help! I bought 12 keets yesterday and 5 are already dead. What to do?

[shelleyd2008]

I know it won't make a difference to your babies, but I wonder if putting hen-hatched keets in with some baby chicks would make a difference? I only had one keet that I saved from the mama this year, and it was about a month old when I took it away. She had already lost the other keets, so I saved this one. It did eat, but it never grew. It lived probably another month in the brooder. Apparently it was sick, which was the cause of most of the other keets deaths I'm sure.

Anyway, that's my thoughts.

 

[Akane]

Are you absolutely sure they are warm enough especially if they are all under the heat lamp? It sounds exactly like what happened to some sebright chicks of mine and it turns out I underestimated how much heat they needed. I got them from someone who was driving by to a swap meet to sell a bunch of chicks. They'd been riding around in a truck with little food and water. About a week old. I put them in the small brooder inside for one night, didn't lose any. I moved them to the big brooder outside and lost half overnight with the rest acting like you describe. Doubled how much heat was over them and they perked up by the next evening and the rest lived. I think the stress added to their need to keep warm.

 

[TedsFarms]

I lost 4 1 week old keets within 2 days. I stopped the medicated bird feed, went with the high protein food and increased the heat output. I did not lose anymore of them. This may not be related, but just tossing my similar experience out there.

 

[americana-chick]

I dont know if this is the same thing.. but not to long ago i hatched out some chicks and 3 out of the 4 died of some deseas.. the symptoms where just as you described, lays down alout, stiff legged, and floppy head. Whenever i would pick my chicks up they would chirp a little too. I have talked to our farm veternarian and he says that is so hard to tell what might be wrong with baby chicks.
I thought it migth be early chick mortality or a deases. the veternarian wasnt sure but he guessed that too.
The one thing that kept my chicks alive a little longer was when i would give them food and water through a dropper, i dont know how well that would work with guineas but i guess it is worth the try

Best of luck,
~Bri

 

[americana-chick]

Oh and Tedsfarm is right, giving medicated bird feed to guineas is a bad idea. this may be the cause if that is what you are giving them. If so just switch the medicated bird feed to game fowl food.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I have hatched about 40 keets this year and start all of them on a 50/50 mixture of medicated Purina chick starter and Purina gamebird startina for 2 weeks then to just gamebird starter and haven't lost 1. Why is the medicated chick starter bad?

 

[Katy]

I raised the ones I hatched this year on medicated chick starter and they've all done great.

 

[racuda]

Mine are 4 weeks old and already the size of their OEGB momma. They are thriving on medicated gamebird starter.

 

[tazzy]

thanks everyone, for the info. we have a broody hen sitting on guinea eggs at the moment, so hopefully we'll have new babies in a few weeks.