Guinea Keets in hot weather

[montyhp]

Got 8 keets today at the feed store, they are about 5 days old. I just have them in a cage on the back porch. It was 90 degrees when we put them out there. It will top out at 100 or 102 today. They are under the shade and under a tarp (all but one side of the cage) so they don't freak out too much at their new surroundings. There is a slight breeze.

Will the keets do OK at 100 degrees if they are shaded? These are my first guineas. (I have done chicks in the winter before, but not the summer).

By the way, it has been over 100 for 18 days this summer in south TX, worst I can remember. Hope we make up for this with a cool year next year.

Montyhp
South TX

 

[damselfish]

100 would be high for any kind of chick/keet...you're generally aiming for 95 the first week. But is it really 100 degrees under there in the shade?

Best thing is just to watch them. If they are panting, wings spread out, flopped down, then they are too hot!

If they are, you might freeze a milk carton full of water and put it in there where they can go toward it or away as needed to cool off.

And in case nobody said it yet

 

[montyhp]

Only got to 97 in the shade today. I am giving them a heat lamp tonight to keep them in the 90 degree range. I have a fan and a mister for them if it gets too hot tomorrow.

Montyhp

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

Welcome! I know how hot it gets in S. Texas..I grew up there. The good news is this: guineas are from Africa and they seem to manage the heat better. But the humidity could be a problem. My young guineas are already feathered out but not yet adult size. I moved them outside into cages and recently into a hoop coop that is 8'x12' and in a shady area. They seem just fine. We get quite a few 100+ days here in N. Texas.

John