Injured guinea keet?

[sarahbeth006]

Hi all,

We hatched out two guinea keets this fall. They are about 3 weeks old, kept in a plastic tote in the house with a heat lamp. One had wry neck but as soon as it started eating sunflower seeds, it perked right up. This week we put a window screen over the top so they wouldn't jump out. A few days ago, I noticed one of them was hopping on one leg with its other foot turned in a bit. It's almost like it can't straighten out its foot. I took it out and checked all the joints and toes and nothing seems wrong at all.

Anything that anyone can think of that might cause this? I know they are resilient so I'm not too worried but if there's something I can do to help it I will.

 

[R2elk]

Hi all,

We hatched out two guinea keets this fall. They are about 3 weeks old, kept in a plastic tote in the house with a heat lamp. One had wry neck but as soon as it started eating sunflower seeds, it perked right up. This week we put a window screen over the top so they wouldn't jump out. A few days ago, I noticed one of them was hopping on one leg with its other foot turned in a bit. It's almost like it can't straighten out its foot. I took it out and checked all the joints and toes and nothing seems wrong at all.

Anything that anyone can think of that might cause this? I know they are resilient so I'm not too worried but if there's something I can do to help it I will.

It sounds like a slipped tendon aka perosis. The tendon can slip out of the hock joint and needs to be worked back into place.

It is normally caused by improper nutrition, an insufficient amount of niacin and thiamine in the diet. Be careful about the amount of sunflower seeds that you feed. While they are a good source of methionine, they are a low protein and high fat food.

Do a search for perosis or slipped tendon in the Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures forum.

 

[sarahbeth006]

It sounds like a slipped tendon aka perosis. The tendon can slip out of the hock joint and needs to be worked back into place.

It is normally caused by improper nutrition, an insufficient amount of niacin and thiamine in the diet. Be careful about the amount of sunflower seeds that you feed. While they are a good source of methionine, they are a low protein and high fat food.

Do a search for perosis or slipped tendon in the Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures forum.

Thanks for the tip. I will check the keet closer in the morning, but the leg is not straight out, and it can push against me with some pressure when I hold it. I don't know if that rules out perosis or not. We only supplemented with sunflower seeds the first couple of days to straighten out the wry neck. Otherwise they've been on the Dumor 24% protein chick starter kit. I'll pull the bags and check the nutrient levels too. That's all we ever feed because we have a mixed flock.

Could it just be an injury from jumping up and down? We've never had any issues with our guineas before. I guess I've just been taking their hardiness for granted.

 

[R2elk]

Thanks for the tip. I will check the keet closer in the morning, but the leg is not straight out, and it can push against me with some pressure when I hold it. I don't know if that rules out perosis or not. We only supplemented with sunflower seeds the first couple of days to straighten out the wry neck. Otherwise they've been on the Dumor 24% protein chick starter kit. I'll pull the bags and check the nutrient levels too. That's all we ever feed because we have a mixed flock.

Could it just be an injury from jumping up and down? We've never had any issues with our guineas before. I guess I've just been taking their hardiness for granted.

Guineas have very fragile legs. Your description really sounds like a slipped tendon. A slipped tendon does not necessarily cause the leg to point straight out.

I have had a keet with a slipped tendon even though it was fed a 28% protein turkey and gamebird starter. At the time I was not aware of the relationship of thiamine and niacin to perosis.