Sudden guinea death

[Silvija]

Hello there,
I'm new to guinea, had four of them for a year, now only two left. A boy and a girl died very suddenly, running happily one day, dead the next. After some reading and talking with poultry keepers I came to believe they are hardy birds. I came to expect a sudden death from a chicken, do guineas die suddenly as well sometimes? No diarrea, beak and eyes healthy, nothing visible after opening up the bird... Could someone share some experiance? Mine are meat guinea fowl ant they live with chickens since we bought them as chicks. I give them chicken feed and they free range in a big fenced area. I had some problams with couple chickens, went letargic and died (we keep around 35 chickens), one seemed to have mild diarrea. There are about 20 chicks living together with adults, and I see no problam with them. Other chickens seems healthy too, no runny noses, eyes or diarrea. Could it be, that these guineas were pourly bread and simply weak? We bought 10 chicks and only four survived though they had good food and were free ranging. Other guinea keerpers thought it's weird for so many guinea chicks to die.

 

[R2elk]

Hello there,
I'm new to guinea, had four of them for a year, now only two left. A boy and a girl died very suddenly, running happily one day, dead the next. After some reading and talking with poultry keepers I came to believe they are hardy birds. I came to expect a sudden death from a chicken, do guineas die suddenly as well sometimes? No diarrhea, beak and eyes healthy, nothing visible after opening up the bird... Could someone share some experience? Mine are meat guinea fowl and they live with chickens since we bought them as chicks. I give them chicken feed and they free range in a big fenced area. I had some problems with couple chickens, went lethargic and died (we keep around 35 chickens), one seemed to have mild diarrhea. There are about 20 chicks living together with adults, and I see no problem with them. Other chickens seems healthy too, no runny noses, eyes or diarrhea. Could it be, that these guineas were poorly bread and simply weak? We bought 10 chicks and only four survived though they had good food and were free ranging. Other guinea keepers thought it's weird for so many guinea chicks to die.

If you raised the keets on chicken starter, you malnourished them. The adults can live on a good chicken feed but will do better on a 20% protein all flock feed with oyster shell free choice.

The keets because of their high metabolism and rapid growth really do need the higher levels of protein, lysine, methionine and niacin that are available in a good turkey or gamebird starter.

Guineas are susceptible to the same diseases that your chickens can get. If you have something causing unknown deaths among your chickens, there is no reason to think that whatever is causing the chicken deaths won't also harm the guineas.

If you are feeding lots of mealworms, it is possible to cause kidney problems in both the chickens and the guineas.

The symptoms that your chickens exhibited before dying could be attributed to coccidiosis. Guineas are also susceptible to coccidiosis.

 

[Silvija]

If you raised the keets on chicken starter, you malnourished them. The adults can live on a good chicken feed but will do better on a 20% protein all flock feed with oyster shell free choice.

The keets because of their high metabolism and rapid growth really do need the higher levels of protein, lysine, methionine and niacin that are available in a good turkey or gamebird starter.

Guineas are susceptible to the same diseases that your chickens can get. If you have something causing unknown deaths among your chickens, there is no reason to think that whatever is causing the chicken deaths won't also harm the guineas.

If you are feeding lots of mealworms, it is possible to cause kidney problems in both the chickens and the guineas.

The symptoms that your chickens exhibited before dying could be attributed to coccidiosis. Guineas are also susceptible to coccidiosis.

Thank you so much! I did not know about chicken starter being bad for guinea keets. Will buy something better this year. I have oyster shells always and no mealwarms. Maybe coccidia then...

 

[Silvija]

I opened up my boy just yet and found way to much coagulated blood in abdomen cavity. Some injury which caused internal bleeding maybe? And my girl was just starting to lay eggs and died. Checked for egg bound but found nothing yet maybe it could be related? Would appreciate for some ideas or shared experiances to better understand what to expect in the future.

 

[R2elk]

I opened up my boy just yet and found way to much coagulated blood in abdomen cavity. Some injury which caused internal bleeding maybe? And my girl was just starting to lay eggs and died. Checked for egg bound but found nothing yet maybe it could be related? Would appreciate for some ideas or shared experiences to better understand what to expect in the future.

Internal hemorrhage can be due to a number of things not related to injury. Internal hemorrhage is one symptom of fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome and can occur in both chickens and other species of poultry. It can be attributed to a diet too high in low protein, high fat foods. one such cause can be too liberal feeding of treats (BOSS).

Another possible cause of internal bleeding is the rupture of an aortic aneurysm.

 

[Silvija]

Internal hemorrhage can be due to a number of things not related to injury. Internal hemorrhage is one symptom of fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome and can occur in both chickens and other species of poultry. It can be attributed to a diet too high in low protein, high fat foods. one such cause can be too liberal feeding of treats (BOSS).

Another possible cause of internal bleeding is the rupture of an aortic aneurysm.

Thank you for ideas. Fatty liver hemmoragic disease do not fit, liver looks normal to me and I almost do not treat. Chicken feed and grass is all they get. Aortic rupture might be, that I will never know. I'll check on fats though since I changed chicken feed to less expensive one, maybe too much fat in it. Both guineas had much more fat in their bodies than chickens, yet maybe it's normal. None of my chickens are fat though.

 

[babysrealdad]

Hello there,

I'm new to guinea, had four of them for a year, now only two left. A boy and a girl died very suddenly, running happily one day, dead the next. After some reading and talking with poultry keepers I came to believe they are hardy birds. I came to expect a sudden death from a chicken, do guineas die suddenly as well sometimes? No diarrea, beak and eyes healthy, nothing visible after opening up the bird... Could someone share some experiance? Mine are meat guinea fowl ant they live with chickens since we bought them as chicks. I give them chicken feed and they free range in a big fenced area. I had some problams with couple chickens, went letargic and died (we keep around 35 chickens), one seemed to have mild diarrea. There are about 20 chicks living together with adults, and I see no problam with them. Other chickens seems healthy too, no runny noses, eyes or diarrea. Could it be, that these guineas were pourly bread and simply weak? We bought 10 chicks and only four survived though they had good food and were free ranging. Other guinea keerpers thought it's weird for so many guinea chicks to die.

I know this is a few yrs late but, one of mine was healthy weighed 7 pounds exactly 1 yr young. Yesterday he was all normal, today we saw he wasn't eating. This afternoon he just died suddenly. The reason I am responding to this post is because My personal belief is that whoever sold my birds to Tractor Supply VACCINATED the birds... God gave animals outdoors natural ivermectin which they get normally. QUACK big pharma injects these birds before you buy them. Never again will I buy any bird from Tractor Supply. I will buy direct from a breeder who gives the option of VAX or NOT. Think about it for 1 second.. They give our children many more vaxes today than 65 yrs ago. TODAY the kids have many more issues than we as children did yrs ago... These little guineas don't need big pharmas slow killing POISON at 1 to 2 days of age...

 

[SamLockwood]

I know this is a few yrs late but, one of mine was healthy weighed 7 pounds exactly 1 yr young. Yesterday he was all normal, today we saw he wasn't eating. This afternoon he just died suddenly. The reason I am responding to this post is because My personal belief is that whoever sold my birds to Tractor Supply VACCINATED the birds... God gave animals outdoors natural ivermectin which they get normally. QUACK big pharma injects these birds before you buy them. Never again will I buy any bird from Tractor Supply. I will buy direct from a breeder who gives the option of VAX or NOT. Think about it for 1 second.. They give our children many more vaxes today than 65 yrs ago. TODAY the kids have many more issues than we as children did yrs ago... These little guineas don't need big pharmas slow killing POISON at 1 to 2 days of age...

The OP hasn't been active in about 2 years, so they're not likely to benefit from your "wisdom."

None of the major hatcheries vaccinates birds without you asking for the service & paying extra for it. That includes Hoover Hatchery, which supplies TSC.

None of the big hatcheries (including Hoover) even offers vaccination for guineas, probably because many states consider them game birds and it's illegal to vaccinate wildlife. So your "belief" that big pharma poisoned your guinea is just that: a fantasy.

 

[R2elk]

The OP hasn't been active in about 2 years, so they're not likely to benefit from your "wisdom."

None of the major hatcheries vaccinates birds without you asking for the service & paying extra for it. That includes Hoover Hatchery, which supplies TSC.

None of the big hatcheries (including Hoover) even offers vaccination for guineas, probably because many states consider them game birds and it's illegal to vaccinate wildlife. So your "belief" that big pharma poisoned your guinea is just that: a fantasy.

FYI, most feed stores selling chicks have the chicks vaccinated for Marek's. That is the only routine vaccination they have done and is only for chicks.