Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[bbelflower]

If it were me....  Id keep em together if the hen is in an enclosure of her own like a broody partition.  Its when the hens go out to forage that the littleuns get forgotten...

shes probably got more pipin and working on getting out...  Give it two more days... Unless shes already hopped off the nest.

deb

I have two eggs piping but mom isn't sitting in the eggs for the past few hours which is really odd for her who is ALWAYS on there. Should I take and incubate the eggs or wait or what!!??? I'm going crazy. Lol.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I wouldnt mess with them unless you had an incubator... I have only hatched guineas in an incubator... and if you set a stop watch from the time they pipped to the time they sproinged out it was about half an hour....

but thats only one hatch I have ever done. You might search the other threads under guinea fowl forums to get a better answer than I can give.

good luck...

deb

 

[bbelflower]

Ok Deb we have a chick! BUT I have a question or two. It is in an incubator and now I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do. Do I leave it in the incubator or put it under a light or what?? Can u private message me?

 

[perchie.girl]

Ok Deb we have a chick! BUT I have a question or two. It is in an incubator and now I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do. Do I leave it in the incubator or put it under a light or what?? Can u private message me?

IF its hatched then put it in with the rest of the Keets that hatched.... The incubator is only for keeping the temperature constant and the humidity up while it hatches. Once it hatches and dries you put it with the other keets in the brooder....

That is about all I know about incubating and hatching Keets. If there are more needs I dont know it.... These little guys have been doing this for thousands of years without help from us.

If it doesnt make it then there was probably something wrong with it in the first place.

Please look into the hatching threads and get a hold of people who have infinitely more experience than I do.

I want to say also I am not always available online... during the day... I have an odd schedual.... so Please gather together a group of contacts through BYC to be there to give you a verbal hand....

deb

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Ok Deb we have a chick! BUT I have a question or two. It is in an incubator and now I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do. Do I leave it in the incubator or put it under a light or what?? Can u private message me?

Some of us have been at it a while, but are not professionals. I don't want to give you bad advice, I can only tell you what works for me. Heat lamps are dangerous if not used correctly. You will need a safe heat source.Leave your baby in the incubator until its dry, and the other eggs hatch. No longer than 2 days! If you hit that 48 hour period, be ready to pull keets out quickly, add hot water to your reservour and close up. Chicks have yolk stored in their abdomen to give them time to get their land legs. You need a brooder ASAP, go to your local farm supply and ask for the person that knows how to raise guinea. If that person does not work there, Get a tote, rough paper towel and High protein chick starter. bottle caps or "no drown" waterer.. Keets need warmth, 95 degrees, and an area thats cooler if they get too warm and can move away from the heat..Line the bottom of the tote with a few layers of paper towel. put a bit of tepid water in the water source, and just a small amount of feed sprinkled on the paper towel.

I use a thermometer to keep the temps correct and watch babies closely. Panting and beaks open means too hot! Piling on top of each other means too cold. A comfortable baby will stretch out its legs and sleep, or hop about and trill. heads and wings drooping is a dangerous sign. I really suggest looking at the hatchery websites, many have a "how to" page for several species of birds. Will go look and try to find one to post.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

here is a few:
http://guineas.com/articles/keets.php
https://www.google.com/search?q=guinea+keet+raising+and+brooding&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Just read backwards a bit.. If you have a brooding mother Guinea hen, wait til after dark, and put the keets under her. She will raise them as if they are her own hatch.

 

[guinearancher]

I have not seen this asked yet. I have a bunch of keets and all are healthy except one. The "runt" has seemed to fall way behind in growth compared to the rest. Today he wasn't moving around so I picked him up and his left leg seems to not be working properly. I would straighten it out and it seemed to have a catch in the knee. He was doing fine until today and now he can't even seem to walk! I have no idea what to do for him or if it is even possible to help in any way.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have not seen this asked yet. I have a bunch of keets and all are healthy except one. The "runt" has seemed to fall way behind in growth compared to the rest. Today he wasn't moving around so I picked him up and his left leg seems to not be working properly. I would straighten it out and it seemed to have a catch in the knee. He was doing fine until today and now he can't even seem to walk! I have no idea what to do for him or if it is even possible to help in any way.

You could try cooked chopped egg, and get him on "save a chick" or another electrolyte. Guinea are really hardy, so in this case it may be an internal thing you can't see. Sometimes this is referred to as a "failure to thrive" but its basically a weak keet. For a quick boost, sugar in the water, just a pinch will perk him up, and hopefully you can get food into him, good luck.

 

[MistyMountain]

@perchie.girl Thought you may get a kick out of this.

Momma Welsummer finished raising the keets and went back to laying and roosting in the big coop. Meanwhile, Willie Roo, former king of the flock who was recently dethroned by his son and no longer allowed in the big coop has moved into the broody coop at night to roost. Well, turns out, those guineas LOVE Willie. And he loves them. Sometimes the guineas roost in the pine tree. They make the most awful racket (DH says it sounds like a wounded duck) if they get down from the tree before Willie is let out of the coop in the morning.

Introducing "Papa Willie." Please excuse his rough appearance. I have a hen who thinks she has a future in cosmetology. Any beard, sickle or saddle feather she can get near gets a trim.