Need some moral support...hope I have done the right thing

[seffy123]

I am pretty new to guineas, I have had 2 adults for the last several months. Not really sure how old they are. They are very wild and won't let us me near them. My husband and I kept them in the barn for several weeks but once we left them out, they would not return. One of them disappeared a while ago and we thought she was a goner. Now today she reappeared with 7 keets! The keets can't be much more than a few days old. Everything I have been reading is that guineas are not good mothers and babies usually don't make it if left with momma. Another concern is that where I live the temperature at night has started to get into the 40's-50's. So my husband got all the keets and the parents were going crazy! He got bit twice by mom. I feel horrible. I am wondering if we should have left them with her. Maybe she would have been a good mother? Or maybe we should have gotten them into the barn and closed it up so the keets would be safe? Has anyone had a guinea successfully raise her own keets? Right now we have them in a box in a spare room. We have raised chicks before so taking care of them isn't a problem...I am just wondering if we did the right thing.

 

[AlienChick]

One of my guinea moms came out of the forest with 12 babies following her.
I've noticed that guinea moms are not as attentive as hens and they just go about their business with all the babies struggling to follow.
I saw a couple at the end barely able to keep up with the rest (they were probably the youngest), so I scooped them up and put them underneath a broody hen that had just hatched a few chicks of her own. A few days later I was in the pasture with the sheep & LGD's (who were all asleep at the time) and I heard a baby guinea screaming. I followed the sound and saw one lone guinea in the middle of the pasture with mom and the other keets no where in sight. I scooped it up and put it in a brooder with some baby silkies I was raising. So I took three keets from that mom total. I watched the mom each day as she walked about with the 9 remaining keets hurrying to follow her. Then one day about a week later mom was walking around with no keets following her. To this day I have no idea what happened to the 9 babies. I kick myself for not rescuing the remaining 9 keets. The 3 that I did rescue are doing very well. The two were raised very well by my barred rock hen and one is still in a pen with the silkie chicks. They are all about 6 weeks old now.

Just today my husband was weeding my tomato garden and startled a guinea off her nest. We had no idea she was there. I took a bunch of eggs and shoved them under a couple of hens that are currently broody and the rest I left for momma guinea to hatch. When they hatch, you betcha I will grab those babies and save them!

 

[seffy123]

Thank you AlienChick! You have made me feel so much better! I was practically crying by the end of your post. I get so emotional over my animals sometimes. It helps to know that you have been there and can attest that taking the babies will provide the best outcome for them. Currently my new keets are snuggled comfortably in 95 degree heat under their lamp...and I don't have to worry about them in this crazy Ohio weather! Thanks again.

 

[seffy123]

One of my guinea moms came out of the forest with 12 babies following her.
I've noticed that guinea moms are not as attentive as hens and they just go about their business with all the babies struggling to follow.
I saw a couple at the end barely able to keep up with the rest (they were probably the youngest), so I scooped them up and put them underneath a broody hen that had just hatched a few chicks of her own. A few days later I was in the pasture with the sheep & LGD's (who were all asleep at the time) and I heard a baby guinea screaming. I followed the sound and saw one lone guinea in the middle of the pasture with mom and the other keets no where in sight. I scooped it up and put it in a brooder with some baby silkies I was raising. So I took three keets from that mom total. I watched the mom each day as she walked about with the 9 remaining keets hurrying to follow her. Then one day about a week later mom was walking around with no keets following her. To this day I have no idea what happened to the 9 babies. I kick myself for not rescuing the remaining 9 keets. The 3 that I did rescue are doing very well. The two were raised very well by my barred rock hen and one is still in a pen with the silkie chicks. They are all about 6 weeks old now.


Just today my husband was weeding my tomato garden and startled a guinea off her nest. We had no idea she was there. I took a bunch of eggs and shoved them under a couple of hens that are currently broody and the rest I left for momma guinea to hatch. When they hatch, you betcha I will grab those babies and save them!

Thank you AlienChick! You have made me feel so much better! I was practically crying by the end of your post. I get so emotional over my animals sometimes. It helps to know that you have been there and can attest that taking the babies will provide the best outcome for them. Currently my new keets are snuggled comfortably in 95 degree heat under their lamp...and I don't have to worry about them in this crazy Ohio weather! Thanks again.

 

[zazouse]

I have hundred of free range guineas and i can tell you from experience non of the babies left with the moms ever make it past a week.
Now i never loose birds here to anything because i keep dogs as protection and i can raise up a batch of guinea in a ground pen and turn them loose as soon as they start getting their spots and they grow up just fine and my hens can raise up a batch of chicks and never loose a one but guineas just cover to much ground for a baby to survive of it gets separated from mom.

Have fun with your babies, it would have been nice if you could have penned the mom up with the babies, would have made a faster transition when you let them out, but they will still join their mom, she may even stay by the pen if she can, i have had hens do that when i take their babies and i have even put hens in with their babies and alot of other babies too and they would sleep on the ground with all the babies, it is pretty neat to see.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I had two Guinea hens turn up with babies this year. One momma turned up with just one keet, we left the baby with her, and in less than 2-3 days the baby was gone. Then a couple weeks later, another momma turned up with 1 or 2 keets, we took both of those away from her. From now on, we'll be taking all the keets away from their parents, unless we have a secure place to lock them up, then momma can raise them.

~ Aspen

 

[PeepsCA]

I had a free-range Guinea Hen stay consistently broody for about 3 1/2 months straight this season... nesting in a semi-safe place (emphasis on "semi"). But knowing Guinea Hens' track records with raising keets (and having keet orders to fill!) I just could not put enough trust in her to hatch and run around with any keets. Sooooooo I used her as an incubator on 12-15 eggs at a time, lol (broody of any kind = free incubator!)... I'd shoo her off the nest and rotate eggs out weekly to the hatcher as they came due for lock-down, and put warm/partially incubated eggs back in the nest (which she'd promptly get right back on). It was just way too hot for her to wander around with new baby keets, but the temps were fine for her to sit on eggs for me (in the shade) until they were due to hatch! Needless to say she REALLY hates my guts now, lol

It really depends on the situation/set up as to whether or not a Guinea Hen can be a good Momma or not. Keets usually need a little help/protection/confinement for the first 2 weeks or so... they just can't keep up from day 1, and are too easily nabbed by any type of predator once they lag behind. (Momma Guineas typically pay no attention to the stragglers).

 

[loriw]

I had a free range hen bring home 20 keets, I noticed that she was going way to fast for them and it was about 95 outside and they just hatched. I caughts all of them and 2 hours later finally got her into the shed with them and her boyfriend. I locked them up overnight but with the next day being in the mid 90's again I opened the door thinking she would stay, nope she took them back to the nest in the field so I caught 19 of them and left her one. The next day he was gone and the following day they were. I have 18 locked up and they are growing good with out her, I did loose one smaller one but the rest are going crazy. So taking them is a good thing, they just don't seem to be as good as a parent as my chickens so you are doing the right thing by taking them. These I have I will try and train to come in every night as I do have only one grown male out of 9 total that has learned from the others mistakes of not coming home to be locked up at night. He is in the coop before the sun starts to set and doesnt come out till it is light out. He is the only smart guinea we have had. good luck to you and yours

 

[schrunk11]

I had a guinea hen come out of the woods with 20 keets. I was able to net her, put her in a flight pen where I've got my White Call Ducks and somemore guineas. I caught what keets I could, the other newly hatched keets could go through the wire to their mom. She took care of them, if any got back out through the wire, I'd try to caught them and put them with the rest in the brooder. I finally ended up leaving her 3 little ones. The other guineas helped her watch over them. Besides the hen walking off and leaving the keets those first few days after hatching, the wet dew gets them cold and that makes them even slower, then chilled, then they die.