Question on how to feed Guinea Fowl kits with chicks in the brooder

[NinjaGamer2022]

I've heard it's best to feed Guinea Fowl game bird feed, right now we have 30% Game Bird Starter Feed that I have been feeding my Coturnix Quail. My question is how do you provide the correct nutrition for the kits while they're in the brooder with chicks? Do you mix game bird starter with the chick starter? I want to make sure the Guinea Fowl kits are getting the nutrition they need but same for the chicks. I tried putting food in a corner for them but since there's only 3 of them with over 20 chicks there isn't much left for them once the chicks also take what they want. Opinions are greatly appreciated. Thx,

 

[R2elk]

I've heard it's best to feed Guinea Fowl game bird feed, right now we have 30% Game Bird Starter Feed that I have been feeding my Coturnix Quail. My question is how do you provide the correct nutrition for the kits while they're in the brooder with chicks? Do you mix game bird starter with the chick starter? I want to make sure the Guinea Fowl kits are getting the nutrition they need but same for the chicks. I tried putting food in a corner for them but since there's only 3 of them with over 20 chicks there isn't much left for them once the chicks also take what they want. Opinions are greatly appreciated. Thx,

I do not recommend brooding keets together with chicks because of the problems that come from the keets getting imprinted by the chicks. Later on the grown guineas will not understand that chickens are not guineas. They will treat the chickens the same as they treat each other. No other poultry have the same type of behavior as do guineas. These behaviors can really stress out chickens that are being attacked by the guineas.

Nevertheless, when I did brood keets and chicks together, they all got the same high protein turkey or game bird feed. While chicks do not need the high protein, it does not hurt them. My chicks did very well on high protein feed.

Guineas are flock birds and do best in large groups. Three guineas is not enough for them to have proper flock dynamics.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

I do not recommend brooding keets together with chicks because of the problems that come from the keets getting imprinted by the chicks. Later on the grown guineas will not understand that chickens are not guineas. They will treat the chickens the same as they treat each other. No other poultry have the same type of behavior as do guineas. These behaviors can really stress out chickens that are being attacked by the guineas.

Nevertheless, when I did brood keets and chicks together, they all got the same high protein turkey or game bird feed. While chicks do not need the high protein, it does not hurt them. My chicks did very well on high protein feed.

Guineas are flock birds and do best in large groups. Three guineas is not enough for them to have proper flock dynamics.

I didn't realize we didn't have enough keets. Thx for the info. We plan on taking the risk with the keets with the chicks but are going to clip there wing as soon as possible and handle them daily. Thank you also on the feed info. I wanted to be sure it was OK to give the same feed. By an experiment SilverHomestead did on her Prairie Bluebell article she showed how chicked raised with high protein early on had larger eggs when they started laying. Brimwood Farm is who we're also getting ideas on how to raise the keets with chicks.
Thank you for the info.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

I didn't realize we didn't have enough keets. Thx for the info. We plan on taking the risk with the keets with the chicks but are going to clip there wing as soon as possible and handle them daily. Thank you also on the feed info. I wanted to be sure it was OK to give the same feed. By an experiment SilverHomestead did on her Prairie Bluebell article she showed how chicked raised with high protein early on had larger eggs when they started laying. Brimwood Farm is who we're also getting ideas on how to raise the keets with chicks.
Thank you for the info.

How about 5 keets altogether?

 

[R2elk]

How about 5 keets altogether?

It's better than 3. I never recommend to have fewer than 10.

As far as all the stuff about how to raise keets with chicks and human imprinting, everything can seem to be going great right up until the first breeding season when the guineas instincts kick in.

This forum is full of posts about how well peoples keets and chicks get along. It is also full of posts on why are my guineas attacking my chickens.

I raised and housed guineas with chicks and chickens. I now brood, raise and house my guineas separately from all my other poultry. My guineas and other poultry can be free ranged in the same area at the same time without any problems. My guineas know that chickens are not guineas and leave them alone,

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

It's better than 3. I never recommend to have fewer than 10.

As far as all the stuff about how to raise keets with chicks and human imprinting, everything can seem to be going great right up until the first breeding season when the guineas instincts kick in.

This forum is full of posts about how well peoples keets and chicks get along. It is also full of posts on why are my guineas attacking my chickens.

I raised and housed guineas with chicks and chickens. I now brood, raise and house my guineas separately from all my other poultry. My guineas and other poultry can be free ranged in the same area at the same time without any problems. My guineas know that chickens are not guineas and leave them alone,

At what age is the first mating season for Guinea Fowl? Would it be OK to increase to 5 and then slowly over the months add more keets?
We just bought our keets and Rural King and they are still very young. 2 out of the 3 still have no feathers in yet. Are your Guinea Fowl social? If so, do you have any tips? I hope to raise them to be friendly. I've seen people that have raised there Guineas to even perch on there shoulder.

 

[R2elk]

At what age is the first mating season for Guinea Fowl? Would it be OK to increase to 5 and then slowly over the months add more keets?
We just bought our keets and Rural King and they are still very young. 2 out of the 3 still have no feathers in yet. Are your Guinea Fowl social? If so, do you have any tips? I hope to raise them to be friendly. I've seen people that have raised there Guineas to even perch on there shoulder.

Guinea fowl are sexually mature at 5 to 6 months old. They are seasonal layers and tend to start laying in the spring of the next year. If a person is in the southern states, there are reports of their young of the year starting to lay in the fall for a brief time.

I do not socialize my guineas. I like my guineas to be guineas.

@Sydney65 is who you want to talk to about socializing guineas.

You can begin by placing feed in your hand. Hold your hand still on the floor of the brooder and wait patiently for the keets to approach you. Let them come to you. It requires patience and lots of time.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Guinea fowl are sexually mature at 5 to 6 months old. They are seasonal layers and tend to start laying in the spring of the next year. If a person is in the southern states, there are reports of their young of the year starting to lay in the fall for a brief time.

I do not socialize my guineas. I like my guineas to be guineas.

@Sydney65 is who you want to talk to about socializing guineas.

You can begin by placing feed in your hand. Hold your hand still on the floor of the brooder and wait patiently for the keets to approach you. Let them come to you. It requires patience and lots of time.

I see.... The youtuber's guineas were 4 months old, so they weren't mature yet........ What if they shared a large coop? Thank you for your time and recommendations.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Guinea fowl are sexually mature at 5 to 6 months old. They are seasonal layers and tend to start laying in the spring of the next year. If a person is in the southern states, there are reports of their young of the year starting to lay in the fall for a brief time.

I do not socialize my guineas. I like my guineas to be guineas.

@Sydney65 is who you want to talk to about socializing guineas.

You can begin by placing feed in your hand. Hold your hand still on the floor of the brooder and wait patiently for the keets to approach you. Let them come to you. It requires patience and lots of time.

Would it be OK to increase the guinea keets to 5 and then slowly increase to 10(+) in future months?

 

[Sydney65]

At what age is the first mating season for Guinea Fowl? Would it be OK to increase to 5 and then slowly over the months add more keets?
We just bought our keets and Rural King and they are still very young. 2 out of the 3 still have no feathers in yet. Are your Guinea Fowl social? If so, do you have any tips? I hope to raise them to be friendly. I've seen people that have raised there Guineas to even perch on there shoulder.

Ok, so, my guineas ARE guineas. They're just MY guineas. (@R2elk - )
As for how many and adding to, if you're going to add to, do. it. now. Otherwise you'll more than likely end up with small flocks that have nothing to do w/each other except fighting.
Breeding is a lesson for next year. You have babies.
They can be sociable..if you have that much time to dedicate to it. I've spent a lot of time just quietly sitting next to the brooder, then hand feeding as R2elk said. Itty bitties that will fit in a fuzzy footie sock have spent time snuggled in my hand. I also find things big enough, like a crocheted hat or, my favorite, an old quilted toaster cover of my grandmother's that can fit the entire brood to sit safely in my lap.
Put your hand flat in the brooder and let them perch on it.
With my first, a group of 7, we used a hexagon collapsable covered kennel that I would take them outside and sit in with them, leaving the brooder on the porch after cleaning. They learned to fly back to the brooder on their own when I opened the kennel door.
Once they were old enough to free range, I sat out there for hours with them, hand feeding, talking,mimicking.
At first I took the advice to have them in a quiet area. Then I started keeping the brooder out in the living room so they grew accustomed to dogs, tvs, humans, babies, and a robot vacuum. They know MY dogs aren't a threat. They still raise the roof if they see a coyote or the neighbor's cocker spaniel crosses the borderline.
There is a huge difference between the ones I raised and ones raised by the hen.I kept one raised by the hen. Just shy of being a yr old, he's getting used to me petting him on the perch, recognizes/responds to his name, but still won't eat out of my hand even though he sees everyone else doing it.
To the extreme, I had a single late hatch who has lived inside w/us all winter, she's 6 months old and about to be introduced to the new coop we just finished today.
Ok... she maaay not think she's a guinea...she likes to be "brushed out" with a toothbrush, snuggle and cuddle on the sofa, goes to sleep with her beak resting anywhere on me- hand, shoulder, cheek. She doesn't care for the jumbos outside and that's probably a good thing. She's getting roommates at the end of the month. I guess I'll have to put a sofa in her coop so we can have cuddle time, bc she kind of demands it every evening and gets irate if she sees the dogs and me laying down w/o her. yeah, I'm going to miss her being inside. But she was an extreme- a horrible incubation hatch rate, lone survivor, and nothing was going to jeopardize her survival. And she's so stinkin cute!