Feeding keets with chicks?

[Ava_farming]

Hello everyone!

I just have some questions about raising keets. I have brood many chicks, ducklings, and goslings but I'm new to guinea fowl. I hatched 14 chicks today and am getting 3, day old keets in a couple days and want to brood them with the chicks, but I'm not sure if they can eat chick start or if the chicks could safely eat game bird start? Or if there's something else they could both eat? Everything I've read has said keets should eat game bird food or turkey start for the first 5 weeks before chick start. Any advice would be helpful

Thank you

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I haven't raised them personally, but it seems to be a general consensus that raising keets with chicks will only make the guineas more aggressive to chickens as adults

 

[R2elk]

Hello everyone!

I just have some questions about raising keets. I have brood many chicks, ducklings, and goslings but I'm new to guinea fowl. I hatched 14 chicks today and am getting 3, day old keets in a couple days and want to brood them with the chicks, but I'm not sure if they can eat chick start or if the chicks could safely eat game bird start? Or if there's something else they could both eat? Everything I've read has said keets should eat game bird food or turkey start for the first 5 weeks before chick start. Any advice would be helpful

Thank you

I have brooded keets with chicks and will not do so again. The imprinting caused by brooding the keets with chicks removes the ability of the guineas to understand that chickens are not guineas.

Only other guineas understand guineas and their unique behaviors. When brooded with chicks everything can seem to be fine right up until the first breeding season when the guineas seem to go crazy with their racing and chasing along with attacks from behind and the feather pulling and breaking. When these behaviors are applied to the chickens or other poultry it causes the other poultry great stress.

In specific answer to your question, when I brooded keets and chicks together, they all got the high protein turkey or game bird starter that the keets need for proper growth and development. The higher protein is not harmful to the chicks.

Keets should get a high protein turkey or game bird starter for the first 6 to 8 weeks. After that they should get a good turkey or game bird grower for the next 8 weeks. They should never get chick starter at any stage. Chick starter does not contain the protein, lysine or methionine levels that the keets need for proper development. It may also not contain high enough levels of niacin.

After the first 12 to 14 weeks they can be put on an adult feed. My adults get a 20% protein all flock feed with free choice oyster shell on the side.

 

[Theora7777]

I am getting days old chicks and keets, can someone provide a link to the feed you have used that works well for both? Thanks!!

 

[R2elk]

I am getting days old chicks and keets, can someone provide a link to the feed you have used that works well for both? Thanks!!

I do not recommend brooding keets with chicks due to the problems that imprinting can cause.

Read my post directly above your post.