GARDENING WITH GUINEA FOWL
(Page 5 of 7)
Caring for Your Keets
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A baby guinea is called a "keet" (from the old Nordic word
"cytling" or "keetling," meaning a young animal). Some
people choose to order day-old keets by mail. If you do so,
be sure to open the carton in front of the mail carrier,
just in case you have to file a claim. Chances are, though,
you'll find a healthy gang of eager little birds with
beady, black eyes and bright coral beaks and feet. If you
plan to free-range your guineas, it's a good idea to start
out with keets rather than full-grown birds. The baby
guineas become acquainted with their home ground as they
broaden their foraging range, while adult guineas are
likely to fly the coop the first chance they get.
Baby guineas are a study in
perpetual motion as
they scurry
about, pecking at the tip of each
other's beaks
and rat-a-tatting the
walls.
Keets of the dark variety look an awful lot like two-legged
chipmunks with two-tone brown stripes down their backs. The
little critters are a study in perpetual motion as they
scurry about, pecking at the tip of each other's beaks,
nipping on each other's toes, rat-a-tatting the walls, and
flapping their stubby little wings for the sheer joy of
movement. Then suddenly, as if on command, they all will
collapse into instant sleep.
Because they are so small and delicate, keets can be easily
trampled or drowned during their critical first two weeks
of life. To avoid losing any, keep the keets uncrowded.
When they reach three weeks of age, move them into larger
facilities offering at least one square foot of space per
bird. By the time keets are one-month-old, they develop
their first set of feathers. In the pearl variety, these
feathers will be camouflage-brown. Later, gray feathers
will appear, letting you know your keets are ready to fend
for themselves on the open range.
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