

[R2elk]

That’s really cool thank you. How do you clean very tall flat perches. Doesn’t poop accumulate on them? I try to clean my coops every day if I can.

As adults their butts typically hang over the end.

 

[Sydney65]

Life is easier if you have a drop board below the roosts. Again, not sure of your set up or intentions, but if you have a smaller coop set up that requires them to hop off of roost rather than large space to fly off of, or you plan to be hands on with your birds, it's better to have roosts lower to ground to protect their legs and feet from hard landings. Mine are at 4' with drop boards roughly 18-24" below them. That way I can reach birds and easily scoop drop boards. As for cleaning roosts, I use a wide paint scraper daily but my roosts are removable so I can take them out and clean routinely with push broom and hose.

 

[ChickenMaman]

I have doubled the height of the brooder with a box made of 2x4s that sits on top of it, with the lid on top of the 2x4s but I’m sure they’ll be pushing it by 2 to 3 weeks. In the grow out pen,with is 8’x12’x8’, I have radiant sweeter heaters. They’re only in one part of the coop. With the kids be smart enough to stay under that when they felt cold? Or daytime temperatures are around 77° but our nighttime temperatures are still 48 to 50 degrees.

The temperature I’ll have them acclimated to buy their third week will only be 85° so I have quite a gap to make up if they have to move out of the Buddha by that time period I was able to keep my last 10 Australorp chicks in that brooder until four weeks but keets….I know they like to roam.

 

[ChickenMaman]

Thank you everyone! I’ll have their roosts (rounded 2x4s), sweeter heaters, light and feeders all ready by 2 weeks now. Then, I’m going to train them on the nipple waterworks for the third week. Once they’ve figured that out, off into the main coop they go!

 

[R2elk]

Thank you everyone! I’ll have their roosts (rounded 2x4s), sweeter heaters, light and feeders all ready by 2 weeks now. Then, I’m going to train them on the nipple waterworks for the third week. Once they’ve figured that out, off into the main coop they go!

No need to round the 2"x4"s. Wide side up works fine.