I didn't know there were so many colors-WHAT DO I HAVE?? (pics)

[mick&cori]

Quote:
Oooooooooooo..... aaaahhhhhhhh...... I'm gonna get me one.
Thanks.

 

[southern oaks]

You are very welcome. You don't need an expensive one. and some will try to sell you a high price one. Mine were both 50.00 and I did invest in a solar battery and small panel. We have used it for a while now. the only problem I can see is the pellets are not real heavy. So you have to fill it to the top to make sure it keeps flowing and doesn't funnel on the inside, which results in no feed going out. I can now feel safe going out of town for a bit and everyone being fed. I would have someone who would just check it everyother day to make sure all is ok. hope that helps.

 

[PeepsCA]

Glad my pic helped you ID your keets Cori. It is possible you may have a Lite Lavender and a Porcelain (instead of a Lavender and Lite Lavender) if the lightest one is really light, so hopefully you can get some good pics eventually. You could try catching them and putting them in a cage for the photo op (mine were in a 5 gallon bucket for that pic, lol). It always takes a few minutes for mine to settle down enough for pics. I move slow and talk to them and they do eventually relax enough to hold still, but never for very long, lol... I usually have to take 10 pics to get a couple good ones that aren't blurred

And no way am I keeping my 600 keets

I sell almost ALL of my keets, and just keep some specific colors to add to my breeding flocks. I have quite a few pulled aside and in a separate grow-out pen that are my "keepers" right now, but no way would I or could I keep 600, lol. I'm hoping to only end up with around 75 adults total by the end of the year after I weed out all the extra males that I don't need and not the so pretty Hens from my keeper flock (between all my coops/pens that is about all I have room for when they need to be locked up due to storms or predator scares). Pullets and cockerels sell pretty good around here too, a lot of people don't want to deal with brooders and heat lamps etc. I'll also sell a few of the birds that are in my breeding flocks too, lots of people are always looking for breeding pairs or small breeding flocks of 3-5 birds.

Your skittish keets are normal, my keets all freak when I am feeding and watering them too, and when I'm changing brooder bedding they react/scream like they are extras in a cheezy Godzilla movie, lol, it's just their nature. The older they get the less skittish they get, (and the more food focused they get), but normally Guineas are just wild by nature. I can get my adults to eat from my hand, but I have spent hours in their pens with them feeding treats from 6-8 weeks old on. I sit on a bucket and they will come crowding around to get some sweetfeed or wildbird seed mix from the feed scoop and my hand, but if I reach out to touch or pet them, forget it. I can call my birds when they are out free ranging and they will come running/flying to me because they know they are going to get something yummie to eat, but no way can I reach down and pick one up. And mine do come close to me and follow me around, but only because they think they are going to get treats, lol. I do have one low bird in the pecking order that will get on my arm or jump in the feed bucket I am holding so he can eat and not get picked on, and I do get away with petting him and sometimes holding him while he eats, but that's the only time I can touch him

Realistically, the best you can hope for is for your birds to consider you as the FOOD GODDESS and come running to you when ever you call them or shake the feed scoop, (it pays off in the long run if you always make the same call to them over and over every time you feed them or give them treats). There are a few exceptions to the rule and some people do have tame Guineas, but it takes a lot of time and work (or in some cases there is some underlying health, genetic or neurological issue with the bird or birds making them calm or docile). Also some with tame Guineas have lots of tame/calm chickens and the Guineas learn from watching the chickens that jumping up in a lap for treats isn't such a bad thing. I personally prefer that my birds are not tame or trusting of anything/anyone, and for them to be alert and on the defensive so they are a little more predator wary.

 

[southern oaks]

don't let Peeps fool ya. I already know how many of this years she was keeping before any more hatch

but if you get hooked and you start to incubate and incubate and incubate. she is a great one to blame....

actually she have given me so much advice and help I would have been lost. By the way Peeps, the next group have hatched ( so far all pied and pearl grey) buttttttttttttt

i just made room for more

 

[mick&cori]

That seems like a good expectation. I don't want them to like anyone other than our family, but mostly just me. I mean they were MY birthday present. They are MY babies. I just don't want them to fly away from home or not want to go in because of that "scary lady". I decided to raise some turkeys and chickens with the guineas because the turks love me, and the chicks want to jump all over me to see what "snacks" I have. I was hoping the guineas would follow suit. As long as they follow the others back inside every night, I don't mind if they don't want me to hold them.

Thanks Peeps.

So, do you ship the keets, or is there that much of a demand in your area? I mean, you help along the way, with so much advice and understanding. If I lived there, I would buy from you too.

 

[PeepsCA]

I've only shipped one batch of keets, and that was to perchie.girl down in So Cal, my flock is not NPIP certified yet so I can't legally ship birds or eggs out of CA. I'm not real fond of stickin' my babies in a box and hoping they all make it thru the shipping ordeal tho, it stressed me out bigtime, lol. But yes there is high demand for Guineas in my area, and my advertising covers a really broad area (I've had some customers drive 4 hours 1 way to buy keets from me, lol). I don't plan on hatching this many next year tho, I was just on a mission to hatch certain colors for myself and sell enough to re-coop all my costs for all that I've invested in pens/coops, brooders and incubators etc. Mission accomplished

But I am still currently hatching, lol.

 

[mick&cori]

Hehe. I drove 2 hours to get my keets. I would like to expand my flock eventually. Probably no more than 10ish max. I wonder what the demand is in my area. I know I couldn't find them when I started looking.

When mine start laying and I figure who's male and who's female, how can I figure what colors I have the chance of hatching. I know I have quite a good color scale, but how do I find that cinnamon pied + lavender equals ?? Maybe I could even work with our local rural king or Tsco or something?

 

[PeepsCA]

Craigslists and flyers posted at all the local feed stores have been my best advertising outlets, I've also ran an ad on our local swap-shop website and their live radio show. There are also auctions, but I've never tried that yet. It would not hurt to ask around at a few feed and farm stores that sell chickens, ducks, rabbits etc to see if they'd be interested in selling some keets that you hatch. You might not get as much for them as you would selling them outright on your own tho. I'm just guessing in this, I have not gone that route, so it's hard to say.

As far as what colors will hatch from your flock, it all depends on what color and pearling is dominant in the breeding pair and who is carrying what hidden recessive genes. With your mix of colors it's safe to bet that just about anything pearled, partially pearled, pied and even white can show up, lol.

 

[mick&cori]

Quote:
Ahhhhh.... so I need to get a few more colors and start hatching when they start laying. :-D I mean I already have a scapegoat. Hehe. I just don't know if I could convince my DH that "Peeps told me to. She said everyone else is doing it and one time wouldn't hurt."

Haha!

 

[southern oaks]