Baby Keet

So this is the little keet I am brooding downstairs. Except now he’s upstairs quite a bit as his feathers grow in and he doesn’t need to be under the brooder light constantly. Keeping with the ‘Out of Africa’ theme, his name is Mandela. If he’s a girl, I can change it to Mandelas or Mandy. Or may-be I just keep with Mandela, I’m sure the keet doesn’t care.

Guineas are real cute for a few weeks then they start hinting at ugly and it just progresses from there. Mandela is just leaving his good looks behind. His new feathers coming in are straggling and wet looking. As they grow in, the cute grows out. I took a lot of pictures hoping to get a couple that were flattering. These pics are the best I could do. He’s not buzzard looking yet, but with those big eyes and that narrow little head, he looks like he should be flying around in a spaceship; he’s got that space alien look.

Physical appearance notwithstanding, Mandela is sure a sweetie pie. I started bringing him up stairs because I figured it wasn’t good for him to be alone all the time. In a normal situation, he’d have siblings and a mama to socialize with. All he has is four rubber blue walls; I’m not thinking that’s all that stimulating for him…unless, of course, he’s crazy then rubber walls are in order. At first, he’d sit in my lap, talking to me in his two-note whistle. After a while, he liked sitting on my shoulder as I watched TV. I was very impressed with his interest in M*A*S*H, it is a great show but I’d think the humour would be lost on a bird. Then I realized he was looking out the window. Which made sense, so now I’m the birdbrain for giving him too much credit. After a while, I put out a towel so he could walk around for a bit. Now he pretty much thinks he has the run of the house.

When I leave the room, he scurries after me, his two note whistle sounding just a little frantic, it translates easily to “Hey, YOU! Hey, YOU!” or may-be “Wait UP! Wait UP! Or even “HEY YOU, WAIT UP!” He enjoys the dogs and the cat doesn’t intimidate him at all. I’m thinking he’s in for quite a culture shock when I put him out in the coop. It might be a good idea to have him in a cage for the first little while out there. I’m hoping he’ll feel a little more secure and the others won’t have a chance to pick on him because he might come off as a bit of a oddball what with not much practice in social bird skills. And then when everyone is used to each other, I’ll start opening the door. That won’t be happening for a few more weeks yet. So for now, I’ll just enjoy the ugly little bird with the sweet disposition.