Pullets taking keets as their own

[mbcaring]

Is this normal???. I have 2 16-20 week guinea pullets and 11 3 week old keets (still in the brooder). The pullets freak out if I do anything with those keets. Today i put them all together outside in a covered run when I went to put the keets back in tonight one of the pullets and 5 keets got loose. (Freak out). I gathered the rest out them in the brooder and eventually pullet and keets came back looking for the rest of the crew. When I took the pullets away from the keets they cried and cried. Both sets. Should I just put them together? Seems weird to me. I thought bigger birds didn't get along with the babies. I'm a newby. Maybe someone can shed some light for me.

 

[gguineasfamily]

I think you should just keep them together. The age difference isn't actually that much - only 13-17 weeks when you think about it. When I raised my keets the oldest was 5 weeks older than the youngest. When people say bigger birds don't get along with babies they mean bigger birds as in a year old. Your pullets aren't much more than babies themselves. Especially if they're girls then some guinea hens have a very motherly instinct when they are very young. One of my guinea hens, Tiger, was very mother like to my youngest keet , Bebe. Tiger was about 5 weeks old and Bebe was about 2 weeks old. From that point on I just chucked them all together. It was so cute because Bebe would snuggle under some of the bigger keets tails. So yes I think you should definitely put your keets and pullets together. Just make sure there are no small gaps the keets can get out and make sure the keets are warm enough - do you have them under a heat lamp?

 

[mbcaring]

Yes I have an ecoglow 20. I rebuilt the inside of the coop today and they are all together now. It's been 100 degrees in the day time and 60-70 at night. Do I really need the extra heat anymore? The babies are about 4 weeks old.

 

[gguineasfamily]

I really don't remember when we got rid of our heat lamp. The weather here is probably different to yours but if they still like it I would keep it there. But if they all snuggle with the hens away from the lamp then maybe they don't need it.