injured keet

[dwlacy]

not sure if this is the right place to post this, please let me know if not & i will repost it in the correct place.

new to guineas. i have two that are about a month old & six that are about two weeks old all together in my old chicken coop. one of the two week olds is limping & not putting weight on one foot. i have looked it over real good & have not noticed any wounds on it. any suggestions would be helpful. thanks

 

[R2elk]

not sure if this is the right place to post this, please let me know if not & i will repost it in the correct place.

new to guineas. i have two that are about a month old & six that are about two weeks old all together in my old chicken coop. one of the two week olds is limping & not putting weight on one foot. i have looked it over real good & have not noticed any wounds on it. any suggestions would be helpful. thanks

Pictures will probably help. Guineas have fragile legs. If they are not getting enough niacin and thiamine they can be prone to perosis (slipped tendon).

 

[dwlacy]

that's a possibility. i am currently feeding them non medicated chick starter feed 24% protein, not sure how much niacin or thiamine it contains. i read in another post that it is recommended i feed them gamebird feed as it contains higher amounts of niacin, thiamine and another mineral that guineas need. i will switch to it as soon as i can.

i have posted pics of the keets feet. it's the left foot/leg that is injured. on closer examination the long center toe on that foot looks swollen & has a black band on it near the toe.

what can be done for a keet with perosis? will it heal on its own?

 

[R2elk]

that's a possibility. i am currently feeding them non medicated chick starter feed 24% protein, not sure how much niacin or thiamine it contains. i read in another post that it is recommended i feed them gamebird feed as it contains higher amounts of niacin, thiamine and another mineral that guineas need. i will switch to it as soon as i can.

i have posted pics of the keets feet. it's the left foot/leg that is injured. on closer examination the long center toe on that foot looks swollen & has a black band on it near the toe.

what can be done for a keet with perosis? will it heal on its own?

It doesn't look like perosis. It looks like it has swelling just above the left foot. I am only guessing here but suspect that it got its foot caught in something. The other possibility would be gout but you would have had to be feeding it a lot of mealworms to cause gout.

One way you can increase the thiamine and niacin content they are getting is to dissolve one half tablet or capsule of vitamin B complex in one gallon of water. Do not mix anything else in the water. Make it their only source of water. It should be made fresh daily.

The protein in 24% protein chick starter is fine but it does not have the needed amounts of lysine, methionine or niacin. Even though an all flock feed at 20% protein is lower in protein it is better for them because it does have higher levels of lysine, methionine and niacin.

 

[dwlacy]

ok, just watch it & start giving them them some vitamin b complex in their water & see how things go.

i appreciate the help....tanks again

 

[dwlacy]

update on the injured keet....it ankle appears to be getting better....she is putting more weight on it when she walks & is standing on both legs instead of just the uninjured one

 

[dwlacy]

since you seem quite knowledgeable on guineas, and have been very helpful, I have another guestion if you wouldn't mind. can I trim their wings to keep them from flying too high? I want them to be able to fly just high enough to get out of reach of my dogs if need be, but I don't want to find them 20 plus feet in a tree, where I found them earlier today. I was able to get two of them out and in their pen and they called the rest of the flock down to them, thank goodness. thanks again for the help.

 

[R2elk]

since you seem quite knowledgeable on guineas, and have been very helpful, I have another guestion if you wouldn't mind. can I trim their wings to keep them from flying too high? I want them to be able to fly just high enough to get out of reach of my dogs if need be, but I don't want to find them 20 plus feet in a tree, where I found them earlier today. I was able to get two of them out and in their pen and they called the rest of the flock down to them, thank goodness. thanks again for the help.

Personally, I don't trim their wings. You can trim their wings but I only recommend trimming one wing for maximum effect.

I keep a 20' long stick around for chasing guineas out of trees. I have not needed to use it in years. Guineas can learn. In my experience the most effective method of training is to make them uncomfortable when they are doing something that you don't want them to do. My first attempts at getting my guineas out of the trees was pretty much a circus. Because I was persistent and did not let the guineas win, it only took a few times to convince them that they did not belong in the trees.

The worst was their first snow. They flew out of the coop straight into the trees. Any attempt at getting them out of a tree ended up with them flying to a different tree. I had to sprinkle some hay on the snow to make a landing pad for them before they would come out of the trees. They absolutely were not going to let that white stuff touch their feet. They have experienced snow every winter here and have gotten over their fear of the white stuff.

Good luck with whatever method you use.

 

[dwlacy]

good advice, I'll just keep my 20' pole handy to keep discouraging them from getting in trees. I wasn't to keen on trimming their wings.....thanks

 

[dwlacy]

good advice, I'll just keep my 20' pole handy to keep discouraging them from getting in trees. I wasn't to keen on trimming their wings.....thanks