Quick last minute guinea keet setup

[Golden Brahma 64]

I’m now down to 7 keets.
The mother hatched out nine but brutally attacked two which have passed away over the last 24 hours.
As you can see from the pictures and the title I have moved the reminding 7 keets into a brooder.

The heat lamp is 2ft off the ground from the keets. It is a 100w infared light bulb. It was advised by pet shop staff.

I have read that wood shavings were bad for newborn chicks, is that true ? And if so, is there any spacific type of bedding that you would advise?
They are feeding on medicated chick starter, it took a while for us to teach them how to drink but they all seem to have the hang of it now. The water is also lukewarm as I have read that cold water can kill them.

Any advice or extra things that I might need ?

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

@50-45-1
@sourland @R2elk @red horse ranch

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 1489507 View attachment 1489508 View attachment 1489510

I’m now down to 7 keets.
The mother hatched out nine but brutally attacked two which have passed away over the last 24 hours.
As you can see from the pictures and the title I have moved the reminding 7 keets into a brooder.

The heat lamp is 2ft off the ground from the keets. It is a 100w infrared light bulb. It was advised by pet shop staff.

I have read that wood shavings were bad for newborn chicks, is that true ? And if so, is there any specific type of bedding that you would advise?
They are feeding on medicated chick starter, it took a while for us to teach them how to drink but they all seem to have the hang of it now. The water is also lukewarm as I have read that cold water can kill them.

Any advice or extra things that I might need ?

You need to measure the temperature at the bedding level. Day old keets can be started at 90°F to 95°F and the temperature can be lowered by 5°F each week. Adjust the height of the bulb to get the appropriate temperature in one area of the brooder.

The brooder should be big enough that the keets can freely go in and out of the heated area as they see fit. The water and feed should be away from the heated area.

You can have the keets on wood shavings as long as they are not cedar and the keets are being provided with chick grit. The keets can and do eat the shavings which will plug them up because they cannot digest them unless they have grit in their system.

Chick starter is not appropriate for keets. They have a high metabolism, rapid growth and fragile legs. They should be on a high protein (usually 28-30%) turkey or gamebird starter that has the appropriate levels of lysine, methionine and niacin.

You can give them hard boiled eggs that have been peeled and chopped or crumbled and get a good quality vitamin B complex and add 1/2 capsule to one gallon of water. The vitamin mix needs to be made fresh daily.

 

[sourland]

Follow R2elk's recommendations. Good luck with them.

 

[red horse ranch]

I use old towels for the 1st 2 weeks. They need to be changed every 4 or 5 days but I always have a supply of them. It helps prevent leg problems and isn't going to be eaten like wood chips. Newborns will try to eat wood chips. I can see that your keets are already scratching around in the chips and they will eat anything on the floor that looks small enough.
You need to check the temperature under the heat lamp to make sure it's around 95 degrees for the first week. And the drop the temp 5 degrees a week after that. It doesn't hurt to have the lamp on one side so they can go to the other side if it's too hot.
Another tip is to raise the feed and water up off the floor a little to keep wood chips out and keep the feed cleaner if you do keep them on chips.
You need to watch for pasty butt the first week. If poop accumulates on their vents they won't be able to poop and that can kill them within a day.
You have some pretty little babies there! Feel free to ask questions if you need to.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

You need to measure the temperature at the bedding level. Day old keets can be started at 90°F to 95°F and the temperature can be lowered by 5°F each week. Adjust the height of the bulb to get the appropriate temperature in one area of the brooder.

The brooder should be big enough that the keets can freely go in and out of the heated area as they see fit. The water and feed should be away from the heated area.

You can have the keets on wood shavings as long as they are not cedar and the keets are being provided with chick grit. The keets can and do eat the shavings which will plug them up because they cannot digest them unless they have grit in their system.

Chick starter is not appropriate for keets. They have a high metabolism, rapid growth and fragile legs. They should be on a high protein (usually 28-30%) turkey or gamebird starter that has the appropriate levels of lysine, methionine and niacin.

You can give them hard boiled eggs that have been peeled and chopped or crumbled and get a good quality vitamin B complex and add 1/2 capsule to one gallon of water. The vitamin mix needs to be made fresh daily.

Thank you for your advise.

I have lowered the heat lamp down so the temp is at 95°F.
The woodshavings are not cedar so I guess they’re fine, however when I clean it out I will switch to using towels as @red horse ranch suggested. I will mix in boiled egg with their food until the game bird feed that I have ordered arrives.
The brooder is actually 5ft by 5ft so I’d say it would do for the next 2 weeks or so.
I’ve read that mixing sugar with their water can also help, would you recommend this ?

 

[R2elk]

Thank you for your advise.

I have lowered the heat lamp down so the temp is at 95°F.
The woodshavings are not cedar so I guess they’re fine, however when I clean it out I will switch to using towels as @red horse ranch suggested. I will mix in boiled egg with their food until the game bird feed that I have ordered arrives.
The brooder is actually 5ft by 5ft so I’d say it would do for the next 2 weeks or so.
I’ve read that mixing sugar with their water can also help, would you recommend this ?

The brooder size is good, it gives them plenty of room to come and go through the heated area. I do not give sugar water but some people do. If you give them the vitamin B complex, I would not put anything else in the water with it.

 

[BoogieBug]

You might also want to put some bird netting over the top of the brooder because they start flying early!!!

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Guineas are now 6 weeks old. I’ve moved them to their outdoor coop!

At what age can they be with the older guineas ?
Their “mom” was checking them out through the wire.

 

[R2elk]

Guineas are now 6 weeks old. I’ve moved them to their outdoor coop!

At what age can they be with the older guineas ?
Their “mom” was checking them out through the wire.

Every situation is different but at 6 weeks old they really aren't ready to be on the same feed the adults are on unless you switch the adults feed to what is appropriate for keets.

Usually a guinea flock is not very accepting of youngsters unless they were raised in the flock. If the "mom" is interested in them, you might try adding her to their pen. Watch closely for signs of aggression from her. If she accepts them, it will make it much easier to integrate them into the flock.