High Mortality in Keets?

[Darkjeweler]

I don't get it. I have hatched out lots of keets this year. This is my first year hatching. I have had an unexplainable high mortality rate in my keets. As an example, I hatched out 18 last weekend. Everyone is happy and healthy for the first day or so, then they start dying off. Mostly at night. At this point I have lost 8 of the guineas of the 18. I found 3 more dead this morning. They were doing fine at midnight and all snuggled down for the night. There was no excessive pilling, everyone was spread out good. The keets have plenty of room, food, and water. There is heat if they need it. They have straw bedding. They keets are kept separate from all the other fowl.

The 3 I found this morning were not all located together.

I have cleaned the coop again and started the keets on Sulmet incase this is some kind of disease.

My whole season has been going like this. It is a bit frustrating.

 

[suki'smom]

Try a bit of vitamins and electrolytes in their water and perhaps a red bulb. Worked wonders for my pheasant chicks. What temp is your brooder at and what are you feeding?

 

[Darkjeweler]

The ambient air temp is 81° and a 60w bulb w/ reflector is available if they want more heat. They rarely pile under there unless they get scared of the big thing that feeds them. They are getting an 18%p non-medicated starter feed. and then there are the various fruits and veggies I toss in.

 

[DMRippy]

I am new to keets too.... I have not lost any.... unless you count the one that ran out the door never to be seen again LOL

I read to keep them at 95 degrees till they get feathered in... I have read other wise since, but they survivied at 95. I also feed game bird starter. Much higher protein. I would not feed them table scraps for a few weeks.... JMHO on that.

What kind of bedding are you using? They may be eating it.

 

[thasista]

You may need to up the temp in your brooder despite the ambient air temp. After I hatch, mine go in a transitional hatcher at 100 degrees for about 24 hours. then they go to the brooder where I have a red 250 watt bulb in one corner. Even when days were high 90s I kept that bulb on. My brooder cage for the guineas is 12 ft x 8 feet so they have plenty of space to get away from the heat lamp. I only turned it off when temps got over 100 and that was only during the day.

Your problem may be temp?? I have hatched several hundred this season and have only lost a handful after they have hatched.

 

[Darkjeweler]

Staw bedding. They are not eatting it. They are having fun noodling around in it though.

Under the light hood it is around 100°. They have access to the heat 24/7.

 

[PeepsCA]

I don't get it. I have hatched out lots of keets this year. This is my first year hatching. I have had an unexplainable high mortality rate in my keets. As an example, I hatched out 18 last weekend. Everyone is happy and healthy for the first day or so, then they start dying off. Mostly at night. At this point I have lost 8 of the guineas of the 18. I found 3 more dead this morning. They were doing fine at midnight and all snuggled down for the night. There was no excessive pilling, everyone was spread out good. The keets have plenty of room, food, and water. There is heat if they need it. They have straw bedding. They keets are kept separate from all the other fowl.

The 3 I found this morning were not all located together.

I have cleaned the coop again and started the keets on Sulmet incase this is some kind of disease.

My whole season has been going like this. It is a bit frustrating.

Keets are pretty fragile until they are about 2 weeks old, it doesn't take much to take them down quickly.

18% protein is way too low for keets at any stage. Their nutritional requirements are closer to Turkey poults and Pheasant chicks than they are to baby chicks.They most likely aren't getting the levels of amino acids and other nutrients needed to grow/develop muscle, organs, bone and feathers etc at the proper rate from only 18% protein, (their internal organs can take the brunt of the deficiencies). Starter feeds in the 27-28% protein range are better, and some use 30% but it's hard to find it that high and medicated in some areas.

Even tho you have cleaned your coop, it could be a cocci overload quickly building up in their bodies and taking them down, especially since they are not on medicated feed and already being kept out in your coop and not in sterile brooder conditions. Cocci is present everywhere other poultry and birds have had contact with. The rest of your birds may be able to handle the cocci numbers present in the coop, soil and even coop dust, but newly hatched keets need the Amprolium to help keep the numbers in check and gradually build immunity to it as they grow.

Since you are giving them fruits and veggies it's a good idea to sprinkle some chick grit on whatever you give them or on top of their starter feed, to help them grind up/digest the fiber. (Out in the wild when eating grasses and greens that are also picking up their own grit as they forage).The fiber in the fruits and veggies can cause impacted crop and the acids can cause sour crop if they aren't digesting it fast enough. Plus if they are over indulging on the fruits and veggies then they are lowering their protein intake that much more as well. Vitamins in their water is a good idea. Giving them a mash of starter feed and plain yogurt each day won't hurt either (or giving them probiotics instead).

Good luck with the rest of your keets.

 

[Darkjeweler]

PeepsCA,

The keets are not in the coop, they are in the 50 gal tote shown above in my house. They are not in contact with any other birds that have ever been outside. Everything I hatch is raised in the house till it is either sold or between 4-6 weeks. At that point I decide if they can go outside with all the others. 18% protien starter is all that was available, so that is what I have been using. I have also been adding in small bugs for them as I find them. I have also hatched out Turkey, Chicks, Pheasant, and Ducks this season and everything has been on the same feed with the same water. Only the guineas are having issues. But like I said above, I have started them on Sulmet incase of some type of contamination from the outside. I will try to boost their protein levels a bit.

As for fruits and vegies; I might give them 1/2 an apple once or twice a week if it is available, so they are not getting tons of extra.

 

[Trefoil]

If you can get it, try them on 28% medicated game bird starter. If you can't get the 28%, then supplement with crumbled boiled egg yolk, you won't need to feed grit with this but it spoils quickly so be careful. Try putting a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per 16 oz of water. Until you can stop the deaths, I wouldn't give them anything but the starter and I wouldn't use straw to bed them ( you have no control over what might be in the straw). For the first week, I keep the temperature under the heat lamp at 95º, lowering it 5º a week, until they feather out. Before giving anything other than starter, add grit to their choice of feed. For bedding my keets, I use puppy pads covered with the cheap rubber shelf liner. It gives good footing and the puppy pads keep it dry. But anything that gives good traction and that you know is clean will work. Don't use cedar bedding. Keets can't take a draft when young, so unless you are sure they aren't getting a draft, cover at least part of their brooder. Good luck with your keets, once you get the hang of it they are really very hardy.

 

[PeepsCA]

...
I have cleaned the coop again and started the keets on Sulmet incase this is some kind of disease.
...

Hmm ok, reading that statement it sounded to me like you had them out in the coop.

I understand that it's hard to find high protein starter feed in certain areas... so if you can't find any of the higher protein medicated starter and have to keep them on the the 18% un-medicated, then the medium sized meal worms are excellent for a protein boost (50+% protein). But if you feed them live worms be sure to pull or snip the heads off the worms so they cannot bore thru the keets' crops and cause bigger issues. Crushed up freeze dried are easier to deal with, but the keets seem to enjoy the live worms a lot more. They will of course need chick grit if you are giving them worms.

And actually there is more protein and nutrition in scrambled eggs rather than just feeding boiled egg yolks... I have seen Zazous post that she scrambles eggs, then while still warm puts them in a cup/bowl to cool and mold to the shape of the container, then flips it over onto a dish and sprinkles starter feed on it and lets her keets have at it. I've tried this several times as a treat and the keets go right to town on it.