Terrified Guinea Keets!

[DuckyLou]

I got 6 Keets last week that are 6 weeks old. They are so extremely scared to death of me! I was hoping that they would calm down but they have not! This is my first time to own guineas, is this normal? What can I do to tame these little boogers?? They scratched the mess out of me when I tried to hold them! I'm now regretting that I did not buy day old Keets . Any advice?

 

[KrisH]

Duckylou, hmm what to tell you.
Yes they are terrified of you, so would they if you got day olds. Will they calm down, not much. Is this normal, yep. WHat can you do to tame them, nothing.

Advice. Love them for what they are. Actually, they need alot of work to really tame them. OUrs know we are the treat person and come running to get treats, but they do not like to be handled. We can walk around them, just not hold them.

They need at least 6 weeks of confinement, before you start to let them out to free range if you want them out. Try to teach them a sound, that means treat. Millet is a big favorite of theirs, as is bread. We only give them millet in the house, to try to teach them to come in.

Hope this helps you some, I have no doubt there are many others on this thread that can give you more info.

Guineas are challenging, and frustrating birds, but they are also funny, and great bug hunters. The first year they are extreamly nosiey, the second year I can tell a huge difference in the nosie level.

Enjoy them, but give them lots of time to adjust.

 

[daylily]

I got 6 Keets last week that are 6 weeks old. They are so extremely scared to death of me! I was hoping that they would calm down but they have not! This is my first time to own guineas, is this normal? What can I do to tame these little boogers?? They scratched the mess out of me when I tried to hold them! I'm now regretting that I did not buy day old Keets

. Any advice?

Hi DuckyLou,

Yes they can sure scratch the heck out of you and as they get larger it only gets worse. They have talons. Okay they can be tamed somewhat. They will always sort of act skittish when you first come in but my guineas are coming up on 1 yr old and they loved to be held! Now as long as another guinea is looking they may not act like they are enjoying it but believe me, they do!!

First of all you need a small towel, once you pick one up put it in the towel, this gives their legs something to grab a hold of. They need their legs tucked under them. and you need to have their wings covered good so that you can hold them close to you. Stroke their heads with the other hand and necks while speaking softly. Always greet them the same way every time you come in the room and continue it every time you approach them as they grow. Mine would fly to find me if ever I would use that call. Now spend plenty of time with them holding them for quite a while each. Don't worry about the poop and pee. They do that. Some will squirm and call out to the others as though you are killing them. This is a good time to bond with them and get to know their unique personalities. Your notice subtle differences in their coloring or beaks that set them apart. I had 5. I just lost one this morning to poisoning and another is very ill. These two have not always been the strongest anyway. But they were the tamest and loved to be held everyday and would come running to be held or petted and rubbed before they would calm down and eat. I just love their baby keet cooing. They will continue this when older and when in your presence. The more you hold them, walk around with them, and soothe them the more they will respond to you as their mom. Mine would always follow me around the yard and every morning I would take them to a new section of the yard and explore. Sometimes they would set off the alarm and run back to their coop, but within minutes they would be under my feet and all around me. They would get so upset when I went into the house that they would fly to ever window and door and call for me. This was about the 12 week mark. they continued even as they grew and tried to figure out what they were supposed to eat.

Now on this note. Bring them bugs and hand feed them the bugs, great fun to watch. Bring them green leaves of plants that you want them to eat and they will only eat those plants and might add one or two to the list when they are older. NEVER feed them something you grow in the garden or they will find it and eat those too! I had neighbors catch bugs also from their gardens to supplement our morning feedings, sometimes there was a leaf or two in with them. Well they have now found that neighbors yard two doors down and are eating those plants Hahahaha! She loves them though. My last three are not as close as we once were, as I'm not outside as much as I was last year. But they sure know how to find ticks now. They still come when I call but not as quickly. They still will hang out to see if I have a bug or two and I still hand feed at times and they do have to submit to holding if I want to. Only now I wear gloves with gauntlets to keep my arms from being scraped up and cut. If you want anymore info you can message me and I will try to help. Have fun with them and don't let them out too soon I waited til they were 10 weeks old before letting them free range. The extra week or two with them seals the bond. Best of luck and most of all ENJOY!

Daylily

 

[DuckyLou]

Your replies make me feel ALOT better! Thank you! I am glad to know that this is just kinda their personality and not just the ones I ended up with! Both of you have given me great advice, and while I am a very busy homeschooling mom, and I do not really have a whole lot of time to spend with them, I will definitely be giving them treats and will not let them free range for another 6 weeks or so.

Is there a way to tell between males and females at this age?

 

[PeepsCA]

The little Hens can start buck-wheating as early as 5-6 weeks old. Only the Hens will make that 2 syllable call. Some don't buckwheat until they are older tho... but if you have Hens, believe me they won't keep their mouths shut forever, lol.

Daylily's story and success with handling and taming her Guineas... while heart warming and inspiring, is not the norm for most Guineas. Guineas are wild birds with wild blood and wild instincts, they are not easily tamed even if you get them as day olds and spend time with them daily. It's actually been my experience that ones that do let me handle them have some sort of underlying illness or genetic issue, and were never right from the get-go. So I would not hold your breathe about taming yours, especially since you got them at 6 wks old and they may not have had much handling before you bought them. Like the rest of us, the best you can probably hope for is for them to come running to your food call, stick around and not wander too far and for them to cooperate about cooping up at night (being known as the food god/goddess works to your advantage in all 3 cases). If you have chickens the keets will be growing up with that sometimes helps settle them down some, if they see you holding/petting the chickens and giving them treats they eventually get jealous and want some too... but it's no guarantee either.

Mine are always under my feet when I am outside, and they will follow me everywhere, they stay within my fenced 10 acres, they come running flying from every direction on my property whenever I call them and they reliably coop up each night when I call them all in... but touching and holding them is not tolerated or enjoyed. I actually prefer them to stay on the skittish side, I feel it helps keep them more alert to dangers/predators when they are out free ranging. (But that's just me).

Good luck, and don't feel bad if they remain skittish, it's their nature.

 

[DuckyLou]

Thanks Peeps! Very helpful! Every thing you said is exactly what I am hoping for with these guinea's. I'm ok with them not wanting to be touched and held, but i do want them to respond to me and come when I call them to be put up at night, so I think like you said being the "Food Goddess" lol is the key! I also have 10 acres and hope that I can keep them on it!

So are the females more vocal than the males? They make all kinds of sounds, but I'm not educated enough on knowing how to recognize what the buckwheat sound sounds like... I will look it up on you-tube. I have 2 pied, 2 white, and 2 silvery lavender looking ones ( are those called lavender?)

 

[PeepsCA]

Your silvery Lavender Guineas may be Lite Lavenders, they are a little lighter and, more silvery than Lavender. Post a pic if you can, I should be able to tell you (if the pic shows their color clearly).

All Guineas are vocal, but the Hens will sometimes buck-wheat all day (non-stop lol). Both sexes scream the agitated chi-chi-chi alarm call tho. You tube has lots of good examples, let me know of you can't find what you are looking for and I'll go video my loudmouths in all their glory for you, lol...

Good luck on achieving Guinea Goddess status! Meal worms (fresh or freeze dried), millet (or birds seed mixes containing mostly millet and small seeds... be careful of large seeds that can choke and impact young birds), shredded lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, shredded fresh spinach, even green grass and random dandelion weeds are all favorites of my flocks. Small crickets from the pet store are a big hit too, but if you don't have a brooder that will hold the crickets in until the birds figure out that bugs are good, they soon disappear). Be sure to give them some grit to help all the keets grind up the treats and digest them all ok.

Have fun

 

[JLeigh]

My situation is a bit different, but I've managed to get my guineas to "tolerate" me. I got them when they were 7 months old and put them in their run. I spent about an hour a day just sitting in the run with them - as still as I could be (without going insane.) They would get close to me, about 1 foot away, but no closer. I never tried to reach out to touch them. Every day I go to the run with grass, spinach, dried mealworms - whatever is handy - and feed them through the fence. They run up to the fence now when they see me coming, but they won't eat from my hand or let me touch them. That's okay with me. I just want them to know I'm the treat lady. I still spend time every day sitting in the run and they'll walk right by me and ignore me, but at least they're not afraid of me. I think that's about the best I can expect from them, and I'm happy with that.

 

[DuckyLou]

Here are some pictures of them I looked up the sound on You Tube, and some of mine are making that sound, but I'm not sure which ones! lol

 

[PeepsCA]

The 2 in question look Lavender to me. Cute babies, Congrats