Evil guinea keet

[Kellishack]

Any advice would be much appreciated...

I've hatched 6 keets over the last 3 days. The eldest one ('Britney' - 3 days old) has turned evil - she is literally seeking out and biting the toes of the others. She is dragging them across the cage by their feet! This is obviously not good for them or their legs and they are frightened of her.

I've purchased peck stop spray, which all the keets now have on their feet. They are under a red heat lamp which is the correct temperature.

I've tried putting her in isolation, but due to the cage layout I can only build a low segregation wall as she still needs the heat from the lamp. She was in isolation for 3 minutes until she worked out she could jump over! So she is now back in terrorising the others

Any ideas how I can stop her?!

 

[ChicKat]

Hope you get the answer........ Although I know zero about keets - it seems really bizarre

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How big is your brooder? What temperature is directly under your heat lamp? Can they get away from it? Aggression often has to do with not enough room or too much heat. I'm not familiar with keets either, but all other poultry species are similar in brooding needs.

 

[Kellishack]

Thanks for your reply the broader is about 1.5m x 1m and is big enough for them at the moment I think as they aren't venturing into the other half of it yet (they will move into another one in a week's time). The temp below the lamp is 37 degrees. Do you think it could be that?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It is a bit warm, though temperature conversions are tricky between Celsius and Fahrenheit. It's recommended to start at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some can hatch more vigorous than others. Toes are often seen as worms I think so they can be targets. I add shiny glass rocks to attract pecking where the food is. The toe grabbing often stops after a few days.

You can take a small piece of hardware cloth and make a small pen that you can keep it confined in but still with the other, so it starts to learn not to do it. I set the pen on the edge of the heat zone so it doesn't get too hot or cold.