GARDENING WITH GUINEA FOWL
(Page 6 of 7)
Raise no more than two dozen keets when you're first
starting out. They are tiny and quick to escape through
wire mesh as fine as one-half inch, making tight facilities
a must. The ideal small-scale brooder is a stout cardboard
box lined for the first few days with paper towels, and
later with dried wood shavings, to keep the keets clean,
warm, and dry. Heat the brooder with an ordinary light
bulb, screwed into a reflector. Raise or lower the light to
adjust the degree of warmth, letting the birds' comfort be
your guide. If they are unhappy, you'll know — their
persistent, shrill cries will make you think you've been
invaded by a horde of angry crickets. You'll also know when
keets are content by their musical "me-too, me-too" call.
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As for feeding your keets, try a 21 to 23 percent protein
ration consisting of either commercial turkey starter or
mashed hard-boiled eggs mixed with cottage cheese and a
little cornmeal (or oatmeal). After four weeks, switch to
18 percent grower ration, or a mixture of cracked corn and
whole wheat supplemented with young grass clippings,
chopped lettuce, and other fresh greens. And of course,
always provide water.
Deciphering Sexes and Sounds
It isn't easy to tell which keets are cocks and which are
hens until they are about eight-weeks-old. Then one day,
the hens will start sounding their characteristic
two-syllable cry, "comeback, comeback," which some folks
often hear as "good-luck, good-luck:" Guinea cocks, on the
other hand, call with a series of one-syllable sounds,
"chi-chi-chi-chichi," followed by a harsh "chrrrr." They
sound so much like the buzz of a chainsaw that, one winter,
a neighbor's lonely hen took to chattering at my husband
whenever he cut firewood. A hen, when upset or angry, may
call like a cock, but a cock will never call like a hen.
At maturity, cocks and hens have identical plumage. Cocks,
however, are slightly larger. The red wattles dangling
beneath their chins are slightly bigger and cup away more
from their necks. Cocks also have larger helmets that stand
up straighter than the hens: Still, helmet size and other
sexual differences are quite subtle. My first "pair" of
guineas was purchased from a supposedly experienced breeder
who was selling one of two mated pairs, and who was later
red-faced as she asked to exchange one of my hens for one
of her cocks. That first pair, when we finally sorted them
out, brought me nothing but good luck, good luck, good
luck. Now, I can't imagine life without guinea fowl. They
are an invaluable source of chemical-free pest control and
a source of endless entertainment.
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