How To Keep Keets Clean?

[newb1rdmom]

You can do inbetween clean ups w/a tissue. I forget how old yours are. At some point, I felt they were able to maintain body temp well enough that I brought a small kiddie pool in their room and let them eat in that while I cleaned out brooder. They loved it, and it cut down on mess in brooder. If you want you read my 1st yr here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wk-3.1328223/
I'm the 1st to admit I make mistakes, but the team here got me on the right track.

mine are only about a week to a week and a half old but i will check out your thread as it may be useful!

 

[newb1rdmom]

Put food in your hand. Lay your hand on the bedding with you arm as low as possible. Be patient and let them come to you. Don't move and don't try to catch them. If you are patient enough, they will come and eat from your hand. Some of them may even crawl up into your hand.

Once mine are a week old, I tend to cut short pieces of grass and drop it into the brooder. They quickly learn that it is a treat and come running as soon as the first pieces of grass hit the bedding.

I will try that and see if it helps any! The younger ones ( week to week and half old ) are a little less afraid since I’ve had them since they were hatched basically but the older ones (i’m not sure their age — they’re starting to get feathers all over) have been terrified since i got them.

i have the top of their box covered w chicken wire because they’ve been trying to fly a bit and i’m worried they might make it out the box somehow. They have a little cubby box to let them hide from me when they want lol and one likes to climb on top and im nervous it will flop out if given the chance so i try to limit my interactions with them because i dont want them to escape and run off somewhere i can’t get to them

 

[yakitori]

I started off with just guineas, they were so scared of me. So I went out and got a bunch of chicks too. When the guineas saw that the chooks weren't afraid to approach my hand they got a lot braver. It took them about a week to get used to my hands, I made sure that every time my hand went in there, I had some white millet (make sure to provide them some grit too if you feed them treats), now they jump on my arms to get to the treats.

I changed my brooder once a day. My friend has a lot of grass clippings from his huge lawn, so I had an endless supply of dry grass bedding. I did read that chicks could die from digestive issues from ingesting the grass, so I provided them with chick grit and haven't had an issue with that. a good thick layer of grass bedding kept things much more sanitary...

To have the guineas associate positively with handling, I always put treats in the holding bin I was moving them to when changing out the brooder. It wasn't long before they stopped struggling when I cupped them in both hands, where before they would struggle and kick (they have such strong legs!) they now simply relax and allow themselves to be transported. Also some treats in the brooder when I moved them back (when I could be bothered) helped strengthen that positive association.

They're older now, and it hurts to have them jump on my arms, so I don't let them do it anymore. If they see my hand coming, they would still avoid it nonchalantly, but occasionally I can get a pet or a tail tug in when they are distracted since they're not on guard when I'm around.

Also I just want to note that I never chase down my guineas. These days I bring them outside in an enclosure during the day, and occasionally allow them to free range when I have time to sit out there and watch them. I bribe them back with a treat or wait for them to return enclosure when they are hungry. They stick to each other like magnets, so once I have most of them in there, the rest will follow.

 

[newb1rdmom]

I started off with just guineas, they were so scared of me. So I went out and got a bunch of chicks too. When the guineas saw that the chooks weren't afraid to approach my hand they got a lot braver. It took them about a week to get used to my hands, I made sure that every time my hand went in there, I had some white millet (make sure to provide them some grit too if you feed them treats), now they jump on my arms to get to the treats.

I changed my brooder once a day. My friend has a lot of grass clippings from his huge lawn, so I had an endless supply of dry grass bedding. I did read that chicks could die from digestive issues from ingesting the grass, so I provided them with chick grit and haven't had an issue with that. a good thick layer of grass bedding kept things much more sanitary...

To have the guineas associate positively with handling, I always put treats in the holding bin I was moving them to when changing out the brooder. It wasn't long before they stopped struggling when I cupped them in both hands, where before they would struggle and kick (they have such strong legs!) they now simply relax and allow themselves to be transported. Also some treats in the brooder when I moved them back (when I could be bothered) helped strengthen that positive association.

They're older now, and it hurts to have them jump on my arms, so I don't let them do it anymore. If they see my hand coming, they would still avoid it nonchalantly, but occasionally I can get a pet or a tail tug in when they are distracted since they're not on guard when I'm around.

Also I just want to note that I never chase down my guineas. These days I bring them outside in an enclosure during the day, and occasionally allow them to free range when I have time to sit out there and watch them. I bribe them back with a treat or wait for them to return enclosure when they are hungry. They stick to each other like magnets, so once I have most of them in there, the rest will follow.

My younger keets are a bit warmer to my hands being inside the box but the older ones are the ones I'm most concerned about. They were store bought so I'm not sure how old they are and I don't know if they're too old to work on building a trust with them or not. I try and be as gentle when I put my hands in their box but it doesn't seem to matter much. The second they even see me open the door to the room they all run into the corner to get away from me and whenever I step near the end they're on (because the smaller ones are in a box next to theirs) they run to the other end. They just seem to want nothing to do with me.

Generally if we were going to keep them in a pen like our chickens I wouldn't worry so much but our adult guineas are free range so I'm nervous that if I don't get a decent trust/bond with these keets whenever we turn them loose to free range with the adults -- when they're of age ofc -- that they may run off and not come back. Hopefully, knowing home is where the food is they won't run off but I'm just worried if they stay scared of me that they will eventually run off somewhere else and then it will have been for nothing.

 

[yakitori]

My younger keets are a bit warmer to my hands being inside the box but the older ones are the ones I'm most concerned about. They were store bought so I'm not sure how old they are and I don't know if they're too old to work on building a trust with them or not. I try and be as gentle when I put my hands in their box but it doesn't seem to matter much. The second they even see me open the door to the room they all run into the corner to get away from me and whenever I step near the end they're on (because the smaller ones are in a box next to theirs) they run to the other end. They just seem to want nothing to do with me.

Generally if we were going to keep them in a pen like our chickens I wouldn't worry so much but our adult guineas are free range so I'm nervous that if I don't get a decent trust/bond with these keets whenever we turn them loose to free range with the adults -- when they're of age ofc -- that they may run off and not come back. Hopefully, knowing home is where the food is they won't run off but I'm just worried if they stay scared of me that they will eventually run off somewhere else and then it will have been for nothing.

oooh you have chickens! do you have chicks? throwing them together is a big confidence booster for the guineas. it only works if they're similar in size though...eitherway, I'm sure they'll mimic the older guineas when they grow up, so I wouldn't be too worried!

 

[R2elk]

oooh you have chickens! do you have chicks? throwing them together is a big confidence booster for the guineas. it only works if they're similar in size though...eitherway, I'm sure they'll mimic the older guineas when they grow up, so I wouldn't be too worried!

I do not recommend brooding chicks and keets together due to the issues that imprinting causes later on. It is best to let the keets grow up as guineas.

 

[yakitori]

I do not recommend brooding chicks and keets together due to the issues that imprinting causes later on. It is best to let the keets grow up as guineas.

Oh! good to know! What kind of issue would they have? I think I’ll need to readjust what I’m doing...

 

[R2elk]

Oh! good to know! What kind of issue would they have? I think I’ll need to readjust what I’m doing...

When they become adults, the imprinting has removed their ability to understand that chickens aren't guineas. The problem usually appears during the first breeding season when the guineas go nuts with their races and chases including the attacks from behind with the feather pulling and feather breaking. Other poultry do not understand this behavior and can become very stressed. Other poultry do not know how to show submissiveness to the attacking guineas which makes the situation worse.

 

[newb1rdmom]

oooh you have chickens! do you have chicks? throwing them together is a big confidence booster for the guineas. it only works if they're similar in size though...eitherway, I'm sure they'll mimic the older guineas when they grow up, so I wouldn't be too worried!

sadly we dont the chickens aren’t really laying on their eggs at all and my grandparents aren’t interested in getting chicks until next year. otherwise i would be more than happy to get some chicks to put with them.

 

[newb1rdmom]

When they become adults, the imprinting has removed their ability to understand that chickens aren't guineas. The problem usually appears during the first breeding season when the guineas go nuts with their races and chases including the attacks from behind with the feather pulling and feather breaking. Other poultry do not understand this behavior and can become very stressed. Other poultry do not know how to show submissiveness to the attacking guineas which makes the situation worse.

oh wow i didn’t know that! i’ll keep a note of that as well for future reference if i happen to get more chicks and keets. if i were to raise them together would you suggest separating them before the breeding season? currently all our adult guineas are free range and only our chickens are kept in a coop/fenced area so once the keets were old enough they would be separated anyways but would breeding season come before they’re old enough to be released to the rest of the flock?