Cold weather loving Guinea?

Buxton Ducks

Songster
10 Years
Jan 16, 2012
311
20
164
Buxton, Maine
Meet Snooki! She was a feed store leftover who ending up coming home with my chicken, peacock and duck order! First of all I love her and she is a great flock guard. Secondly, is it normal for an African fowl to LOVE winter and the snow? This picture was taken this morning and it was 8 degrees with a -5 windchill. She has been out all day and even falls asleep standing in the snow. Since she is my only guinea, I didn't know if this was normal.

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she must think she is a chicken since she is the only one. I have had a few and NONE of them liked the snow but the cold didnt hurt them. no frost bite.
 
My guineas may go outside for a few minutes when it is that cold but they don't stay our for long. I usually keep all my birds confined when it drops lower than the teens. Guineas can get their wattles frostbit and their feet can freeze when being left outside for extended periods.
I would have to say that what you describe doesn't seem like normal behavior. I would make her go back inside if she were mine.
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I get lots of snow every winter where I live, and my guineas always have the option of leaving their coop in the mornings or staying inside. For the most part, they still love to venture outside. A lot of the time, they might be huddled underneath the coop, but very rarely do they stay inside - even on the chilliest of days. Of course at dusk, they do go back inside to get warmed up again. With last winter's consistently freezing temps, they were just fine. I think they just enjoy being able to look around at everything outside. So if it's not too cold for your other birds, the guinea should be just fine, too.
 
I have eight guineas and they will roost in the tree at night when it is snowing, sleeting, freezing rain or just raining but when it's clear outside they go and roost on the beam in the barn. Go figure. This past week we had sleet and it covered everything and there they all were almost at the top of the tree. I expected to find more than one the next morning on the ground frozen in place - guinea icicle. Nope, they all came running to meet me asking for their millet. We always have a door open for them to go inside where there is a heated bucket of water, feed, a bale of third cuttings of alfalfa and usually millet thrown on the floor but they seem to love the tree that is right outside the chicken house and tractors. Tonight is clear but is going to be in the teens and it bothered me that they were making for the tree, so I made a big production of stomping away and they followed me into the barn. Once the leader flies up then they all follow.
 

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