Help with possible sick keet

[Kasey]

We have a baby keet that doesn't seem to be doing well. It's only a couple days old and was doing ok yesterday but today it's really wobbly and my husband found it sitting by itself and seemed to be shivering.

He gave it a little water and electrolytes to see if that would help.

Any suggestions or ideas of what to try or that could be wrong?

 

[Kasey]

It also keeps reaching around to it hind end with its beak. Like maybe it's bothering it?

No poopy butt either.

 

[PeepsCA]

Keets will start to preen even at a couple days old, so that may be what you are seeing it try to do... but is there any possibility it may have picked up mites from other poultry? Maybe it's itchy...

Other than the electrolytes and making sure it's drinking I'd also make sure it's eating. High protein Turkey, game bird or pheasant starter feed, not chick starter. It may like some scrambled or crumbled hard boiled egg too.

 

[Kasey]

It looks to me more like preening than anything, but it's so wobbly that it will fall and flip over when it's trying to do this. Hubby says it was eating and drinking before he left to go back to work.

Maybe it got too cold? We had a cold front come through and they are out in a brooder in a concrete floored metal shop, so when the temp dropped it made it about 80 in the brooder. He lowered the light on them to make it about 95-100 and it seemed to be doing better.

However they other 3 are doing fine despite this one and they appear to be a little bigger than this one.

Also we have noticed that this one and the other buff one like it have crooked inner toes. The Lavender and the Grey one do not.

The toes don't really seem to be bothering either of them though and they both walk okay, but this wobbly like it was just hatched. Yesterday it was not.

I will try the scrambled eggs when I get home from work. (hubby has been conveying all this info to me).

 

[amberflea]

you need to fix the crooked toes, the sooner the better. It will only take a couple days before it is normal. Put a bandaid shoe on it. See picture.

 

[Kasey]

So do I just straighten the toe and put the bandaid on or ?


Just checked on the keets when I got home and they all seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Fingers crossed that it's doing better.

 

[JLeigh]

Yes, put the band aid on the bottom of the foot, place the toes, and then put another band aid on top - but get the toes on right before you close it up. That will straighten the toes out. Keeping it warm should help. Keets that are a few days old are waaay too young for 80 degrees, so bringing that temp up was good. Scrambled egg is good, but cooking for keets is NOT something I do, since I rarely even cook for my husband. Some high protein game bird starter, as Peeps said, is a must if you want them to grow up healthy. And they grow FAST. I mean FAST. lol.

 

[PeepsCA]

I usually press the foot down flat on one piece of tape (or bandaid), facing sticky side up, get the toes straight, spread out and pressed down (in the position the foot would normally be when the keet is standing on it flat footed), then 'll put another piece of tape over the top of the foot. Be sure to press the tape together really well and even run your thumb nail around the toes so they are held in place really good by the tape. You can trim the tape so it's more foot shape, like amber's pic shows. The keet will be a clutz for a while with the shoe on, so you may need to pick the keep up several times until it gets the hang of walking again. You can take it off and check the toes after a couple of days, but if they are still crooked put another shoe on and give it a couple more days. Usually 2 days is good tho on young keets.

 

[Kasey]

Thank y'all! Do I need to do the whole foot? Its just the inside toe that is crooked and one just has a little flare but the other one has it a little worse. But just that toe kicks out a little widder and is slightly bent.

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[Kasey]

Puhlease tell me I did this right... Turns out I had to do both feet on the 2 Buffs and one foot on the Lavender. I hope this helps because Friday they are going to my Grandma. I got them for her as she hasn't been able to find any in her area.