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Medicated vs Non-Medicated Feed

I'm finding guineas are both really awesome and a pain in the neck. laughing.gif I do like their hardiness. One of my favorite things about them. My males are by far the worst, but they're is one or two bad females who are bad for scaring and picking on the hens. They're two so it doesn't so much get any better with age, at least mine don't. I have a female who is the sweetest hen, she doesn't bother anything.

Guineas are fine until they get excited. Then they literally lose their brain. Much like Speckedhen's post...lol. I've had one hen, found dead under the roosts last year. It appeared she burst up, hit the roost and lay dead with her neck at a particularly strange angle. I went to catch a guinea in the coop in the dark the other night and the blasted thing got away from me. Well, then she was spooked and she kept bursting upwards imagining something had touched her legs. I had to turn the light on. My initial theory last year sounds about right...lol. That's all I've lost with the guineas.

We can herd ours, even crate them but they always go inside at night with no assitance. All ours have been raised from keets. Never seen them fly in a tree but they have flown on the roof the rare time. I do have two hens raised with the guinea keets who hang with those same guineas. The one hen has developed the same demeanor of picking on other birds.

I lost a white keet at the same time as the coccidiosis. Only keet I've lost so far. I should note my guineas are kept in the same coop as the chickens.

*Just to make note again: Guineas can't be fed Monensin. It's toxic to them.
 
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I think it's even more than that, as in chickens get chicken coccidiosis, turkeys get turkey coccidiosis, ducks get duck coccidiosis, geese get goose coccidiosis, peafowl get peafowl coccidiosis, etc.

Yup. what Casportpony said.
LofMc

Yes, even further subdivided, I agree, though I have only chickens and used to have guineas. The guineas never got cocci, though, interestingly enough.
I just wanted to clarify this...it's what I understood. It's good for everyone new to read and understand.

Question: Then if a person lived in a very remote place where no others venture and there's never been chickens. Would coccidi be a concern?
 
I just wanted to clarify this...it's what I understood. It's good for everyone new to read and understand.

Question: Then if a person lived in a very remote place where no others venture and there's never been chickens. Would coccidi be a concern?
Yes, to my understanding. The protozoa are natural to the soil but opportunistic in the appropriate gut host. They are parasitic in the usual sense, but they are prevalent in the soil.
I know chicken owners who have had trouble from day one on fresh grounds, however obviously keeping chickens that host it will build up that type even more in the soil in those areas that are susceptible.
 
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Yes, to my understanding. The protozoa are natural to the soil but opportunistic in the appropriate gut host. They are parasitic in the usual sense, but they are prevalent in the soil.
I know chicken owners who have had trouble from day one on fresh grounds, however obviously keeping chickens that host it will build up that type even more in the soil in those areas that are susceptible.
Ahh...ok. I was curious. Thank you. I didn't know the answer and hopefully if anyone was wondering...this answers it for them as well. :thumbsup
 
Yes, it will! Simple is good! I think folks make managing chickens harder than it has to be, generally. Simplifying everything means you will not be so stressed out over it in the long run, I think.

ETA: I have no issue with folks who just feel they must use medicated feed, but honestly, it is just unnecessary. And since I quit using it, I actually see less cocci than when I did use it.
:love
I just love everything about this post!
:thumbsup
 

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