Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[kkenney]

Thanks for all of the great information! This is our first experience with guineas and I was wondering how to coop train them for the evenings. I had made the mistake of just letting them run wild and it took an entire day to find and capture just four of them on our 5 wooded acres! Great advise on here that I will definitely be trying!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Thanks for all of the great information! This is our first experience with guineas and I was wondering how to coop train them for the evenings. I had made the mistake of just letting them run wild and it took an entire day to find and capture just four of them on our 5 wooded acres! Great advise on here that I will definitely be trying!

If you confine at least 2 weeks and train them with a "food call" before you let them free range, they will be fine. some people use a bell, I just call ginniginniginni and feed them. My oldest is 3 years now and all of them coop for me.

 

[leslea]

Our keets are doing great. They are so fun to watch.

 

[Kim Z]

Thanks! I'll keep trying. I'm going to handle them once a day until they get used to me. I know they're not as tame as chickens. Hopefully they don't get too mad at me if I keep putting their beaks i the water. And I'll pick up the high protein chick starter asap.

Everyone made it through the night. The keets are in the back of the brooder surrounded by the chicks. Everyone slept great (but me).

If you can, hold the keets more often than once a day. They require more socialization than chicks if you want them to be comfortable being touched when they are older. Hold them for as long as they will tolerate being away from the other babies and if the keet gets a bit agitated, cup your hand in front of their face without touching it. They find it comforting. Good luck!

 

[leslea]

Thanks, will do!

 

[leslea]

One of my guinea keets swallowed a pretty big bit of a plant. Is she going to be okay?

 

[Starkasm]

One of my guinea keets swallowed a pretty big bit of a plant. Is she going to be okay?

As long as she's acting fine, she should be okay. 2 years ago, one of my sister's keets swallow a big snake all the way to it's tail....my sister pulled it back out...because it was plastic! My point being, they can swallow pretty big things, including snakes (preferably real ones!)

 

[leslea]

As long as she's acting fine, she should be okay. 2 years ago, one of my sister's keets swallow a big snake all the way to it's tail....my sister pulled it back out...because it was plastic! My point being, they can swallow pretty big things, including snakes (preferably real ones!)

She's only a week old...but, yeah, this plant looks to have been pretty long! We only noticed because part of it was sticking out of her mouth and she seemed unhappy. We thought she had something in her eye. I tried gently pulling it back out, but it was firmly "in there" so I just trimmed off the piece that was hanging out her beak!

She is acting TOTALLY fine.

I put the weed in the brooder to give the chicks and keets some grit. The keets have been running around the brooder all day carrying the weed like it was a prize bug. I guess she got tired of running and choked the whole thing down.

How old was the keet that swallowed a snake???

 

[Starkasm]

She's only a week old...but, yeah, this plant looks to have been pretty long! We only noticed because part of it was sticking out of her mouth and she seemed unhappy. We thought she had something in her eye. I tried gently pulling it back out, but it was firmly "in there" so I just trimmed off the piece that was hanging out her beak!

She is acting TOTALLY fine.

I put the weed in the brooder to give the chicks and keets some grit. The keets have been running around the brooder all day carrying the weed like it was a prize bug. I guess she got tired of running and choked the whole thing down.

How old was the keet that swallowed a snake???

She bought them from a local place at 1-2 days. It's was a few days later it happened. So not that old. As a rule, I always cut up weeds, grass etc that I give babies. That or most often I give them a clump of grass with the dirt still attached and let them eat it at their leisure.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Be sure she has access to grit. Thats all she needs to digest it.