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- #11
Gill-b
Songster
The keet is now four weeks and two days old (30 total days), and yesterday evening I finally realised a valuable lesson which I would like to impart to any other inexperienced person who finds themselves with a single rescued Guinea Fowl chick (keet) - especially a non-birding South African, living in a residential area, with a wild, undomesticated keet that was found in your garden or neighbourhood.
I have rescued, hand reared and successfully rehabilitated a variety of wild 'garden' bird species, including Fiscal Shrike (aka Butcher bird) [*], woodpecker, Wagtail, Egyptian goose, as well as numerous doves and pigeons, so I thought that I would be quite capable to rear and rewild a seemingly easy, since it feeds itself, bird to care for. I was wrong.
Unfortunately I made some regrettable decisions due to my lack of knowledge and understanding of the Guinea Fowl; and my advice is: do not take on a keet yourself unless you are fully aware of what you will be dealing with.
[*as I type this there is a Fiscal Shrike taking a dip in the birdbath I have outside the window by my desk. The keet is next to me on the windowsill enjoying the sunlight …and I just spotted three mousebirds sitting on my garden wall.]
My first mistake was in not trying to return the keet to its bird family as soon as it had the ability to walk. I made this decision with my heart, fearing that my rescue efforts would have been for nothing if, as with many of its siblings, it fell victim to prey after I returned it.
My second mistake was not finding a home for it on a farm, with a foster mother in the form of a farm hen.
Both these first two mistakes led to the keet completing its total imprinting on me (and on the other humans around me) in the days that followed the first time it was able to walk.
My third mistake was in thinking that, like with all my other rescued chicks, the imprinting would not be an issue, as once it matures it will find its way back into its natural way of life when it goes off looking for a mate. What I failed to consider was the effect the imprinting could possibly have on the people in my neighbourhood.
Owing to some quality advise given to me on this website (thank you, R2elk), I am now fully conscious that Guinea Fowl which have NOT imprinted on humans are likely only to attack that which they perceive to be a threat to their nest and/or brood. This is evident here, where people can do gardening, walk their dogs, do activities in public spaces, enjoy playgrounds and generally go about their business alongside wild Guinea Fowl families without the threat of being attacked by one of them, unless the fowls are provoked. However, Guinea Fowls that HAVE imprinted on humans are unable to understand that people are not of their kind and therefore may treat humans the same way (territorially and in pecking order) as they would any other Guinea Fowl.
This is probably true of most, if not all, bird species, but due to a Guinea Fowl's size, temperament and total lack of fear for anything, this can cause problems …perhaps even very serious ones.
I read a disturbing report on this website of a hand reared Guinea Fowl attacking people, including the person that reared it, and also that person's children, over a period of time. The attacks were ferocious enough to cause injury that required skilled medical attention. And I am sure this is not an isolated story.
Which brings me to the episode that occurred yesterday evening prompting me to write this post. My just 29 days old keet chased and attacked my Turtle dove (which I rescued two years ago when I found it with a severe abscess and a broken wing). The Turtle dove is more than twice the keet's size and I had to virtually forcefully grab the keet away to stop the attack. If this is what this keet is like at this size and age, what is going to happen when its adult hormones kick in? Will it also attack humans that it thinks are 'Guinea Fowls' intruding on its territory?
[The Turtle dove is okay - just a little feather-ruffled which a good preening fixed right up. I shall not be putting the keet in the bird loft again.]
Now I am sitting here with this keet on my shoulder, all adorable and chirping sweetly to me, but it is a potential harmful attack waiting to happen. I am going to follow what I think is wise advice that was given to me, which is to try releasing it into a flock that is far away from any residential area and hope that the flock accepts it. It is not an ideal situation, but it is the best option I have so far that is moving towards a positive outcome.
In closing, to those who are thinking of taking on a Guinea Fowl keet for the first time, I underestimated how busy a keet is, how stubborn it can be, how painful a peck is when it is determined to remove a freckle from my skin, and how committed it is to running around with bits of toilet paper no matter how much I chase after it to get the paper out of its beak before it has a chance to swallow it.
I have rescued, hand reared and successfully rehabilitated a variety of wild 'garden' bird species, including Fiscal Shrike (aka Butcher bird) [*], woodpecker, Wagtail, Egyptian goose, as well as numerous doves and pigeons, so I thought that I would be quite capable to rear and rewild a seemingly easy, since it feeds itself, bird to care for. I was wrong.
Unfortunately I made some regrettable decisions due to my lack of knowledge and understanding of the Guinea Fowl; and my advice is: do not take on a keet yourself unless you are fully aware of what you will be dealing with.
[*as I type this there is a Fiscal Shrike taking a dip in the birdbath I have outside the window by my desk. The keet is next to me on the windowsill enjoying the sunlight …and I just spotted three mousebirds sitting on my garden wall.]
My first mistake was in not trying to return the keet to its bird family as soon as it had the ability to walk. I made this decision with my heart, fearing that my rescue efforts would have been for nothing if, as with many of its siblings, it fell victim to prey after I returned it.
My second mistake was not finding a home for it on a farm, with a foster mother in the form of a farm hen.
Both these first two mistakes led to the keet completing its total imprinting on me (and on the other humans around me) in the days that followed the first time it was able to walk.
My third mistake was in thinking that, like with all my other rescued chicks, the imprinting would not be an issue, as once it matures it will find its way back into its natural way of life when it goes off looking for a mate. What I failed to consider was the effect the imprinting could possibly have on the people in my neighbourhood.
Owing to some quality advise given to me on this website (thank you, R2elk), I am now fully conscious that Guinea Fowl which have NOT imprinted on humans are likely only to attack that which they perceive to be a threat to their nest and/or brood. This is evident here, where people can do gardening, walk their dogs, do activities in public spaces, enjoy playgrounds and generally go about their business alongside wild Guinea Fowl families without the threat of being attacked by one of them, unless the fowls are provoked. However, Guinea Fowls that HAVE imprinted on humans are unable to understand that people are not of their kind and therefore may treat humans the same way (territorially and in pecking order) as they would any other Guinea Fowl.
This is probably true of most, if not all, bird species, but due to a Guinea Fowl's size, temperament and total lack of fear for anything, this can cause problems …perhaps even very serious ones.
I read a disturbing report on this website of a hand reared Guinea Fowl attacking people, including the person that reared it, and also that person's children, over a period of time. The attacks were ferocious enough to cause injury that required skilled medical attention. And I am sure this is not an isolated story.
Which brings me to the episode that occurred yesterday evening prompting me to write this post. My just 29 days old keet chased and attacked my Turtle dove (which I rescued two years ago when I found it with a severe abscess and a broken wing). The Turtle dove is more than twice the keet's size and I had to virtually forcefully grab the keet away to stop the attack. If this is what this keet is like at this size and age, what is going to happen when its adult hormones kick in? Will it also attack humans that it thinks are 'Guinea Fowls' intruding on its territory?
[The Turtle dove is okay - just a little feather-ruffled which a good preening fixed right up. I shall not be putting the keet in the bird loft again.]
Now I am sitting here with this keet on my shoulder, all adorable and chirping sweetly to me, but it is a potential harmful attack waiting to happen. I am going to follow what I think is wise advice that was given to me, which is to try releasing it into a flock that is far away from any residential area and hope that the flock accepts it. It is not an ideal situation, but it is the best option I have so far that is moving towards a positive outcome.
In closing, to those who are thinking of taking on a Guinea Fowl keet for the first time, I underestimated how busy a keet is, how stubborn it can be, how painful a peck is when it is determined to remove a freckle from my skin, and how committed it is to running around with bits of toilet paper no matter how much I chase after it to get the paper out of its beak before it has a chance to swallow it.
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