Cold weather does horrible things to flock like guinea fowl.
Guinea fowl can handle a bit of cold. If your guinea fowls are in a coop and sheltered and dry, they can survive temperatures of -1F or -18C. As long as they have enough feed and enough water, you’re good to go.
The reason we say a bit is because they could handle cold based on a variety of factors.
The factors are the things this article would be talking about.
In this article, I will be telling you about guinea fowls and how they effectively handle and thrive in cold weather.
How do guinea fowls manage in the cold
In the cold, guinea fowls fluff all of their feathers, so warm air from their bodies would warm their feet and legs through cold seasons like winter.
What’s the amount of cold that is just too cold for your guinea fowl?
In icy weather, your guinea fowls should have beddings that are completely dry, water that isn’t frozen, and the usual amount of feed.
If your guinea fowls are in a coop and sheltered and dry, they can survive temperatures of -1F or -18C. As long as they have enough feed and enough water, you’re good to go.
How well can guinea fowls take cold weather?
For your guinea fowls used to be in warm climates, they could tolerate some minor amounts of cold temperatures.
Too cold temperatures could freeze them to death. But in a sheltered and dry coop and lots of liquid water and feed, they can take icy weather.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on do guinea fowls deter foxes?
What type of feed do you need to give guinea fowl in winter?
All through winter, you should give your guinea fowls regular chicken or bird feed. This feed includes the following:
- Alfalfa meal. This has a high amount of protein and is excellent for winter.
- Corn
- Field peas
- Wheat
- Barley or/and oats
These meals would help the internal system of your guinea fowl to accommodate and help them manage the cold weather.
Getting a great feed that has a lot of calories and protein is highly important in winter.
Especially if you stay in a place that has a lot of deep snow, short days, and long nights, this way, it’ll be difficult for your guinea fowls to get their food.
You should help your guinea fowls by hiding some feed inside their coop and run around for them to check and hustle for their feed.
This way, they get and remain amused on finding their excellent feed.
How can you manage your guinea fowls in seasons like winter?
Your guinea fowls could easily survive way longer in the absence of food than they can in the absence of water.
You should get unfrozen sources of water.
These would help maintain the temperature of the body of your guinea fowl all through the winter.
Make sure you do not assume that your guinea fowl could consume snow; instead, get them normal drinking water.
The weather is already too cold. It takes a whole lot of snow consumption before it would be equal to your guinea fowl drinking water.
What is the amount of time your guinea fowl would need to be around the heat lamp?
They need a warm temperature in their coops of around ninety-five degrees for their first week for little guinea fowls.
This drops to around five degrees every three days or so till the ending of the brooding period.
Guinea fowls do not panic when the snow comes.
If your coop is appropriately sheltered and closed, then you don’t have any problems when your guinea fowls are all inside the coop.
The coop you have provided for your guinea fowls would provide a simple place for your guinea fowls to sleep or roost in a predator-proof, draft-free dry place that has more than enough ventilation.
These shelters need to have adequate space and bars for roosting for all of your guinea fowls.
When winter or cold weather comes, your shelter needs to have unfrozen water, enough feed, and beddings that are dry.
If your guinea fowls are in a coop that is sheltered and dry, they could survive temperatures around -1F or -18C as long as they have more than enough feed or water to drink.
They would be fine.
Also check out this article I wrote on why do guinea fowls make so much noise?
Do you need extra light and heating for your guinea fowl in cold weather?
When the weather becomes freezing, at around 0F, you need to get some stable source of extra heating and light.
It would be best if you let your guinea fowls roost naturally in the night and then make use of all the extra light to bring them up in the morning.
Make sure your guinea fowls sleep with the light on. If you make this mistake, you could wake up and meet all of your guinea fowls dead or very ill.
What happens to your guinea fowl if they get beaten by the rain?
You need to know that your guinea fowls aren’t affected by rainfall.
The only time rainfall stresses your guinea fowl are times when the rain beats them so much, and they get soaked to their bone.
If that doesn’t happen, they could easily fluff up their feathers and then insulate themselves.
This would keep them warm as efficiently as possible.
They get to tuck their head under one of their wings, and then they could relax and cover up their feet as they roost.
It would be best to get a coop that is appropriately sheltered, enough feed and running water.
That would be all you need to take care of your guinea fowl that rain fell on.
Can Guinea Fowls get frostbite?
It would help if you worried a little bit about your guinea fowl getting frostbite.
This happens when your guinea fowl dips itself inside freezing water, freezing a part of its body.
But instead of having a frostbitten guinea fowl, it might simply be a wattle.
These wattles aren’t flexible or as long as frostbite. If your guinea fowl get a wattle, they remain in one spot, so they don’t fall and ultimately enter the freezing water.
The treatment for both of these issues is the same. Apply Vaseline on the wattle before you let your guinea fowl be.
But it isn’t easy. They would fight you.
You need to do it patiently and carefully because guinea fowls are crazy birds.
It would be a memorable experience at the end of the day.
Conclusion
Guinea fowls can handle cold weather depending on various conditions.
It depends on the type of shelter or coops your guinea fowl were raised in.
It also depends on the amount of food and water that’s available in cold weather.
In the absence of enough food or water, your guinea fowl would want to go out, and it could end up getting wattles or frostbitten.
Use a Vaseline to wipe the part of your guinea fowl that has a wattle
