Keets and peachicks together

[zazouse]

Would it be ok to raise my keets and peachicks together?

I understand they should not be raised with chicks but would like them to range with the guineas when it's time to turn them out?

 

[Kedreeva]

I think I've seen others doing this. I imagine they are similar in what they want for care, just like turkeys, so it should be ok.

 

[lorad]

I've done this with peafowl and turkey poults- plan to have guinea eggs hatch 1 week ahead so you have active keets to stimulate the peachicks or poults. My oldest peachick is now 4 months, and I moved "his guineas" into the chicken coop away from him 2 days ago. He's doing his searching call even though he has 5 other peachicks of different hatches with him. And "his" guineas are making enough noise to drown out the roosters. I guess it's payback time for the neighbors coonhound baying all night. It seems like having more than 10 (maybe 5) guineas is way too loud once they all get going. I've got keets coming out of my ears this year- maybe I'll have to try cooked guineas rather than chicken!

 

[Kev]

The potential problem with keets is that they can become quite aggressive about pecking/biting. They become like mini bulldogs once they start doing that. This is usually the reason for keeping keets separate from any other kind.

Some people mix them with no problems, others have mixed results- some batches nothing happened but in another batch the keets might do something like tear up the eyelids, tear the top beak completely off a chick, peachick or poult..

It's similar to how some people report having no problems with adult guineas mixing with chickens or other poultry.. while others got rid of all guineas because they would not stop making life miserable for other birds. Kind of seems to go half and half in this case.

 

[lorad]

Probably the best chances for success is to have alot of space. My adult guineas share a large yard (probably 0.25 acre or more if they go over the fence) with my adult large fowl chickens. The male will flare his feathers first thing as everyone is piling out of the coop in the morning but otherwise they seem to "choose to ignore" the chickens. Chickens are not guineas in their minds- kind of like a chihuahua and a group of labradors. Attitude is everything. I haven't had any problems with the keets- even different sized keets together (1-4 weeks old)- one thing to gaurantee featherpicking and fighting with baby chickens. Good luck!

 

[allanimals21]

my one peachick is growing up with 12 RIR's. I don't trust keets with other chicks really. They are mean lil buggers. Last year I had a group of keets rip off the upper beak of a silky chick. He lived although he looks really weird but since then I won't put keets with any other chicsk unless the other chicks are of size to protect themselves.