changes

[moxeeguy]

Guineas don't like them.

Take for example the something as simple as a food. All winter long
my poultry were fed hand tossed scratch grains. In the spring as egg
laying became imminent I switched their feed to layer pellets. I
noticed immediately that the chickens were feasting on the layer
pellets but my guineas were not. So I mixed in scratch grains. The
guineas were happy and my chickens got their needed balanced diet (the
guineas NOT). Well time has a way of healing all wounds. The guineas
are about a 6 weeks later to lay eggs in the spring compared to
chickens AND...by then they accepted the suggestion to eat layer
pellets. It is a bit comical...but it took these dumb birds...a
couple weeks to decide that the layer pellets were acceptable food.
Now after 9 weeks of layer pellets and a reduced amount of scratch
grain...they've decided that they like the layer pellets better than
the the scratch grains which have been eliminated totally. What goes
around comes around.

Kelly

--
a Message from "Guinea Fowl Assn of America" your personal guinea friends group

[Peeps]

My birds are sometimes finicky like that at certain times of the year.
Usually at least once a year they decide scratch is a waste of time
and turn their noses up at it. So I usually give them a mix of
everything I have, scratch, layer pellets, sweet feed, turkey/gamebird
feed and some wild bird seed all mixed up. Depending on how much there
is to eat while free ranging and what's available for them, I'll mix
in more of one or the other kinds of feed depending what they need at
that time, or at least what I FEEL they need, lol. When free range
proteins (like bugs) and greens (grass and weeds) are sparse, I'll
even mix in some dry cat food (not a lot tho) and rabbit food
occasionally. Sometimes they do not eat much of anything that I put
out, but it is there if they want it.

[K M Edgar]

Peeps,

So much for my brilliant thoughts about cold and rainy weather having
messed with the guinea hens laying pattern. I found a stash of eggsin
a pile just 40 ftt outside the perimter fence...just across the
driveway and less than 5ft from the stream bank dropoff. With all the
eggs I found today and those collected in the last 5 days...they're
right back to the 5 egg/day average. This find is actually pretty
super. I'll be setting a hen tonight and another tomorrow on 36 eggs
total.

Kelly

[Peeps]

After I sold 30 of my older keets I had room in my keet pen for 15 of
the Colored and Pied keets that I bought recently that are about the
same age. So I round up keets and I carry a big cage of birds out to
the keet pen and turn them loose... I had NO idea it was going to be a
keet explosion, lol. I had keets freaking out for about 2 hours,
flying all over the place in a complete panic. Apparently all the
Pearls and Royal Purple keets in the pen thought the light colored
keets were something that was going to eat them, lol. After a couple
hours they finally calmed down and so I peaked in and they were all
segregated! LOL, lights in one corner, darks in the other. Took them 2
days to start co-mingling. I never expected that kind of reaction!
Geeze they all smell the same and make the same noises! The trials and
tribulations of Guinea raising, I swear!

[K M Edgar]

Peeps,

I've not had that situation mixing keets. My brooder cages are 8ft X
4ft by 4 ft tall...I suspect the extra space is helpful and I've never
had more than 30 keets at once. they do not like new things.

Kelly

[Peeps]

My keet pen is a completely secure converted Miley 2-horse trailer, it
has at least a 4'x6' floor space area plus another couple of feet of
space they use up higher where the the manger area is. I think it's at
least 7 feet tall inside, maybe 8'. At max count I had 58 keets in
there, way less now. Took out 30 big ones, put in 17 smaller ones.
Plenty of room until I sell the left over older Pearls, and if by
chance I still have them in another a week or 2, my outside bullet
proof keet pen will be finished by then. It's at least 6'x20' and
about 6 1/2'-7' high. Between that pen and the horse trailer, I'll
have quite a bit of keet space.

[K M Edgar]

Peeps,

You're definitely on your way. Having an enormous bullet proof
brooder box...is necessary. I have 6...but they're 1/3 the size of
your big one. I don't have a need to put wire bottoms on the keet
brooders yet. By June...they'll need wire beneath their feet. There
are mink about 100ft south in the stream area. The mink expand their
hunting zone north by 200ft in our direction around June once the
females have kits. That 200ft hunting expansion...encompasses my
entire poultry flock. The mink are insane killers. My layer chickens
and the ducks are in danger for about 2 months...guineas, game fowl &
geese not.

Kelly