Baby Keets - resting?

[vicknick]

I've never raised baby guineas before.. or newborn chicks of any kind. I've bought feed store chicks, and I've had a broody hen raise chicks, but in this case, my broody hen rejected the babies - attacking them whenever they'd poke their heads out from under her, throwing them to the side of the nest and then attacking if they tried to get back under. So I pulled the babies one at a time, over the course of a few hours, until it was evident that she was going to attack all of them. Now I have a plastic tub in my living room with a little box that I wrapped in a pair of fluffy pajamas, and a chick feeder and a chick waterer... They hatched on Tuesday and I've poked their little faces in the water to make sure they know how to drink, and this morning they came out of the box and ate a little and drank a little and then ran back into the box. Literally since they were hatched all they've wanted to do is huddle in their little box (or in someone's hand or behind my hair when I sit in my recliner, etc) - is this normal for new-hatched babies? I didn't expect to need to mother them, so I am completely unprepared. It's the hottest time of year, and pretty hot in my house (mid-80s all day, upper 70s at night), but I put a heating pad in one side of their tub the first night - they weren't interested, were happy to huddle together in their little box, so I guess they're warm enough? If they're too cold, is that why they're not running around and playing? Or is it just because they're so new, that they are just resting? I've got a chicken mat heating pad thing arriving today, which is actually meant for chickens, vs my heating pad I use for my back, lol, so I'm hoping that it'll be better for them if they are in fact cold. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Sydney65]

Guinea fowl regulate body heat w/their feet, but keets can't do that yet. I use a heating pad folded inside of a wire frame in an arch shape, so the heat is on their feet & all around them. I have the pad inside of the arch bc what I've learned is that keets use their heads to warm- they'll stand on their tip toes stretching to get their head on that pad if they have to, and stick their head through the wire if able. Makes sense- mama plucks her feathers so there's skin on skin contact when they're under her. I put the pad inside of a piece of cut up stretchy fluffy fleece pj pants leg. I stitch up one end so they can't get inside, and the other side where the cord exits I fold over and secure with safety pins so they can't get in that way either. The arch can slip inside of there as well- it's really stretchy material- and then attach the ends of the material to complete the tunnel.
As you can see, Numi had this to herself. There are currently 7 growing up in the same tunnel. At 4 weeks they run over and warm up every once in awhile and most sleep ontop of it now.
I do have the chicken pad, but it was never warm enough to sustain keets, so I don't use it.

 

[R2elk]

I should have looked! I actually put my other chickens in the tractor so the broody hen had the whole coop and run to herself - and I never looked for broody poops (facepalm) I just noticed that there were many days when she didn't touch the food or water - that's when I started waiting on her hand and foot, lol. I even went and picked her blackberries for a treat! LOL!! She did a good job of hatching them, even if she did turn against them when they hatched. No one was badly hurt, and alls well that ends well.

On another note, whenever I or my kid pick up a baby to snuggle it, the baby tunnels in behind my hair, and snuggles behind my neck - it's the cutest thing. One of the babies likes us better than he likes the other babies, and will stand on top of the house, hopping up and down trying to see us, yelling at the top of its lungs until one of us picks it up to snuggle it. He's the only one who was injured by chicken-mama, and has a big patch of blu-kote on the side of his face so it's easy to identify him. (Mama picked him up by the head in her beak and tossed him!! He got a bloody scratch on the side of his head, but once I blu-kote'd it, he has been fine. He was the first baby we pulled, thinking maybe it was just him she was going to reject, but no, she went on to reject 3 more before I just went ahead and stole them all back from her. Poultry drama never ends, lol!)

I would let the chicken hens hatch the guinea eggs but would not let them brood the keets due to the problems that imprinting can cause. Your hen attacking the keets is an individual trait of hers. My hens never attacked any of the keets or poults i let them hatch.

 

[Sydney65]

SO cute!!!!!! I was hoping they'd imprint and would follow her into the coop evenings... Ah well, I'll have to train them myself I guess. LOL

Working on that myself. Took them out to the run to play today and one was having no part of it, clinging to me before roosting on my head.

 

[R2elk]

I've never raised baby guineas before.. or newborn chicks of any kind. I've bought feed store chicks, and I've had a broody hen raise chicks, but in this case, my broody hen rejected the babies - attacking them whenever they'd poke their heads out from under her, throwing them to the side of the nest and then attacking if they tried to get back under. So I pulled the babies one at a time, over the course of a few hours, until it was evident that she was going to attack all of them. Now I have a plastic tub in my living room with a little box that I wrapped in a pair of fluffy pajamas, and a chick feeder and a chick waterer... They hatched on Tuesday and I've poked their little faces in the water to make sure they know how to drink, and this morning they came out of the box and ate a little and drank a little and then ran back into the box. Literally since they were hatched all they've wanted to do is huddle in their little box (or in someone's hand or behind my hair when I sit in my recliner, etc) - is this normal for new-hatched babies? I didn't expect to need to mother them, so I am completely unprepared. It's the hottest time of year, and pretty hot in my house (mid-80s all day, upper 70s at night), but I put a heating pad in one side of their tub the first night - they weren't interested, were happy to huddle together in their little box, so I guess they're warm enough? If they're too cold, is that why they're not running around and playing? Or is it just because they're so new, that they are just resting? I've got a chicken mat heating pad thing arriving today, which is actually meant for chickens, vs my heating pad I use for my back, lol, so I'm hoping that it'll be better for them if they are in fact cold. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

They are huddling because they are too cold. I start my newly hatched keets at 90°F measured at the bedding level.

Keets need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for the first 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[Sydney65]

Setting aside the question of whether or not zeolite is sufficient as grit: These baby guineas are only eating commercial feed - game bird starter - so won't need any insoluble grit until they're old enough to range.

Right- but you don't want them filling up on zeolite instead of feed. For the 1st week or two, just use paper towels, until they know what is and isn't food. I used to use zeolite in the coop with the bedding. Even with granules it was so dusty that I'd end up cleaning their nostrils with a qtip,and I'd be sneezing. I switched over to hemp bedding and don't need to add anything to dry droppings. But for now, papertowel is best. I use puppy pads in the brooder, too.

 

[R2elk]

Chicken-hatched babies all popped out of their shells at 25 days, and incubator babies came out between 27 and 29 days.

I had two broody chickens that I would let hatch guinea eggs. One hen's eggs always all hatched on day 26. The other hen's eggs always hatched on day 28. I attributed the difference in hatching time to the second hen spending more time off the nest than the first hen did. Her daily breaks were always longer.

That may not be the whole determining factor since it is possible that each hen had a slightly different body temperature.

 

[Sydney65]

No one is acting funny anymore - but I've got such a range of ages! 3 newborns from overnight, and 7 from 4 days ago when the hen hatched them out, and a variety in between! Chicken-hatched babies all popped out of their shells at 25 days, and incubator babies came out between 27 and 29 days. I wonder why the chicken-hatched babies baked so much faster!! I'm keeping the newborns separate bc they are so much less coordinated - hard to believe 4 days can make so much difference, but there is a big difference. Hopefully the newborns will catch up quickly, lol - it'll be easier to have them all together!
Out of 14 fertilized eggs (I candled at 2 weeks and chucked all the ones with nothing but clear egg showing) all 14 hatched and are happy babies! 7 under my hen and 7 from my incubator.
Thanks to everyone for all your help - this was my first time, and so nervewracking!

Congrats ! Great job!

 

[Sydney65]

secure a cookie cooling rack to a couple of blocks of wood so it's about 2" above the ground, put your heating pad ontop of the cooling rack set on low or warm, then tuck the keets inside. That's basically a first responder tx while you get better prepared. You've got to get them warmed up.

 

[vicknick]

So I took their little cardboard box, lined it with paper towels, cut the top off, and made a scoop in one wall so they can walk in and out easily, put the cookie rack on top, and the heating pad on top of that, and cranked it up. Whew! Thanks so much, what a great idea!!