Clueless but trying to learn....

[PeepsCA]

I have been unable to find Purina Flock Raiser, darn!
It would be so nice to be able to feed the guineas and the chickens the same food, especially if I want to house them together.
I don't really want to separate them but it looks like I am going to have to.
I am about to head out to another TSC and see what they carry in the way of feed and housing for the keets.
I plan on having my man build an interior coop for at night with an attached outside run for the chickens and the guineas. I'm hoping to house the chickens and guineas together and will keep them confined to the coop for 6 weeks so they know where home is. Will also make sure to keep some guineas back when I begin letting the flock roam. Not really sure how I shall accomplish this but.....lol
Okay, on my way to spend more money and get my mans butt into high gear on building the coops.....plan on coming home with prices for sheds and pics of them too, THAT will really kickstart his motor because sheds cost about $1000.00

for a "kinda" nice one

...Im talking your typical garden shed here, absolutely nothing fancy, cheaply constructed, not at all suitable for housing chicks and keets in: no heat, no nest boxes etc (I will tell him that he could easily convert this tiny shed into a "starter" coop)............see Mr. Farmer work as fast as he can to get the coops built....BAHAHAHAHA

Yikes, you jumped in head first didn't you, lol.

Just so you know, Flock Raiser (only 20% protein) does not have enough protein for keets... keets need MUCH higher protein, and 28-30% is optimal for them. If fed only 20% protein your keets may end up cannibalizing your chicks' nostrils, combs and wattles as they grow (they are especially attracted to the red color), they may become feather eaters/feather pickers, plus the keets will grow and feather out way slower than they are supposed to. And they may possibly have health and laying/reproduction issues down the road if fed lower protein feed as keets. I'm hoping you were able to find some high protein feed for them, or that your Turkey feed is a starter feed, not grower feed. If the feed is medicated with Amprolium then it is fine for keets, but I personally steer clear of any other medicated feeds or keets...

You are definitely going to want to do a little (more) research about keeping Guineas with chickens/other poultry, and the downside of Guinea behavior during the breeding season and all the issues that can come with it...

Looks like both you and your hubby have your work cut out for you

 

[JLeigh]

If you can find it, I buy Purina Game Bird Chow - Starter and Grower, crumble. It has 30% protein and is non-medicated. I've raised many keets on it, and they thrive. The store you buy from should carry the Purina brand if you want them to order it. Many will if you give them about a week's notice. In the meantime, you can feed them room temp scrambled eggs, mealworms or raw hamburger meat to keep the protein up.

 

[farminglady]

Whew!
The coops are built with each bird separated by species or type or whatever the proper term is lol (ducks, guineas and chickens) birds are each on their own proper diets.
YIPPEE!!!!

 

[PeepsCA]

Congrats on mission accomplished... we need pics tho, lol.

 

[farminglady]

No pics until I'm finished shovelling the dumptruck load of sand I picked up...geesh, that's a lot of sand

 

[Naunnie]

Yay!

I am so glad you got it all built. Bet... ya'll worked really hard! Housing them separate will make it much easier to care for them. I know what ya mean about the sand. I had a load delivered when I first built my aviary. Took 2 days for me and Grand Kids to get it all moved and spread. It was worth it though. Sand keeps it dry and easy to clean up.