New Guinea Mom Needs Advice

[Liz Birdlover]

You're very lucky, the foxes in our woods killed my whole flock of guineas. I love those crazy birds.

I am so sorry for your loss. I do not trust the foxes, my flock is only out when I am right there. Usually, they are in the predator proof pens. I love my flock, Guineas, Chickens, Homing Pigeons. The Guineas & Homing Pigeons are in the same building, own sections though. They seem to get along well when they are all out together. The Guineas fly up to the roof top of the loft. I'm amazed how well they can fly. Sundays are great when weather is nice, we were all out in the yard all day, everyone free flying & free ranging, enjoying sunshine.
I am glad I built the pens when I'm not home though, keeps them safe.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I am so sorry for your loss. I do not trust the foxes, my flock is only out when I am right there. Usually, they are in the predator proof pens. I love my flock, Guineas, Chickens, Homing Pigeons. The Guineas & Homing Pigeons are in the same building, own sections though. They seem to get along well when they are all out together. The Guineas fly up to the roof top of the loft. I'm amazed how well they can fly. Sundays are great when weather is nice, we were all out in the yard all day, everyone free flying & free ranging, enjoying sunshine.
I am glad I built the pens when I'm not home though, keeps them safe.

Your set up sounds amazing! Keep posting pics of your crew

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Guineas & Pigeons
I'm glad the birds that fly well have bonded with eachother.


Guineas haven't really paid much attention to the chickens yet.


We have daily visitors at different times.


Haven't gotten a good photo of Eagles yet.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Guineas & Pigeons
I'm glad the birds that fly well have bonded with eachother.
View attachment 3514572View attachment 3514573View attachment 3514574

Guineas haven't really paid much attention to the chickens yet.
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We have daily visitors at different times.
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Haven't gotten a good photo of Eagles yet.

Wow - your Guinea and homing pigeon set up is really something!!! Your whole property is amazing. But all those predators - you have a lot going on!!!

 

[Ferretgirrrl]

doing the "right thing" often means doing the hardest thing.you'll remember her, but the 4 you have will make you so -y, - it'll get easier.

What a sad story - and sadly also quite a familiar one for me. I've incubated a few batches each summer for two of the last 3 years. Some are just not quite right, and I've poured time and loving into a few tiny lives that have had foot or leg issues, only to have them pass after a few days of total devotion and sleep deprivation. Last year the power went out and took out all 8 in the incubator and 4 under the brood plate. I was determined, and warmed them up - two passed almost immediately, one responded really well and the last one had a leg problem. It was so obvious that the poor thing wouldn't have much of a life even if it did survive, even so, I made a tiny splint and hand fed the little fella, but after 2 days it too passed on leaving only one LP. He spent winter growing feathers in a box in my bedroom... and sitting on the bed watching movies. The next spring he moved into a cage in the living room. He goes outside during the day but stays alone. His sibling flock is 12 strong with 10 males and they are not interested in another male for company, and his father wants to end him, so he gets to be in the chook run while the ladies free range, sometimes his mum is in there with him - they get along so I like to let him hang with her while his Papa prowls the length of the fence, trying to get in. LP returns inside the house to sit under my chair in the evening while I type, or he lays down, wings strangely hunched over and his neck stretched out - his 'pat me now' position, while he coos at me with his soft whistle. I know the sound you mentioned - it is the sweetest noise! LP calls to me sometimes in the middle of the night with that whistle, and I call back down the stairs to him or he keeps going, the tone changing slightly. He has a piece of my heart ~ I totally adore him, and I know if there hadn't been a power outage he would have had a bunch of siblings to socialise with, and we wouldn't have this bizzarre relationship. So gratitude.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Well, my 4 Guineas, being 2 pair, were laying eggs all summer. The females would each lay an egg right in the middle of the floor, but never sat on them.

So, a friend wanted some Guineas, as she's had a lone male Guinea a few years. I collected 8 Guinea eggs & let a broody chicken sit on them, also adding some chicken eggs & a 2nd broody hen a week later. (2 hatching rooms that can connect or be separate, if needed)

The ones that did hatch, 7 Guineas & several chicken chicks, pecked their way out of their shells all on the same day! Wow, I lucked out with that, being my 1st time hatching 2 types with different incubation periods. Most of the eggs were fertile, so I had a nice group to grow up together!

Well, I noticed right away, 1 Guinea chick had a bent neck, so I immediately added daily vitamins B, E & Selenium, thinking it may be wry neck. Each day, as the chicks grew, this 1 chick stayed tiny, despite eating well, plus it's legs were not right, as if both tendons were slipping. I've gotten great results treating birds successfully with wry neck & splay leg, but this chick got worse each day. I could actually feel the neck & spinal bones growing more crookedly, despite my best efforts. Soft leg & neck brace could put chick in proper position but as soon as they were removed, poor chick's neck & legs would spring right back to the awkward positions. Anyway, as mobility decreased & after 3 weeks this poor chick still had stunted growth, even though eating well, as the crop was full, I realized this was going to be even worse than than the 1st bird to have this. As these Guineas are all related, I'm guessing that this is a random genetic thing. The remaining 6 Guinea chicks are perfect, growing fast & very mobile, no issues at all.

Anyway...just thought I would share this sad story. Sometimes, we can help a bird mend & have a wonderful life, recover from wry neck or splay leg. But sometimes it is not what we think, it may be something we can't do anything about. All we can do is try our best.

A few photos of my little babies


I have a few chickens that I hatched out 1 month earlier, too. They all get along fine. It's adorable how they'll all snuggle together at bed time. My friend is getting a few of the older hatch chickens, so I'm glad the Guineas & Chickens are very bonded. I'm keeping 1 Guinea chick...sure hope it's a girl.

One thing about Guineas...for some reason, they like throwing the chick feed out of the feeder & get it ALL over the place. When I had the 2 rooms divided, the chicken chicks stayed clean. Why do Guineas throw the feed all over the floor? My adult Guineas do it as well.

Here's the 1 Guinea I'm keeping, she is from 1 egg that hatched out a month before the others. I'm hoping it's a girl, blue like mama. Seems like a girl, very sweet & timid.

 

[Ferretgirrrl]

HI
This is an old post, but someone might benefit from what I've learned with 5 batches of keets under my belt. The first lot I incubated are my main flock - all 3 years old now, and some of them have sideways feet - something I didn't notice when they very very small ( I had 18). Now I've found that the best thing to put in the brooder - and I take them out of the incubator immediately and put them in a small box lined with corrugated cardboard - the sort people use for craft - and a heat lamp so I can keep an eye on them, and so they don't roll all the other eggs around in the incubator. Within a few hours they are standing up and I teach them to drink, a few hours later I put a little food on the cardboard and they learn to eat. Then I move them into a larger brooder box with a heat plate once I see they can walk properly and have a bit of pep in their step. I used to use paper towel, and they wouldn't have anything to grip - hence the splayed feet. If they can't stand properly, their bones solidify in the position they can attain, and that includes their spine and neck. The corrugated cardboard makes all the difference in the world. I just hatched out another 18 using this method, and it seems pretty foolproof - the problem was the floor of the brooder was too slippery. I just love them! I've even figured out what sounds a male and female make when they are just hatched!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Thank you for sharing. Very true, for any chick species, no traction & slippery surfaces lead to splay leg.