***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[lonnyandrinda]

Speaking of guineas....

Somebody please help me figure out how to keep these babies alive! Is there a trick to it? Every day I've had them, I've found one more dead in their brooder box. I made sure to teach them from day one how to use the nipple waterer, but I truly believe they are SO stupid, that they're forgetting from one day to the next how to use the blasted thing. I've given up and I put in a bowl of water and the nipple waterer, for the ones that are so dumb they can't figure out how to use the bowl. I still found another dead baby in the box this morning. I feel horrible thinking that I keep killing these poor babies!

Any guinea keet tips and tricks you can give would be appreciated.

I want to see the answer to this too. Of the 17 chicks we got from Murray McMurray, 15 died in 13 days. Yet, the other two, a Rhode Island Red and a Pearl White Leghorn, are thriving.
My guineas were pecking at the nipple waterer so much, that they were soaking the brooder box. Personally, I have come to the conclusion, that I might have had too many chicks in one brooder. 17, in a 2'x3' brooder. I even moved them to a second identical brooder, with the same result. Yet, the guineas, and turkeys, thrived. For those two weeks, every day, I'd find a dead one at the bottom of the pileup, under the heat lamp. I never figured it out. All 17, were vaccinated for the two diseases that were recommended. Yet, the "Meat and Egg combo" package all died, and the two breed specific birds, are doing well. Hmmmm. I don't know. But, as for your guineas, I don't know what to tell you. Let's see what folks more knowledgeable than me, have to say. But, mine, LOVE the nipple waterer. They are outside maybe 40' from me, and I can hear the tapping at the nipples, as I type this.

They go crazy over the nipple waterer! But I'm pretty sure some of them just never took to it, and those died early. Then I think some of them forgot how to use it, and those died later. Then I'm pretty sure one had a broken neck from the way they run all over each other. And it's possible that one is at the bottom of the pile each night, and that's the rest of the ones that die.

How in the world did God make a creature so infernally dumb?!?!?! It's like He elbowed the Holy Ghost in the ribs and said "Hey, watch this..."

And don't forget the part that "it's never your Guinea's day to have the brain."

X2!!!!

Those losing chicks and keets- have you tried treating for cocci? It's ALWAYS the first thing I try when I have chicks dying for no reason. 90% of the time that is the problem. And this spring I had to switch from Corid to Sulmet as have others in our area as we are running into a Corid-resistent cocci strain. I got my first guinea keets from Atwoods this spring, 5 of them, and they were raised in a brooder with the chicks and have done fabulous. I'm nearly ready to release them on the tick horde here at my house. Wish they could get chiggers, too!

Crowding certainly can be a problem for disease, but it sounds like your space requirements are OK, depending on age. At my house I put about 60 chicks in a 3ftx 1.5ft brooder shelf with a wire floor until they are two weeks old, when I split the group in two and separate them onto two shelves. Then at 3 1/2-4 weeks they go outside.

 

[artsyrobin]

well, the rain did its job- i have 3 keet survivors in the bator, to get them warm, they are mouth breathing, is that stress? I lost 5, and mama has 4 that i can't get to- what temp should the bator be on to help them recover?

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
OMG... this explains EVERYTHING!!!
Quote:
And this explains the rest!
Quote:
Humor aside, I'm sorry for your loss. I know you did the best you could for them, and if anybody could keep this species alive, it would be you.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

well, the rain did its job- i have 3 keet survivors in the bator, to get them warm, they are mouth breathing, is that stress? I lost 5, and mama has 4 that i can't get to- what temp should the bator be on to help them recover?

Awe, I'm sorry. I would say about 90-95 degrees as they are just a few days old, right?

 

[Nuggetirl]

Where does everyone buy their chicken stuff? I can get feed easily, and I have the necessities, but what I really want is a poultry store, which doesn't exist. Anyone have anything close to that? (for some back story, will not being going back to the Lumber 2 down the street from me, and the Tractor Supply near me is understocked for poultry. Atwoods is significantly further away, but better stocked.)

I mean, I bought the regular small feeder for my few bantams, and they dug every bit of food out of it. Okay, lesson learned. They repeatedly poop in the normal quart sized waterer. But these are the only things available to me so I just rig it up and go on. I just want to go to a poultry candy land.


And Robin, I'm very sorry you lost some keets.

 

[subhanalah]

Where does everyone buy their chicken stuff? I can get feed easily, and I have the necessities, but what I really want is a poultry store, which doesn't exist. Anyone have anything close to that? (for some back story, will not being going back to the Lumber 2 down the street from me, and the Tractor Supply near me is understocked for poultry. Atwoods is significantly further away, but better stocked.)

I mean, I bought the regular small feeder for my few bantams, and they dug every bit of food out of it. Okay, lesson learned. They repeatedly poop in the normal quart sized waterer.  But these are the only things available to me so I just rig it up and go on. I just want to go to a poultry candy land. 


And Robin, I'm very sorry you lost some keets.  

solway poultry nipples and fermented flock raiser.
I got the nipples on ebay.

There's a tractor supply in Edmond and mustang. I often go to the one in Edmond. There is more up there that I have to get done, so I have an excuse to be up there other than "just to buy chicken feed." Also buy my dog feed here. I think cat feed as well, lol.
There's a purina (?) Feed store off 35 I think. I always see the sign but don't really know how to get to it necessarily!
Elisons feed store in Norman, but don't know what they have by way of poultry feed, never looked...but [...]*just accidentally deleted a bunch of stuff*[...]

anyway...here's the link I forgot to include!
http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Where does everyone buy their chicken stuff? I can get feed easily, and I have the necessities, but what I really want is a poultry store, which doesn't exist. Anyone have anything close to that? (for some back story, will not being going back to the Lumber 2 down the street from me, and the Tractor Supply near me is understocked for poultry. Atwoods is significantly further away, but better stocked.)

I mean, I bought the regular small feeder for my few bantams, and they dug every bit of food out of it. Okay, lesson learned. They repeatedly poop in the normal quart sized waterer. But these are the only things available to me so I just rig it up and go on. I just want to go to a poultry candy land.


And Robin, I'm very sorry you lost some keets.

Yes poultry supplies are not well designed. We all do with the rigging and going on...

My local farmer's co-op can order anything I want- but it's hard if you don't know what there is!

Here's some tips-

The little round chick feeders? JUNK. I won't even use them for chicks. I love the tray style ones with the little oval openings along the edge. MUCH cleaner and less wasteful. I also lay a small strip of laminate flooring under the tray feeder so if they do kick/drop any out they tend to come back later when the feeder is low and clean it up (my brooder has a wire floor and the feed will build up in the tray if I don't do this).

For juvies and adults hang your feeders. A LOT less waste.

You can stretch chicken wire over the bottom opening to keep them from scratching/tossing the feed out, too.

Waterers really have to be up off the ground to keep them clean, for chicks a brick works for chickens I like cinder-block height.

Those black rubbery water/feeder tubs are great in the summer and winter because the chickens can stand in the water in the summer to keep cool, they are easy to rinse out daily, and in the winter you turn it over and stomp on it to knock the block out and refill.

Keep a chicken first aid kit handy- there are several lists online and even here on BYC- so you are prepared in an emergency. Very few vets will work on a chicken.

An eye opener to me for poultry supplies- I placed a small order with Cutler Supply (www.cutlersupply.com) and ordered a free catalog, too- you will spend hours pouring over it! (If you just order a catalog they will charge you shipping but it is free to ship with an order)

 

[Kyzmette]

Quote:
I buy most of my medicinal chicken stuff from Tractor Supply, but I've found that a lot of stuff is best just bought from the local DIY manufacturer. That would be me! I'm the queen of repurposing. I bought nipples for waterers on Amazon and my current water bottles are made out of juice bottles with hand-twisted wire harnesses. All the chickens love it, the guineas not-so-much. I have hanging feeders and water dishes made out of half gallon milk jugs and large dairy containers. I have a large Welch's juice bottle that I fill with water and it has a slit cut in it tall enough for a 8 week old chicken to stick its head in, and wide enough for about three of them to belly up. The design I'm contemplating now for guineas will be more of a turret style. My nesting boxes are plastic lidded crates from Wal-Mart with a door cut in them and lots of hay to bed down in. My brooder boxes are the clear plastic crates with a big square cut out of the lid and replaced with wire mesh. The feeders in my coop are guttering lashed to tposts. If you want a poultry candy land that's more like real life, go to Home Depot. Buy some heavy duty baling wire and some thinner wire that's more easily twisted. Get some leather gloves, because you can only twist so much wire before your fingers hurt. Hammer, nails, screws, screwdriver, etc. Collect plastic containers that look promising. Get on Amazon and pick up some nipple waterer nipples. The epoxy you'll need for the nipple waterers is where they keep the aquarium supplies at Home Depot (not poisonous to fish, not typically poisonous to chickens). Ask your local burger place for food grade plastic buckets for the larger chickens. Have fun thinking of new and creative ways to do stuff. Congratulate yourself that you didn't have to give away more money for something that doesn't work worth a crap. And remember KISS (keep it simple, stupid).

 

[Nuggetirl]

Quote: I'll have to check out the TS in Edmond. I hate paying shipping. If I can't get it for free shipping on Amazon, then I can do without. I've seen the nipples, but it seems like a lot of work for just three chickens. If they were outside and I had several more.... totally worth it.

Quote: They live on pine and plastic, with most of the shavings away from their food and water so they should be coming back and eating, but maybe I just feed them too much so they don't have to come scavenge all the stuff they knock out..... Wouldn't be too hard to hang though. I have indoor chickens, so they heat and cold aren't a problem for me (yet, when I go full crazy chicken lady they will!)
And I'm almost afraid to look at Cutler Supply, I don't want to have more chicken things to lust over! (I've got my eye on the brinsea ecoglow for when I brood chicks....)
Thanks!

 

[subhanalah]

Not having to change stinky bacteria laden traditional waterers multiple times a day? It's not very much work at all really. I believe the Solway nipple use a "regular sized" drill bit. The ones at TSC are vertical nipple and work well as long as you have a way to keep it dry underneath. Those are better outside, IMO.
I don't think 21 dollars for ten of them is too much, but I could be wrong. You're right...what would you do with 10 of them? (Sell them to someone who wants/needs them?) Lol.