Chicks & Keets growing like weeds

[Devonviolet2]

Our 8 Buff Orpington, 2 Cornish X chicks, and 7 French Guinea Keets are growing up fast! They were 2 weeks old on Tuesday.

Yesterday I had to separate the Cornish X from the rest and each other, because they were all picking at the red places showing under the skin, back by the tail feathers and above the wings.

After doing some research, I went out and bought some BlueKote Lotion, to put on the sores. I read that the purple color didn't look like a sore, so chicks wouldn't peck. Some said they pecked anyway, so I put the BlueKote on a cotton pad (after using a Q-Tip to apply to the sores) To spread the BlueKote over all the top feathers, so I didn't have spots of color. Over night, I'm keeping them together in a wire dog crate, in the middle if the brooding area, so they still get warmth from the heat lamp.

The meat birds are getting big fast! They are easily double size and weight of the others. I am taking food away 12 hours a day to prevent heart attack or broken legs later.

The others are growing fast too, and putting on feathers fast. They spend the day running fast and flapping their wings. Several have flown to the top of the dog crate, and when I had the 2nd Cornish X in a plastic box, several kept flying into the open box.

I was just ready to go to bed tonight and as I was leaving the spare BR room where we have the birds, one of the Keets tried to fly over the top of cardboard circle we have for the brooder ring. So, I got DH to help me use a roll of heavy Brown contractor's paper (I'm guessing it is 35" wide), to increase the height of the walls, SO they can't get out and die of dehydration overnight!

So, now we don't have to worry about them flying out of the ring over night, and hopefully they won't peck each other, and I can put put them back with the others tomorrow.

 

[Devonviolet2]

Our chicks and Guinea Keets are now 3 weeks old. We kept the Cornish X in the dog crate until the sores healed and let them out with the other birds. Within a day, they were being picked on again. So we set them up in the crate and are just leaving them there.

All the chicks and Keets seemed to be testing their wings, and flying and/or running close to the ground. Then the Keets began to fly up on top of the dog crate, which is the same height as the cardboard brooding ring. Eventually, we started seeing a few chicks up there too. It was at that point we decided to put the 35" contractor's paper extension on the brooding ring.

Then, the Keets started flying over the 35" high paper wall. It's still too cold outside to let them outside in the dog kennel, so we decided to clear out the whole room, put down a big tarp and wood chips and let them have the run of the whole room. I took photos and uploaded them to my cloud, but they aren't showing up in the cloud yet. When they do, I will add them.

 

[Devonviolet2]

It's 3:00 AM. An hour ago, I was awakened from a dream, about the Guinea Keets making a loud peeping noise. It turned out one of the Keets WAS making a loud peeping noise!

I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it just kept up the ruckus. So, I got up and looked in the spare room, where they were all laying in clusters, like they do when they are resting. The noisy one stopped when I opened the door. But, then it started up again. I couldn't tell which one it was, so I walked in the room, knowing they would get up and move away from me, and hoping the noisy one would stop.

When they all started moving, I noticed that one of the Keets was limping - favoring it's left foot/leg. So, I cornered it and picked it up, to get a closer look. Of course, it started peeping loudly, but stopped after a minute. So, I examined its feet, and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. There was no redness, swelling or abrasions. The toes all seemed to bend the same as the right foot, and it didn't seem to hurt, as it didn't squawk when I was examining it.

I read one post, here on BYC, about a lame hen, and several of you discussed the possibility of Mareks. I'm not positive if the vaccine was given to our birds. But, they did come from Ideal Poultry, to our local Farm Store, in Sulphur Springs, TX. They shipped 250 birds the day we got ours, so I'm thinking they may have vaccinated them. But, then maybe not.

I also saw the suggestion to put the bird, with the sore foot, in a separate cage, for rest. We have another dog crate, that we could put the Keet in. However, it is in the barn, which we haven't run electric to yet, so we don't have any lights out there yet, and it is pitch dark. I'm not going out there in my nightgown! So, in the morning, if it is still limping, we will get the crate and put the Keet in it, to see if that helps.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[amynrichie]

Our chicks and Guinea Keets are now 3 weeks old. We kept the Cornish X in the dog crate until the sores healed and let them out with the other birds. Within a day, they were being picked on again. So we set them up in the crate and are just leaving them there.

All the chicks and Keets seemed to be testing their wings, and flying and/or running close to the ground. Then the Keets began to fly up on top of the dog crate, which is the same height as the cardboard brooding ring. Eventually, we started seeing a few chicks up there too. It was at that point we decided to put the 35" contractor's paper extension on the brooding ring.





Then, the Keets started flying over the 35" high paper wall. It's still too cold outside to let them outside in the dog kennel, so we decided to clear out the whole room, put down a big tarp and wood chips and let them have the run of the whole room. I took photos and uploaded them to my cloud, but they aren't showing up in the cloud yet. When they do, I will add them.

Oh my! You are brave!!!! I"m not sure I could do the whole room thing! I am glad to have seen your post, so that I will have an appropriate place if we ever decide to get guinea fowl!