Guinea talk.

[laurenspivey]

Thank you so much for your input. What is safeguard and can I purchase it at my local farmers supply store

 

[guineapeeps]

Thank you so much for your input. What is safeguard and can I purchase it at my local farmers supply store

I've never had a problem with my guineas that you mentioned with your hen, so I'm of no help there...sorry!
I had never heard of safe guard either but I looked it up and found this. I hope it helps!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/395331/worming-with-fenbendazole-how-much

 

[guineapeeps]

Thank you so much for your input. What is safeguard and can I purchase it at my local farmers supply store

Forgot to mention that it sounds like you can get it at most local feed stores and if you read down through the thread, it mentions dosing, at least for chickens. I am thinking guineas would be the same, but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone else more knowledgeable can weigh in on this.

 

[GlennLee]

Just googled vent gleet and this is what I came up with. I have not had this problem, but if it is vent gleet some of these things may help you. Good luck!

Vent gleet, which is a fungal yeast infection also referred to as 'thrush' or 'infected cloaca', often shows itself in the form of a dirty, foul-smelling vent due to copious whitish discharge and diarrhea. Missing or pasted feathers around the vent, redness and swelling are also signs that you are dealing with vent gleet.

Vent gleet is not exactly an illness in itself, but instead manifests itself due to increased ph levels and an imbalance of bad bacteria in a chicken's digestive tract. Although not normally fatal if treated quickly, it can spread to the reproductive system quite easily and also result in sour crop and becomes more difficult to treat the longer it goes on. Not contagious, it often shows up in multiple flock members since logically they have all been subjected to the same stressors that caused the vent gleet in one.

Vent gleet should never be treated with antibiotics; antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Instead, concentrating on restoring a healthy bacterial balance in the intestinal tract by boosting the good bacteria with probiotics is the goal of a natural course of treatment. Treatment should continue until you see clear signs of improvement (it should only take a few days if you catch it fast enough and start treatment immediately). Your entire flock can be treated with this natural remedy which reintroduces good bacteria into the digestive tract.

​

Causes of vent gleet can include ...

• being deprived of clean water
• eating moldy feed or scraps
• excessive heat
• stress
• general poor health

Symptoms of vent gleet can include ...

• diarrhea
• whitish discharge from vent
• smelly droppings
• loss of vent feathers
• pasted feathers
• red or bloody vent
• soft, swollen abdomen
• white sores on the vent and/or in the throat
• sour crop
• weight loss/decreased appetite
• decreased energy
• drop in egg production

Treatment includes ...

• bathing the affected hen to clean the vent area
• offering a molasses flush consisting of 1/2 Cup of molasses per gallon of water - free choice for several hours then replaced with fresh, plain water
• adding 2-4 Tablespoons/gallon of apple cider vinegar with the 'mother' (such as Bragg) to the water
• giving each affected hen 1 Tablespoon of plain unflavored yogurt per day

Prevention includes ...

• providing fresh, clean water and fresh feed, discarding old, wet feed immediately
• adding 1 Tablespoon/gallon of apple cider vinegar to the water
• adding probiotic powder to the daily feed
• offering a small amount of plain unflavored yogurt as an occasional treat

​

​

 

[MartinsPoultry]

So today i just set up my still air incubator for the first time. Testing it out to see if all things are working before i put my guinea eggs in. Any tips?

 

[GlennLee]

So today i just set up my still air incubator for the first time. Testing it out to see if all things are working before i put my guinea eggs in. Any tips?

No experience with this yet. I've only read up on how to use mine, but don't have any eggs to put in it yet.

 

[MartinsPoultry]

Im nervous about it. Ive seen the boys lock up with the girls so i am hoping my half a dozen are fertilized.

 

[Hillaire]

well.... another fox took out one of my male guineas today so I am down to a hen and male... I was able to take out the fox after the fact but still stinks.... glad I have a dozen eggs to throw into the incubator... I will be doing that today.

 

[GlennLee]

well.... another fox took out one of my male guineas today so I am down to a hen and male... I was able to take out the fox after the fact but still stinks.... glad I have a dozen eggs to throw into the incubator... I will be doing that today.

Very sorry to hear that. It's never easy losing them to predators and there are so many of them around and active this time of year. Keep us posted on the eggs. Fingers crossed that you will have a good hatch rate.

 

[GlennLee]

Im nervous about it. Ive seen the boys lock up with the girls so i am hoping my half a dozen are fertilized.

I hope so too. We'll be waiting to hear your results!

I found a great book as a reference and of course there are directions with the incubator. The book is Hatching and Brooding Your Own Chicks by Gail Damerow. I have a HOVA-Bator 1602N thermal air incubator with an IncuTurn egg turner - actually two of them. One to incubate and one to hatch so I can keep the mess contained to one incubator. I'm ready to go if I have the eggs and anyone abandons them. I'm working on the "au naturel" method in the barn coop first. Yesterday I found two eggs in a straw bale cave! Very eggsciting! We'll see.... it may not end up working out, but I have to give it a try first. Also, since I'm down to 7 birds now... how quickly things change... I made the decision to order 20 lavender jumbo keets. They will arrive around the 4th of July.