Keet help

[Oneofakindcritter]

My mother guinea hens was killed over night there are 10 day old keet survivers.. I live in Wisconsin and it's the 29 the of September.. I put the lil one's in my basement over night with a light bulb for warmth..How do I prepare them for the winter or do I need to have 10 guinea in the house.. I also now have a single male outside in the chicken coop.. what do I need to do for him ?

 

[Eggcessive]

I only know about chickens, but I would think that you would keep and raise them in a brooder until they are fully feathered. Get a thermometer to put on the floor under the hottest spot, and start with a temperature of 85 degrees F for 10 day olds, making sure they have plenty of room to get to a cooler side of the brooder. Decrease the temp 5 degrees a week by raising the light. Do not put the chicks directly out with the male when they are fully feathered, but keep him penned in a crate with his own food and water. Otherwise he may kill them until they get close in size. Let the chicks hang out with him safely penned up. For their first few days outside in the coop, hang a heat lamp, low wattage, for them incase they get cold, but they will usually heddle together if they do.

 

[Arya28]

Yes, @Eggcessive is right. We recently got guinea keets, and we didn’t have an adult so we brooded then. Pretty much just like chickens. Just put them in a little tote or box/brooder of some sort, make sure they have a heat lamp (at temps mentioned above). You can put pine shavings or some kind of towel or something like that in with them. I DO NOT recommend paper towels, as ours are about half a roll overnight- they are a bit crazy! Lol. So sorry about your mama guinea.

 

[Oneofakindcritter]

I only know about chickens, but I would think that you would keep and raise them in a brooder until they are fully feathered. Get a thermometer to put on the floor under the hottest spot, and start with a temperature of 85 degrees F for 10 day olds, making sure they have plenty of room to get to a cooler side of the brooder. Decrease the temp 5 degrees a week by raising the light. Do not put the chicks directly out with the male when they are fully feathered, but keep him penned in a crate with his own food and water. Otherwise he may kill them until they get close in size. Let the chicks hang out with him safely penned up. For their first few days outside in the coop, hang a heat lamp, low wattage, for them incase they get cold, but they will usually heddle together if they do.

I have a divided Coop so that'll work thanks for all your..

 

[GlennLee]

So sorry to hear that you lost your mama guinea. It's a lot of hands-on raising the keets, but it's worth it in the end. When raising them by hand, I keep my keets under heat for 6 weeks and since it's late in the year, adding a heat source in the coop as mentioned above would be a good idea.

Don't be surprised if the male is aggressive toward them. Females can be as well. I've had some males that almost take on the role of mama and others go into "keep away the intruders" mode.

They can get pretty aggressive and sometimes it takes several rounds of introductions and a lot of time before they are accepted, depending on the personality of the male. If you have the means to provide hiding places in the coop, that will help. I use hay bales crisscrossed like Lincoln Logs to make little caves. The females like it for nesting and the keets like it for quick getaway spots.

Good luck!

 

[barn206]

So sorry to hear that you lost your mama guinea. It's a lot of hands-on raising the keets, but it's worth it in the end. When raising them by hand, I keep my keets under heat for 6 weeks and since it's late in the year, adding a heat source in the coop as mentioned above would be a good idea.

Don't be surprised if the male is aggressive toward them. Females can be as well. I've had some males that almost take on the role of mama and others go into "keep away the intruders" mode.

They can get pretty aggressive and sometimes it takes several rounds of introductions and a lot of time before they are accepted, depending on the personality of the male. If you have the means to provide hiding places in the coop, that will help. I use hay bales crisscrossed like Lincoln Logs to make little caves. The females like it for nesting and the keets like it for quick getaway spots.

View attachment 1149819

Good luck!

Glennlee you have a beautiful coop!

 

[GlennLee]

Oh thank you! It's amazing what white paint will do inside a structure. Sure does brighten things up. It's a pre-made Amish structure and we've been very happy with it. Didn't have the time to make it ourselves and it's a good size to hold a flock of guineas.

 

[Oneofakindcritter]

Oh thank you! It's amazing what white paint will do inside a structure. Sure does brighten things up. It's a pre-made Amish structure and we've been very happy with it. Didn't have the time to make it ourselves and it's a good size to hold a flock of guineas.

I agree that a really nice coop

 

[GlennLee]

Oh thanks! Once great thing about it is my husband was able to section off the end of it and I have my own entrance to get into the food and storage area. We figured this was the only one we were going to have so we wanted to make it big enough. Then I added chickens, so we have 2 more mini sheds! I really am a crazy bird lady!

And welcome to BackYard Chickens!