Are they really that stupid?

[allanimals21]

I've never had anything like this happen with my keets before so this was definately a first. I had a batch hatch out maybe 2 weeks ago. Anyways I gathered them up like I always do. I think it was like 15 or so. I missed one that stayed with the hen. Within I'd say 2 days they were all dead but one! At first I thought maybe they were smothering each other? Then I thought are they that stupid that they aren't eating? Like maybe they didn't know how? So I put one of my older RIR chicks in the brooder with the lone survivor and sure enough it lived? The one that stayed with then hen did to. Although I confiscated that one also. So with my second batch of...I think 19 I have left they all are eating fine and think that the RIR is thier momma I think. What the heck?

 

[Katy]

I snatched some keets from one of my hens one time.....couldn't get them to eat at all so I finally took the surviving ones out and gave them back to her. I never have had any issues with the ones I hatch out eating, just those that had been with the hen for a couple of days.

 

[jrobertson]

thats the exact reason i pull hen hatched keets on day one. plus the next morning she will get up with them and walk through the grass and the keets will follow (free range) more often than not in the south we have a lot of heavy morning dew which soaks the keets and they get chilled and don't usually survive. i artifically brood everything regardless of natural or artificial incubation. i've found the survival rate to be much higher. ducks, geese, chickens, and guineas all go into the brooder on day one.

 

[allanimals21]

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So do I. Thats the first time anything like that has happened to me. I pulled those keets as soon as I found them. They were a few days old at the most. It was really frusterating. I just pulled another 14 today. I have alot of lighter colors and pieds this year. I'm excited! Alot of Lavender Pieds and Pearl Grey Pieds. a couple whites and a few buffs. Super excited for these guys to grow up.

 

[EricH]

ive heard of that happening on wild fowl, they imprint on the mother and kind of lose the will to live without her... kinda strange in this case though

 

[allanimals21]

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Thats what I thought...idiots. I have like 34 or something right now and they are thriving. I left the RIR in with them just to makek sure.

 

[robin416]

I get so tired of people declaring Guineas as stupid or dumb, they are neither. The fault lies with the person that can not adjust their thinking to realize that they are dealing with what is essentially a wild creature. One whose genetics tie directly in to the jungles they came from.

It is the fault of the owner who does not realize that some intervention is needed. Those keets did not die over night, it took time for them to starve to death.

Any person that takes on the responsibility of raising Guineas needs to learn from them and about them. They are not chickens, they do not behave like chickens, their survival instincts are different from chickens and need to be dealt with differently. Anyone that does not realize this about them will struggle and complain about how Guineas did or did not do this or that and will never experience what it is to have a flock that adds to their positive experiences with them.

 

[adbayer]

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[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I've always had good luck with broody hens raising them! I have a hen right now that hatched out 4 keets and adopted 2 older ones.
But, I've never had guineas die when I raised them because they didn't know how to eat/drink? I always kind of got my finger and started pecking at the feed and making "Guinea" noises .. they caught on pretty fast.

I KNOW turkeys are that dump .. you have to order chicks with turkeys so the chicks can "Teach" the poults how to eat/drink ..

 

[Wisher1000]

Guineas are certainly not smart in the traditional sense. On the one hand, they have memorized each and every stick, bicycle, stone, person, vehicle, animal, etc, on their home range and will raise sand if anything is moved, added, or changed without their permission. On the other hand I have personally seen two instances that pointed toward a definate lack of intelligence. first, I had to start penning my dogs while I am at work because instinct got the best of them and they started killing my guineas. I came home the other day and all 20 of my guineas were perched on the top rail of the chainlink fence that surrounds the dog pen, looking down and screaming at the dogs (who were patiently sitting below them waiting for one to come to dinner!) Then, on another day, I heard the guineas raising sand on the other side of the house. When I went to investigate, there was a HUGE hawk in the air above them being tormented by 5 crows! The guineas were looking up and actually following the ariel dogfight back and forth across the yard staying directly under the hawk the whole time! The hawk was trying to get itself a guinea but the crows were dealing it such misery that it finally flew away. Thank goodness for the crows but the guineas stood out in the open and made no effort to hide. Oh, but when they do try to hide they usually run full speed and try to get under another guinea like a keet would with it's mother. I've seen the "mother" lifted off it's feet and carried several feet by another of the same size who is looking for shelter! lol Too funny. The are entertaining to watch!