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Colder weather question

post #1 of 7
10/11/11 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 

I didn't have my chickens in the winter last year.  As it getting colder soon, I have questions.  My coop has a screened window and a full sized dooe that is always open that leads out to the open caged in area.  Should I close off the window, close the door, add a heat lamp or any combination.  I just want to make sure they are OK.

25 chicks, 6 cats, 3 goats and 2 dogs.  Nice living directly across the street from the city limits!!
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25 chicks, 6 cats, 3 goats and 2 dogs.  Nice living directly across the street from the city limits!!
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post #2 of 7
10/11/11 at 10:20pm

There are lots of "cold weather" threads here, they all seem to indicate that chickens are good to about 30-40 below Fahrenheit as long as they are dry and have a windbreak.  So they should be just fine in Roswell without a whole lot of fuss.  They got these really neat feather suits they wear, ya know?

Check out this thread!    http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=421122

Chicken train, runnin' all day....

two horses, one lab/spaniel, one husky/blue heeler, one elderly lab/chow, one elderly heeler, one terrorist yellow cat, and 6 real live chickens!!!!

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Chicken train, runnin' all day....

two horses, one lab/spaniel, one husky/blue heeler, one elderly lab/chow, one elderly heeler, one terrorist yellow cat, and 6 real live chickens!!!!

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post #3 of 7
10/12/11 at 12:53am
  • Imp
  • All things share the same breath- Chief Seattle
Quote:
Originally Posted by Who922 

I didn't have my chickens in the winter last year.  As it getting colder soon, I have questions.  My coop has a screened window and a full sized dooe that is always open that leads out to the open caged in area.  Should I close off the window, close the door, add a heat lamp or any combination.  I just want to make sure they are OK.


In general chickens can survive some very cold weather. But they need for conditions to be optimal. Primarily they need to be in a draft free coop with adequate ventilation. Humidity is dangerous. And where and how your coop is located can make a difference.
Are your chickens a cold hardy breed? Not all chickens are created equal.
Without seeing your set-up I am not able to tell you how to care for your chickens. But it does sound like you have a pretty open coop. Probably necessary for your summers, but maybe not so great for your winters. I see that your record low was
-29*F, a long time ago.
Are your chickens pets? If so you may want to spoil them with a little heat. It won't hurt them and it might make you feel better. And be careful how you do heat to avoid accidents.
If you choose to not heat, just be aware that frostbite is a possibility and there will be extra work hauling water during freezing weather.

Good luck,

Imp


Edited by Imp - 10/12/11 at 12:57am

 

 

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit,

for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.

All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.

 

       ― Chief Seattle

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If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit,

for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.

All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.

 

       ― Chief Seattle

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post #4 of 7
10/12/11 at 6:38am

I looked at your coop pictures on your other thread.  I wouldn't worry about closing those.  You have a big coop, the roosts are in the back, the window and the door are at the front part of the coop.

I didn't see any other ventilation openings in the pictures.  If you close the window and the door, they wouldn't have any ventilation at all, unless I missed something.  That would be a problem.  In that case, I absolutely wouldn't close the window.

If you wanted to, you could seal any cracks right around the roost area.  They'd probably be okay without that, though.

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post #5 of 7
10/12/11 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the responses!  With what yall said and the other threads, I think I will close off the window and leave the door open to cut down on the draft.  The door faces south, so it won't get the north wind.  The only thing I think I may have to do is change the roosts a little so that they are higher.  Some of the chickens still like to roost on the ledges next to the door.  It does get rather cold here at times.  It was below zero last year and destroyed lots of my commemorative Coke bottle collection I had in an unheated room.

25 chicks, 6 cats, 3 goats and 2 dogs.  Nice living directly across the street from the city limits!!
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25 chicks, 6 cats, 3 goats and 2 dogs.  Nice living directly across the street from the city limits!!
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post #6 of 7
10/12/11 at 7:29am

Don't need heat, as far as the window, play it by ear. They will not freeze to death, if they have never had heat and are in an unheated coop, I promise.

For the window, start wide open, don't start to adjust it until it is 0 or lower. Then, you can but only if you can not feel ANY moisture in the coop first thing in the morning when you let em out. They can survive outside in a tree, being in a four walled coop with a roof is the Taj-Mahal of the bird world.

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post #7 of 7
10/12/11 at 8:19am

Fortunately, chickens take freezing weather much better than bottles of coke.  Better than we do, too.  I'm sorry about your collection, though.

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