FEEDING KEETS (w/ video of mine eating RED DOTS and drinking really CHEAP vodka)

[Guinea Goonie]

Hello:
I have been researching feed for my Guinea rasp for this upcomming winter. They about broke me last year ! I fed them game bird conditioner and the stuff aint cheap.
I priced the pellet layer at the local feed store. Dang it is 13 bucks a 50 poiund bag. I really need to get this going soon. My birds are begging for bread and cleaning up
the poultry grain the chickens miss.
Oh and as far as raising keets: I have fed game bird and chick starter in a 50:50 mixter and have NEVER had a problem with the birds.
My Guineas LOVE poultry grain and they REALLY LOVE bread.
I have not fed any game bird for some time and really do not want to start it up again.
As you all probably know, Guinea birds are really good and picking out the good stuff and leaving the unwanted fed behind.
Poultry grain is just inpractical for the Guineas. They leave way too much behind for it to be a good choice.
so any advise is greatly appreciated.
Thanks !

 

[PeepsCA]

A layer feed with 16% protein (minimum) is really all they need, year round once they are adults. Some use all purpose poultry feed. Plenty of free range time cuts down on processed food consumption tho, and I always have alfalfa hay available free choice for them in their coops to give them some bulk (as well as green). I've been reading about feeding fermented foods over on the meat bird forum here... I see some have also fed this to their laying flocks, so why not Guineas

I plan to give that a try thru the winter (fermenting layer feed, whole grains and alfalfa pellets or cubes inside where it will be warm enough to ferment) and see how well one of my flocks does vs another. I'm hoping they do well on it and that all that work will at least take a chunk out of the feed cost per bird.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Sounds good to me .. fermentation and other methods of modifications to inprove the nutritional value of grains and grasses have been done for many years in the cattle industry, and I've seen extremely good results from it. Once you've done all the heavy lifting, be sure 'n fill me in ~'-)

 

[cowcreekgeek]

PeepsCA gives excellent advice on what to feed during different phases of development, but I wanted to add that you should start now ... any changes should be done slowly, and by increasing the amounts mixed in over time. Seems many folks have very picky birds, but mine have already been trained to try just about anything I give 'em, and they'll hopefully prefer the weed seeds and insects I've been givin' as they grow (and, wow, do they grow ~'-)

 

[Guinea Goonie]

SO I made a water thingy like I think you have. I used a plastic tub that fit my metal small water base. Then I cut the lid smaller than the top of the waterer and then cut slots around the hole. I slid the top into the lid and screwed the waterer together. I then shut the lid on the tub. I then cut small holes just at the edge of where the metal waterer base is in the tub.
The contraption works like a charm and thank you for your very smart idea !!
Keeps the poop out of the water and really cuts down on the bedding getting into the waterer.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

SO I made a water thingy like I think you have. I used a plastic tub that fit my metal small water base. Then I cut the lid smaller than the top of the waterer and then cut slots around the hole. I slid the top into the lid and screwed the waterer together. I then shut the lid on the tub. I then cut small holes just at the edge of where the metal waterer base is in the tub.
The contraption works like a charm and thank you for your very smart idea !!
Keeps the poop out of the water and really cuts down on the bedding getting into the waterer.

My favorite part of raising chickens/guineas has easily been that they inspire me to thinks of new things and ways (since, for the most part, things are still bein' done as they've always been, and with the same ol' methods, but not always because they were right, or even worked very well ~'-)

I sorta micromanage my birds, so I catch errors in my experiments more quickly. Hope ya don't mind, but I've gotta borrow your avatar (which I love, by the way) to point out one of 'em ...

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If you look at the cervical vertebrae as a whole, you can see how marvelously versatile their necks are. But, when you imagine them individually, and with that big skull resting on top, you quickly realize how easily it's reach can be limited. As they became larger, then holes were still big enough for their big/empty heads, but the angle became impossible for them to get their beaks into the water at such a low position.

"Oops," said I, to my poor guineas.
But, on the positive side?

They're so much tamer, having been given what they wanted so desperately from the palm of my hand. I'm sure they'd peck me to death in my sleep, if they were smart enough to know that I was the cause of their greatest thirst ... well ... and had thumbs w/ which to effectively grab/turn doorknobs.

Experimentation is great (and, I wanna see pictures of your own ~'-)
But, it'd be a good idea to have multiple sources of water anyhow, most esp. until we can be certain our designs will work reliably.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Hello:

The bone structure of this Dino Bird is remarkable. I have always thought that the Guinea Fowl are more closely related to the Raptor Dinosuar than most birds.
The Bone that protrudes out in front of the massive breast bone is pretty interesting. What function it has I have yet to discover.
I only use the waterer I made for Keets. the big Guineas drink from the horse water which is a 3 x 4 x1 for the babies we have this year (they are minis).
I always worry about the "rasp" flock when winter comes. This year I have about half the group which are new birds and have not seen an unsheltered winter.
The barn is nice for them at roosting, but the crazy things are out in the cold and wet during the day.
I have lots of food for them in the barn, they just do not stay there during the day.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Hello:

The bone structure of this Dino Bird is remarkable. I have always thought that the Guinea Fowl are more closely related to the Raptor Dinosuar than most birds.
The Bone that protrudes out in front of the massive breast bone is pretty interesting. What function it has I have yet to discover.
I only use the waterer I made for Keets. the big Guineas drink from the horse water which is a 3 x 4 x1 for the babies we have this year (they are minis).
I always worry about the "rasp" flock when winter comes. This year I have about half the group which are new birds and have not seen an unsheltered winter.
The barn is nice for them at roosting, but the crazy things are out in the cold and wet during the day.
I have lots of food for them in the barn, they just do not stay there during the day.

Might be that they had bigger boobies way back then ~'-)

Seems guineas disregard the wet/cold, even to the point of draggin' their babies through it, to the early demise which often results. Like I said: "big/empty heads"

You might enjoy this link flash presentation on the Anatomy of the Chicken ... it's introduction can be found here:

http://www.gallusgallusdomesticus.com/anatomy/presentation/
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