Raising Guinea Fowl 101

[perchie.girl]

or go to a pet store and get parakeet grit...

 

[MeepBeep]

or go to a pet store and get parakeet grit...

Again pay attention to the label and avoid calcium fortified ones... In my experience a lot of parakeet and other household bird grits are simply ground up calcium carbonate and/or oysters shell or a mix of one of those with some actual insoluble stone grit... Many times they even advertise them as being 'calcium fortified' or 'high calcium' or 'mineral fortified'...

There are of course parakeet grits that are stone/rock based, just need to pay attention to the labels...

 

[Tikkijane]

Thank you. At first I did not realize she was a breeder. That makes sense with that many birds as to why the amprolium would be necessary. I got 50 pounds but returned it.

Do you know a good age to supplement the keets diet with boiled eggs (read on here) or mealworm?

My batch 1 keets are 6 weeks and batch 2 5 days old. I gave the older ones mealworm a few days ago. They are on grit already so I figured it would be safe. They went ape. The grit though is too large for the young ones. Because I have no grit for them, this evening at the first signs of 1 keet having pasty butt, I took away the young ones feed for the evening to force them to drink only water for the next few meals. Without grit I am worried about pasty butt in the others.

The one I noticed was trying to push his poop out. He was clogged. I snatched him up and flipped him over. Sure enough he had a tiny bit of pasty butt. I used warm slightly saline solution and a cotton tip to soften it up. Now they are all on restriction. Water for the next 6 hours. I read DE grade sand would work. Can I put that in their water instead of their feed?? Are their any other options besides sand? I am going to try to grind the large grit down into smaller pieces until then.

Pasty butt is usually a heat issue. I never restrict feed, even if I have to dunk butts. It's no big deal if you watch and treat appropriately. They do sell chick grit. I don't mix anything in with food. Free choice is always best, imo.

 

[duluthralphie]

I moved Ethel indoors from her cage and run yesterday, (ok the WWD did help a little)..
We are feeling much better about her and her juvenile delinquents being on concrete and out of the monsoons we are having.

I also feel it does the Keets good to get use to living in a 6x6 ft cage on concrete, it prepares them for prison life.

Now I know this will seem hard to believe, but I goofed up the other day. When Ethel hatched her 7 babies I hatched babies in the incubator. Ethel hatched 7, I hatched 10.

A woman came by and bought 9. (sounding like a 3rd grade math test)..... I had told her I would not sell her 9, because I would have a lone Keet and did not want that....


Well, Being the genius I am, I looked in the incubator and I still had 5 eggs in there. The last one had only hatched about 2 hours before she came for them. I relented and gave her the 9, thinking the one of the other 5 would hatch....I was wrong...

I was stuck with one guinea. However, it is not completely my fault. She showed up in a small halter top, I think the 2 (more math) affected my better judgment.....

When we moved Ethel we took the opportunity to sneak the lone keet in with hers. We sat on pins and needles (well, lawn chairs really) and drank a Mikes Hard lemonade while waiting to see if she would take it.

She did, all was right with the world...








Also as I had said earlier I released my Guineas about a week ago to free range. Figuring I would never find another egg and had enough..


Obviously the egg god thought I needed more. I have an old picnic table that collects junk in it's current life. Here are the pictures of what we found..







Note the turkey egg on the top of the pile. I think the guineas are planning to force a turkey to hatch their eggs so they do not have too. They are such cowbirds!

 

[charid]

Pasty butt is usually a heat issue. I never restrict feed, even if I have to dunk butts. It's no big deal if you watch and treat appropriately. They do sell chick grit. I don't mix anything in with food. Free choice is always best, imo.

Then it isnt pasty butt. His butt is pink but there is something going on. I will try to get his pic now.

 

[Kim Z]

Quote: That looks like a huge omelet to me. With a quiche on the side and some custard for dessert.

 

[charid]

Ok. Well heating is good there is a range between 90-95. They are at 6 days. He does have pasty butt but there is something else going on. Look at pic and zoom. If you cant click on pic and zoom then please save the image and open with your device so you can. He has a pink nub that protrudes. Is that the belly button. I would think if heat were too far off more than 1 would have it. I almost think he ingested papertowel.

 

[duluthralphie]

That looks like a huge omelet to me. With a quiche on the side and some custard for dessert.

NO NO NO...

Those are my future babies!!

 

[duluthralphie]

Ok. Well heating is good there is a range between 90-95. They are at 6 days. He does have pasty butt but there is something else going on. Look at pic and zoom. If you cant click on pic and zoom then please save the image and open with your device so you can. He has a pink nub that protrudes. Is that the belly button. I would think if heat were too far off more than 1 would have it. I almost think he ingested papertowel.

That is the beginning of pasty butt. You need to get the poop off. I would use olive oil to sooth and make poop harder to stick.

The heat is too high regardless of what the thermometer says. Drop it down to 85 during the day and try 90 at night. With the higher ambient temps it does not take that much heat top make pasty butt. The "pink" thing is his vent. Clean it, oil it and allow him to cool down When ambient temps are high they can not control their own heat as well.


I have chicks the same age. I turn the light off all day. if they get chilly they cluster. I would rather have them cluster than have pasty butt.

 

[harley587]

That looks like a huge omelet to me. With a quiche on the side and some custard for dessert.

I'm liking the way you think Kim!!!