Feed problem

[white guinea333]

Does anyone know of a way to make a "no waste keet feeder"?

For the three years I have raised and sold white guinea fowl, the one main problem I have is that the keets dig out 3lbs. of the 5lbs. of feed I stick in their feeder and poop on it and refuse to eat it anymore

. My chicks have never done this, but the keets always do. The feeders I use for them is a normal store bought one with a lot of one inch sized holes on it. I have tried to get them to stop or made them have to reach for their food, but they still take their beaks and push it out. Any ideas?

 

[Mistahbue]

I just put a piece of 2 x 4 block in the brooder and set my feeders on it for these keets I have (first time anything with wings here).

Didn't phase them. I've got more food on the paper towel covering the block of wood than in the feeder. Craziest thing I've ever seen!

 

[dirtychick]

just a idea I have a lot of them mostly bad-------don't how big you set up is could you make a tray or use a pan maybe like about a inch deep and put 1/4 or1/2 inch hardware wire over it . could make it out of wood puting a removeable wire top on it . I am planning on doing that for my quail some day as they like to dust in there feed and waste alot. luck to you!

 

[white guinea333]

I've never tried something like that. I will try that.

 

[mbcaring]

I put my feeder and water on a cookie sheet. Not as much gets lost in the bedding. Make sure you put down a cupboard liner or something so they don't slip. They don't mind eating it off the tray. Just a thought. Still a fair amount of waste but it's manageable.

 

[gguineasfamily]

Sorry but guineas will always waste a lot. If there is too much on the floor take their feeder away and they will eat off the floor. Just for a few hours so not long enough that they will go hungry but keets eat all the time and they will only eat off the floor if there is no feeder.

 

[Mistahbue]

I still have wood shavings on the floor of the brooder -- I kept paper towels over the shavings when they were very new to this world. they are going on 2 weeks of age now and I find them picking food off the shavings. Is there any danger in them ingesting the shavings now? Just wondering if I need to keep the paper towels down still. They have gotten some better about not trashing the entire food container - although now it's in danger of tumbling due to flight practice by a few of the larger guys.

 

[white guinea333]

My guinea keets were spilling their food and eating off the wood shavings at about two weeks of age and they do fine if they eat a tiny piece of wood shaving. I have never had a problem with a keet choking or getting sick from eating wood shavings. A lot of the time I come out to see they have eaten half the shavings in their brooder

. Usually I keep paper towels over the wood shavings for the first week and then I remove them.