what am I in for?

[mrslb333]

Okay so long story cut short I bought some mixed silkie eggs from Ebay which turned out not to be silkies, after a long argument with the seller when the first 3 hatched she finally admitted that she could have sent a mixed bantam order by mistake which is fair enough so I dropped the dispute. Anyway I had 3 hatch on time 2 were clear and 1 had movement on candling at day 24 so I left left it in the incubator for a few more days the egg was the same sort of size as the so called silkie eggs but it was darked and slightly speckled, sure enough a little white chick hatched.
When it fluffed up I thought it looked odd it looked chick like but had very short hair and a different looking beak, also it had splayed legs which I'm treating with plasters. Anyway a week or so on and I've just been informed by someone I hatched eggs for that the reason the "chick" looks odd is because it's not a chick it's a keet

i know nothing about Guinea fowl. could anyone answer me a few questions please I'd be really grateful

1, I have ducks, chickens and quails could it be housed with any of these?
2, Are they noisy? I live in a mid town house so neighbours very close either side at the moment but we are expecting to move more rural in about 12 weeks time.
3, What do I feed it? I've been feeding medicated chick starter up until now but as soon a I clicked on I changed it to the duckling crumbs to be safe.
4, What exactly do I do with it? The ducks and chickens have their wings clipped and free range all day and go to their coops/houses at night could I do the same?
5,what are they kept for? Is it eggs for eating, pets or for the meat? I don't eat any of my birds so could it be kept as a pet?
I'm sorry if these are really dumb questions but its not something I've ever considered keeping so not done any research.
Also any other tips or info would be fantastic.
Thanks in advance.
lucy x

 

[jjhuntsalot]

1. the chicken and the duck are fine I personally would not put it in with the quail they are so much smaller and sppok easy.

2. Pretty noisy but shouldn't be a big problem for a few more weeks.

3. Medicated chick feed is fine or so is duck crumbles.

4. it may need it's wings clipped to when it gets grown and they can fly a short distance most are not easy to catch.

5. have no idea what they are kept for besides eating bugs and ticks, It is fine to keep as a pet.

 

[txcarl1258]

First of all congrats on finding out what your mystery bird is! LOL Guineas are wonderful birds and I have kept them for several years. If you were going to live in town I would say sell it because they can be very noisy. Since you have a single I would look into getting some others if you chose to. I have heard several people say that you can't keep male guineas with roos. I have for several years and never had a problem, but all of my male guineas were very easy going. Guineas are great watch dogs and will rid your yard of ticks and other annoying pests. If you have a hen she should lay eggs with the other chickens. They are small and pointy with speckles. I have been told by several people that the eggs are delicious, but I never did eat one I always hatched and sold them. I hope I have answered all of your questions.

 

[mrslb333]

Fantastic thank you

I was dreading telling the kids they couldn't keep it. I've hatched virtually everything else for other people but never Guinea fowl for some reason.

 

[robin416]

Actually Guineas can fly like the dickens when they have a reason. We watched one of ours fly from the lower field all the way to the Guinea coop when a fox was after it. That covered about five acres.

If you are moving more rural wing clipping is probably not a wise idea unless you have a very secure yard for them. For most fowl the only way to escape is through flight, if my boy hadn't taken flight the fox would have had him.

If you Guinea is a male and the only Guinea and you get roosters you more than likely will have problems. Its been discussed several times that having just a couple of Guineas doesn't work well with chickens. Guineas function best in a flock of ten or more.

 

[featherz]

I raised my keets with chickens the same size and they eat the medicated chick crumbles without a problem. They stay in the coop with the chickens and free range during the day. When they got a bit older I mixed in a little game bird feed. They are cool birds, you should get a few more!

(I have 17!)

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

they arent dumb questions - all good stuff!

1, I have ducks, chickens and quails could it be housed with any of these?
*** we have ours in a separate coop in the turkey house. they can bully your hens so keep an eye on them.


2, Are they noisy? I live in a mid town house so neighbours very close either side at the moment but we are expecting to move more rural in about 12 weeks time.
*** ohmigosh. they scream like howler monkeys when they get cranking... but funny little chirping noises when they are happy


3, What do I feed it? I've been feeding medicated chick starter up until now but as soon a I clicked on I changed it to the duckling crumbs to be safe.
chick food is fine. we feed our adults very little bagged food b/c they love to free range. then we use turkey food b/c thats who they are housed with


4, What exactly do I do with it? The ducks and chickens have their wings clipped and free range all day and go to their coops/houses at night could I do the same?
*** love them! as i understand it you could pluck them bald and they'd still fly. they fly like eagles. they free range like none of the other poultry i've seen.

5,what are they kept for? Is it eggs for eating, pets or for the meat? I don't eat any of my birds so could it be kept as a pet?
*** all that and more. the meat is supposed to be a delicacy but i cant get over the Dr. Seuss-like heads. folks like their eggs.. but we got them b/c we have tons of ticks on the property. correction we HAD tons of ticks.. those crazy birds have been doing a good job. and they are hilarious so if you can get past the 'screaming like howler monkeys.' they are funny to watch... and they are good guard animals. if anything comes on the property you'll know it.


they are hard to find so if you dont think your neighbors will ever forgive you - try to list on craigslist. i'm sure you'll find a taker.

good luck!