First Guineas!!!

[wolfpak]

Ordered 15 mixed keets from Stromberg... hatched on the 17th. They're all healthy & BUSY! Have had chicks for years now, hatched our own the past few years, & just -finally!- ordered some Buckeyes this year.

We live in a rural midwestern area, back off the road quite a bit. Our chickens free range quite often, we've used portable runs as well. This year has been horrible for ticks in this area. Have never seen it like this, & we have 11 (mostly) rescue dogs that have the run of the place. I'm sick of picking ticks! The chickens make an impact, but we have a sly ol' fox that's been picking them off, so they get out of their coop & runs only for a few hours in the evening, when we're home. Used to have coon issues, but a few hunters have help our endeavors to eradicate their population, at least their population frequenting our barn!

So this year was the year to expand to guineas! Since they're garden friendly, from what I read (Gardening with Guineas-excellent), they arrived a week ago... & grow fast!

I'm still attempting to determine colors.... of the 15:
6 are grey w/ tan stripes on head, 1 or 2 of these are fairly light compared to the others - lavender, & perhaps coral blue light ones?
4 are Tiger striped on head & back, with white body & wings - pearl grey?
3 are darker brown caps on heads with white body & wings - violet?
1 is brown capped with brown wings & body, too - pewter or slate?
1 is all Tiger striped - ???

 

[PeepsCA]

Congrats on your batch of mixed babies, very cute

I've replied below with their colors... a couple are hard to make a positive ID on, the lighting in pics can sometimes make identical keets look completely different depending where they are in the pic (I struggle with this a lot, even with my own pics, lol).

I'm still attempting to determine colors.... of the 15:
6 are grey w/ tan stripes on head, 1 or 2 of these are fairly light compared to the others - lavender, & perhaps coral blue light ones? I see 4 Lavenders and 1 possible Coral Blue (the lightest keet with the broken/squiggly head markings and white wings all the way to the shoulders).
4 are Tiger striped on head & back, with white body & wings - pearl grey? These look Royal Purple to me... but if any are slightly lighter brown in color shade than the others, they could be Chocolate.
3 are darker brown caps on heads with white body & wings - violet? Violet
1 is brown capped with brown wings & body, too - pewter or slate? Slate
1 is all Tiger striped - ??? Pearl Grey

 

[wolfpak]

Thanks PeepsCA!
Tried to get some pics from my phone to download.... took them Sun, but they just showed up in my email today... go figure! Ain't technology great, lol!
So far the keets are all happy & healthy... moved them to a larger stock tank yesterday. I'm using some puppy piddle pads, & that works well, putting newspaper under this for bedding. (Had a huge number we are not using on hand...)

6 are grey w/ tan stripes on head, 1 or 2 of these are fairly light compared to the others - lavender, & perhaps coral blue light ones?
I see 4 Lavenders and 1 possible Coral Blue (the lightest keet with the broken/squiggly head markings and white wings all the way to the shoulders). One, possibly 2, are definitely lighter....

4 are Tiger striped on head & back, with white body & wings - pearl grey? These look Royal Purple to me... but if any are slightly lighter brown in color shade than the others, they could be Chocolate. There is one that is totally different color now, much lighter...

3 are darker brown caps on heads with white body & wings - violet? Violet Same..
.
1 is brown capped with brown wings & body, too - pewter or slate? Slate Looks very milk chocolate to coffee-with-cream color now...

1 is all Tiger striped - ??? Pearl Grey This one is a light taupe, & looks similar to the odd Tiger striped that is different from the other 3.....

SUNDAY



Favorite Pic - one of the Lavenders at about 7 days




This is the lighter "Tiger Stripe" at 7 days

 

[PeepsCA]

Great pics That keet in the last pic looks like it's feathering in as a Blonde or Chocolate. Kin dof light compared tp the Chocolates I hatch, but if it starts buck-wheating in 5 or so weeks then I'd say it's a Blonde Hen at that point, lol. Definitely not a Royal Purple, it would be feathering in with dark brown feathers at this stage. See what I mean how lighting can make some keets hard to ID!?! If you can, get all the keets with broken head stripes in one shot... you may have all Chocolates and a Blonde, and no Royal Purples at all

Either way, congrats, looks like you'll have a very colorful flock!

 

[wolfpak]

Hi PeepsCA, got a nice pic of the 2 different "tiger striped" & white body keets, they're on the R & L in this pic.... the all brown keet is in the middle!

They're getting a bit more tame, will sit on my hand in some cases. Was able to reach around the front & touch their chests in order to get them to pick their heads up for this shot... each then perched on my hand as I took it back to the brooder. I've been giving them a few blades of grass, some clover leaves, as well as tender dandelion greens all shredded up, which they seem to love sprinkled into their pen. Think they may be associating me with this, & possibly fresh food.

From today:

 

[wolfpak]

These pics are also from today, its a big surprise to see that the "All Tiger Stripe" keet is feathering out so light!

These two are the two "Tiger Stripe" keets with white bodies initially, now at 2 wks



Same two, again



This is the All "Tiger Stripe" keet

 

[PeepsCA]

OK, now another one changed colors on me, lol. The keet in the bottom pic with the wide center head stripe is feathering out as a Brown, lol... I originally ID'd it as a Pearl Grey (they are pretty close in color when first hatched, with the same markings... so depending on the lighting of the pic the colors can easily be confused, sorry!). I'd still say Chocolate or Blonde for the light keet with the thin broken/squiggly head stripes, and Royal Purple for the darker keet with the thin broken head stripes. The keet in the middle of the trio still looks Slate to me, and should start feathering in with some grey/blue/slate tinted feathers soon... if it doesn't then it's another one that changed colors on me and might be a Brown or a Pearl Grey with blended down, instead of any stripes

Keep posting pics of them as they grow and feather out more, they are cuties. And I'd love to see how the lighter keet feathers out and what sex it is when it matures.

Head stripes/markings along with their color are the key factors when figuring out what they will feather out as when they are mature, but they molt and change colors and markings several times before they finally feather out into their adult plumage so unless you are used to the different molts they go thru, and familiar with the color shades and the variances there can be in each color shade and also from bloodline to bloodline (going one way or another lighter or darker) it can get really difficult to ID them. Keets with a wide center head stripe (no matter the color) = fully pearled birds, keets with broken/squiggly head stripes (no matter the color) = partially pearled birds, and keets with no stripes, but have a sort of gradient coloring on their head/neck/body are typically non-pearled(usually including some rusty hues, except for some of the lighter colors such as Powder Blues, Pastels and the Ivory). Some people call them solid, but I call the non-pearled. And like I said, the color of the down clues you into what color the keet will eventually be, but just because a keet is one color when it hatches does not mean it will be that color as an adult... for example Pearl Grey keets are brown and tan as keets and dark charcoal grey/black with a million pearls as adults!

Congrats on them being so tame, I am sure all the treats and extra attention are helping with that (consider yourself one of the chosen ones, not all keets tame down, regardless of extra attention or treats!). If they don't have access to small stones/gravel in their pen, you should sprinkle a little chick grit on their treats, just to make sure they are grinding everything up well enough and digesting it. If too much fiber sits in their crop too long without being ground up and digested it can cause sour crop issues, impacted crop and even fungal/yeast infection.

Side note... I see that the light keet pictured with the Royal Purple has curled toes on it's right foot... you can (and should) correct that with a tape shoe as soon as possible. It may cause it pain eventually or even cause the rest of the flock to pick on or ostracize that keet from being part of the flock if it's gimpy (they will view that bird as the weak link). Here is how I fix crooked toes:
You'll need to clean and dry the keet's toes and bottom of the foot well, and get 2 pieces of tape with good sticky on it ready (I've used both duct tape or black electrical tape, some medical/first aid tapes work ok too)... Start with one piece of tape sticky side up and press the foot with curled toes down flat on the tape (takes a little finesse, and the keet will probably be fighting you, you may need 3 hands)...Straighten the toes out perfectly into the position that the other toes on the other foot are spaced at when the keet is standing with weight on the foot (you want to brace the toes in that position or it may not fix the issue). Be sure to press the toes down flat to the tape really well,nice and straight, not curled to the side like they are in the pic, then lay a 2nd piece of tape over the top of the toes (sticky side down) and press the tape together really well between the toes so the foot is sandwiched between the 2 pieces of tape. I usually trace around the toes with my thumbnail and make sure they are firmly held by the tape. Make sure you leave that little back toe out of the tape,
then trim the excess edges of the tape so the shape resembles a flipper and is less bulking/awkward for the keet.

Usually within a few days the tape's sticky will work loose from the oil in the keet's skin (or most of the way loose), plus from collecting brooder/poop/food dust. I usually fix toes on keets that are 2-3 days old or so with this method and they are fixed in a day or 2, but since this guy is 2 wks old, he may need a 2nd shoe, or even a 3rd... but keeping those toes straight and forcing the keet to walk on the foot in the normal correct position until they stay that way on their own, without tape is what you are aiming for. The better you put the shoe on, the longer it'll last/more effective it will be. Hope that helps.

 

[wolfpak]

Wow PeepsCA! So much excellent info....

Yes the lighting is so problematic... same bird looks different in different pics! & the pics aren't that crisp either.

Three of the tiger-stripe+white all look about the same... probably Royal Purple, as you say. Hard to say with the 4th - its light taupe, with whitish tips on wing feathers...
The all tiger-stripe looks extremely light now... with darker edging on wing feather tips (phone is still working on the downloading of pics)

Did not know: Keets with a wide center head stripe (no matter the color) = fully pearled birds
keets with broken/squiggly head stripes (no matter the color) = partially pearled birds, and
keets with no stripes, but have a sort of gradient coloring on their head/neck/body are typically non-pearled(usually including some rusty hues,
except for some of the lighter colors such as Powder Blues, Pastels and the Ivory). Some people call them solid, but I call the non-pearled.
The color of the down clues you into what color the keet will eventually be

I've tried to interact with them since day 1. But they are wild little zoomies! Sorta like chicks, but very different as well. Generally have a good way with the critters - must always be calm, & stay relaxed. They clearly have very wild survival type instincts, & naturally view us as threats. Its comical the way some now stick their neck out at me & stare intently rather than dart off into a frenzied little flock! The grey & tans seem more flighty.

I give them a bit of small chick grit sprinkled on their crumbles to prevent digestive issues. Figured they would ignore the grass & greens if they weren't old enough to eat it! Think that non-threatening stimulation helps prevent boredom & makes for brighter birds. The were fascinated by looking out the window when I took their pics today! It was as if they truly enjoyed the view. Washed all their little stinky feets off in a bowl of slightly soapy warm water before putting them back in their clean tank. And I thought chicks were smelly, wowzer these things are walking stink bombs!

Will try to splint the crooked toe... did that with a chick recently who had severely gnarled up feet, had good success. That birds feet wouldn't uncurl at all.... they're clearly crooked, but very functional. Chickens don't much care, but its good to know guineas do!

Thanks so very much for all your time & sharing your expertise with a guinea newbie!
(pics to follow...)

 

[PeepsCA]

You are welcome

Sometimes I ramble too much... lol.

Actually your pics that you took in full sunlight are great, it's usually the brooder (lamp glow) pics and the weird lighting that throw throw me off on my color ID guessing. But even not so perfect pics are better than no pics at all! I can at least narrow it down to either this color or that color, instead of a list of 5 possible colors, lol.

Looking fwd to more pics!

 

[wolfpak]

Thanks again, PeepsCA! Really appreciate the info, as I'm new to keets. I'm a data & info fan too, so I can really get into whatever I'm into, lol...

These are some pics that finally downloaded. Most are of what I called "Tiger-striped" (a totally inaccurate term), but seemed the best shorthand means of describing their markings.... the resolution is not very good:


There were 4 that looked like this at first:



and 1 that looked like this:



At 2wks they now look like this:



Actually, these are the 5 "Tigers" together:



This is the all brown keet in the middle with the 2 different "Tiger & white" keets:



Another view of the 5 Tigers & the one Brown:



This is a group picture of all 15, before they had their feet washed...