Hatched some Chocolates and a couple Violets I think

[JacqueOCS]

Oh wow, that would be great!!! I'll keep an eye on the spot she used previously. Do they usually go back to the same spot? These keets are w/a hen in the brooder. The mama guinea walked up to the brooder the other day & was looking in at the keets. She & a pearl gray male have become quite chummy and are always together. Most every time I go to the barn, she and her mate will follow me looking for a treat. She got used to me bringing her corn and water everyday when she was setting on her nest Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, I truly appreciate you.

 

[JacqueOCS]

Oh Peeps - I meant to ask you......how long should I keep these keets in the brooder before allowing them to free range. We moved the brooder inside the chicken coop so they cold get fresh air and see the guineas and chickens go out in the am and return to roost in the evening. If I remember right, I think we kept the keets last year in the brooder until about 6 wks of age. I'm in no rush to let them go, just wondering. Also, should I keep the mama hen in the brooder w/them until they're let free? All 22 keets still try to get up under her at night

 

[PeepsCA]

6 wks old is when they are fully feathered and can regulate their own body temps, some depending on the situation (and weather) people let their keets out right away, some keep them penned for a certain length of time first. So when exactly you want to let them start to free range is really up to you and your particular situation. Sometimes the existing flock may or may not willingly accept new keets at first, so the older they are before they go out better IMO, just for the safety of the keets. If they stay with the Moma Hen until you start letting them out tho, she will (usually) protect them and also help integrate them into your existing flock... so yah, I'd leave her with them/'them with her if that will work for your set up. I never let my Hens raise their own keets, just to avoid the inevitable losses, so before I let my new additions start free range I put them thru a transitional period of being confined to their coop and pen before I let them start free ranging (usually another 6 wks, so they are at least 12 wks old and can somewhat fend for themselves and dodge the aggression from my adult flocks)... and the longer you keep them in their coop/pen, the better they imprint on it as being home/safe and where they need to roost at night. This of course isn't the only way to raise keets/start to free range them, but it's what works for me/my flocks... with zero losses always being the end result

 

[JacqueOCS]

Great, thank you! I'm def not in a hurry at all to let them out into the big world. I looked up brown guinea and it said they're rare, do you find that true? I'm excited to have another color in our flock

 

[PeepsCA]

Browns are not rare in my flocks, I hatch a lot of them... but I purposely breed for them, and keep my more dominant colors (like my Pearl Greys and Royal Purples) in separate areas from my more recessive colors during the breeding season.

 

[JacqueOCS]

Wow, very pretty!!!! Hoping one of mine will be a girl

 

[PeepsCA]

Thanks

I think the males are pretty too... just a little lighter in color, and not nearly as photogenic, lol.


.

 

[JLeigh]

You have the prettiest guineas, Peeps - and you take the best pictures. A picture you had of one of your chocolates is what made me fall in love with the color. I can hope for some browns, right? I have a Buff Dundotte male, three chocolate hens and one Buff hen.

 

[PeepsCA]

Yep, your Buff Dundotte male and Chocolate Hens have a pretty good chance of producing Browns, LOTS of them, lol.
Thanks for the pic compliment... I usually have to take a million to get ONE good pic that's worth posting tho, lol.

 

[JLeigh]

Maybe that's why I hate taking pictures - - I feel like I have to get a good one the first time. I'm glad to get lots of Browns. I hope to get a few Buffs/Dundottes/Chocolates, too. In my last hatch if you remember, I had two Buff Dundottes and the rest were Pearl Grays. Any combination of the above will make me happy. These are the colors I've wanted, except for a few Royal Purples so I'm in search of a RP hen. Wish me luck with that, lol. No one gives up hens that I know of - and that includes me!