I incubated 6 guinea eggs to point-of-zip & whisked them under two broody hens to let them hatch. All the keets hatched. Broody "A" is a Polish Crested, Broody "B" is a Belgian D'Anver (of the avatar). Both have a great track record with multiple mothering successes.
Broody "A" hatched out 3 keets & 3 Polish Crested chicks. She covered them all, chooked for food & water from her hamster bottle (she's in a dog carrier), all the right stuff.
Broody "B" covered all three the first day, then rejected two of three keets the second day.
One complication is that we lost power in the incubator one night 14 days into incubation, and the eggs were at 80F outside in the early a.m. when I found them.
The result is that every chick and every keet but one came out with splayed legs. I taped all the legs an inch apart with Band Aids. Problem solved --?-- the three Polish chicks did great with this, and on Day 3 their legs are fine.
The keets didn't master walking with the bandaids very well, so I put food & water low to the ground for them under the broodies' chests.
The broodies acted like they always do with peeps, except Broody "B" rejected the two bandaged keets on Day 2 and kept the one without a bandage. I found them lying near her, squawking & cool to touch. I carried them in my shirt a few minutes and then plopped them under Broody "A" the Polish, who's very accepting.
I nursed the worst-off keet from this incident later in the day, in my shirt again, with yogurt syringed into its beak every half hour, alternating with some Save-a-Chick in water.
The littlest keet died this morning during a feeding.
I went out to sports practice with the kids, came home a few hours ater, and the second rejected keet, who looked good in the morning, was dead in a straight-out pose.
Did Mama Polish Crestde trample him by mistake?
I have since fired both mama broodies & have the 4 remaining keets & three Polish under a heat lamp in the bathroom --like the old days before broodies.
I've never fired a broody before. The Polish were looking fat & happy under their mom. What has happened with the guinea keets? These are my first.
I've just read that they're much more delicate at first. Is this true?
My broody mamas weren't making them walk around & eat enough, in my opinion. After 6 hours of being under a heat lamp, a bright light, and having chick started with crushed dried mealworms & crubled hard boiled egg yolk to eat, all chicks & keets look wonderful
Anyone have an experience with new keets being delicate as well?
Broody "A" hatched out 3 keets & 3 Polish Crested chicks. She covered them all, chooked for food & water from her hamster bottle (she's in a dog carrier), all the right stuff.
Broody "B" covered all three the first day, then rejected two of three keets the second day.
One complication is that we lost power in the incubator one night 14 days into incubation, and the eggs were at 80F outside in the early a.m. when I found them.
The result is that every chick and every keet but one came out with splayed legs. I taped all the legs an inch apart with Band Aids. Problem solved --?-- the three Polish chicks did great with this, and on Day 3 their legs are fine.
The keets didn't master walking with the bandaids very well, so I put food & water low to the ground for them under the broodies' chests.
The broodies acted like they always do with peeps, except Broody "B" rejected the two bandaged keets on Day 2 and kept the one without a bandage. I found them lying near her, squawking & cool to touch. I carried them in my shirt a few minutes and then plopped them under Broody "A" the Polish, who's very accepting.
I nursed the worst-off keet from this incident later in the day, in my shirt again, with yogurt syringed into its beak every half hour, alternating with some Save-a-Chick in water.
The littlest keet died this morning during a feeding.
I went out to sports practice with the kids, came home a few hours ater, and the second rejected keet, who looked good in the morning, was dead in a straight-out pose.
Did Mama Polish Crestde trample him by mistake?
I have since fired both mama broodies & have the 4 remaining keets & three Polish under a heat lamp in the bathroom --like the old days before broodies.
I've never fired a broody before. The Polish were looking fat & happy under their mom. What has happened with the guinea keets? These are my first.
I've just read that they're much more delicate at first. Is this true?
My broody mamas weren't making them walk around & eat enough, in my opinion. After 6 hours of being under a heat lamp, a bright light, and having chick started with crushed dried mealworms & crubled hard boiled egg yolk to eat, all chicks & keets look wonderful
Anyone have an experience with new keets being delicate as well?
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