Healthy Guinea Fowl Keet Feet
All of the photographs in this group are of Pearl Grey Guinea fowl that are 30-days old. Guinea fowl are susceptible to several foot and leg abnormalities and injuries. Some of these abnormalities are congenital, others occur during the early stages of Guinea fowl keet development when the legs, feet, tendons and relevant muscles are not yet developed and strong.
Consensus is that many Guinea fowl leg and foot problems occur in keets due to poor footing during the earliest stages of growth – particularly the first two weeks. It is customary to keep Guinea fowl keets in a brooding box during their first weeks of life. Some believe the keets should remain in the box as long as 4-6 weeks, others believe that 2 weeks is long enough inside of the brooding box. The floor of the brooding box should not be slick or slippery. No Formica or linoleum should be used, for example.
Guinea fowl keets are extremely light weight. This fact should be taken into account when selecting the flooring for their brooding box. This is to say that the Guinea fowl keets will not depress their flooring while learning to walk, run and jump. Hard rubber, for example, may provide good surface traction, but the Guinea fowl keets' feet will not 'dig in' to the hard surface and the keets will tend to lose their footing. This can lead to leg and foot injuries/abnormalities.
The Guinea fowl keets photographed here were raised in a brooding box for their first 14-days. The flooring used was three layers. On the bottom was a layer of no-skid rubber. The middle layer was old terrycloth toweling. Finally, the towels were covered with cheap paper towels. The slight ridges and humps that occurred during the installation of the terrycloth towels were left to improve the surface. The paper towels were crumpled and then pulled out flat before installation. This enhanced absorption and also facilitated better Guinea fowl keet footing. All 30 of the Guinea fowl keets raised on this brooding box flooring surface grew to have strong, healthy legs and feet.
Crumpled paper towels make an excellent surface for Guinea fowl keets to be raised on during their first two weeks of life. The paper towels will ensure good footing for the keets, and also make cleaning the brooding box easier. Use cheap paper towels from a discount store, not the more expensive premium varieties. The towels should be changed frequently as Guinea fowl keets evacuate themselves quite regularly. Don't let fecal matter build up on the Guinea fowl keets' feet. If a keet gets dirty feet, very gently wipe them clean with a wet Q-Tip.
ABOUT THE PHOTOS |
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1 – This Guinea fowl is roosting on the 1½" edge of a 2"x4". Note that all of its toes are close together. We've only observed this 'tight toe' configuration when a Guinea fowl is resting or sleeping on a roost or digging in the dirt. Otherwise, the toes are further apart.
2 – It is not uncommon for Guinea fowl to have toes on top of their own toes when they are on the ground. When Guinea fowl are young, their feet often appear too big for their bodies. This photo also shows the development of the adult leg covering: the darker, mottled look.
3 & 4 – Both of these photos are of Guinea fowl keets roosting on the 1½" edges of a 2"x4"s. Even at 30-days of age, Guinea fowl feet are more than large enough to securely grip this size roost. Note the development of the talons. Guinea fowl have very long, sharp talons they use for defense, digging and holding down food. If you are scratched by a Guinea fowl talon, and your skin is torn, be sure to immediately clean and disinfect the wound as Guinea fowl feet can be quite dirty. |
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