New Guinee Keets, first time owner!

[lilchik]

I picked up my new guinea keets last evening! They are 2 day olds and 1 week olds, pieds and pearls. The colors all look the same to me right now. I put them in with 5 RIR chicks that are about 2 weeks old. I read that if raised with chicks they are not as flighty. I am looking forward to watching them grow and change. I plan to keep them penned up for 8 weeks before allowing them out of the coop, to hopefully imprint their home. Everyone is getting along well so far. I know not to handle the keets, as the other keets may feel one is a favorite and bully or kill it.

This is a 1 week old. What color do you think it is?

These are the 1-2 day olds. They all look pretty much the same to me, can't really see any color variation. Any idea on colors?

 

[StevenW.]

Congrats!!
My Pieds have a whole white face and the Pearls may have some white but they have mostly brown.

I know not to handle the keets, as the other keets may feel one is a favorite and bully or kill it.

Never heard that before....​

 

[PeepsCA]

That 1wk old is a Pied Pearl Grey keet... see his little white flight feathers, the white on the sides of his face and how narrow his head colors/markings are? Those are all typical Pied Pearl Grey keet markings. They develop white chest feathers as they go thru their feather growth.

Regular Pearl Greys just have a little bit of cream color on the sides of their faces (cream colored throat, chest and belly/underside too) and usually no white flight feathers (occasionally they can have a few tho and not be considered Pied).

Very cute, congrats!

 

[froggie71]

Congrats. I love keets they are just adorable. Not handling them will not make one not kill the others, but will not make them tame either. If raised with chickens they may act a bit more like chickens, but not make them less flighty. We have 3 raised with chickens. They roost with the chickens at night, go into the coop with the chickens when they do, lay eggs in the coop sometimes even in the nesting box but not always. They haven't been handled as much as the older ones and are more flighty. We have 7 not raised with chickens. They have their own coop. Roost on their run at night and we have to put them in their coop, lay eggs sometimes in the coop, sometimes outside in a nest, but have been handled often as keets and adults and are much less flighty.

 

[lilchik]

The lady I got them from told me if I handled then, and held one more than the others, they would pick on it, possibly kill it. She said to put them in the brooder and not handle them at all. She said she had been raising guineas for a long time, so I thought she new.


So, I can and should handle them? Will handling them make them more tame/less flighty?

 

[terrilhb]

They are so cute. . They grow so fast. And wait till you see how much they change over night. They are really amazing.

 

[froggie71]

Quote:
Well I certainly can't guarantee it, but....