-20 below, what do I do for my flock??

[REELDOC]

I'm a little confused.

Is it better to leave them in the coop all day on extremely cold days or go ahead and open the coop door so they can go out if they want to? On our last sub 20 degree morning I opened the door and they came hauling tail feathers out to start scratching around in the leaves. Didn't seem to mind the cold at all. Tomorrow night it will be 14 with a high of 28 on Friday.

I have one or two of six 23 week old hens laying now and don't want to mess things up if I don't need to.

I still cringe at the thought of a heat lamp overall of those pine shavings.

 

[ams3651]

i say its up to them if they want to go out, we've had temps in the 10's and 20's and the only time I didnt open the door was high winds but they wont go out in the snow and get their tootsies cold. They seem just fine inside but they have the whole shed to wonder in.

 

[ebonykawai]

Ooooh, Brahampooter, where upstate are you? I'm near Niagara Falls!

I made a nice hot mash for my girls this evening, they dove into it! Leftovers are now in the garage, I'll nuke them tomorrow and give 'em a second round. Anything to help get through this frigid blast.

It's 8F at the moment.

 

[BJ]

Mine don't have much choice...they have to come out to eat! The coop is too small for them to be confined all day. They go in to sleep at night, and to use the nest box and I have never seen them go in to get out of the cold. I have my run covered in plastic on 2 of the 3 sides right now, and I hung some rugs and canvas over the open areas to help keep out the draft from the arctic blast we are getting in the next 2 days. Every morning, they willingly come out to get their scratch and feed. They have a sheltered area to run under to coop. I just set up a heat lamp under there so they can cozy up...but only because it is supposed to get to zero degrees tomorrow. I also have a lamp over the water to keep it from freezing. So far, they are okay. I DO worry about them, but I figure they would know better than I. When I wear my DOWN coat, I don't even feel the cold vs. when I wear my regular coat. I think to myself that is how they feel all the time with their built-in down coats!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Quote:
I'm East of Lake Ontario, In northern Oswego county. Happy Valley.
It's 0 right now, not as bad as I had expected. so far.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

we are at 5 right now. But it's supposed to get colder as the day goes on. Tomorrow, my day off is supposed to get below 0. Granted not as far below 0 as some of you get. But "we" dont get this cold that often here

 

[jhc]

Hawtchick,
If the coup isn't drafty, they should be fine.

 

[thedeacon]

When it gets really cold, below freezing the most important things to do are: Have a draft free coop, have water (prefereable in a heated waterer for continuous use) and 24/7 feed. Providing these will provide a long an healthy life for your chicks.

 

[antlers]

Quote:
Agree. I have 8 hens in an insulated coop 8x12 , Locked in from about dec 1 to warm up. I have 1 -250 watt heat light on 24/7 and one compact flor for white light. Water does not freeze but last night when it hit -30 there was frost on the walls. The girls are fine though. They generate a LOT of heat if you just let em eat all they want. Keep it dry as you can. They will be fine.

 

[ebonykawai]

Quote:
I go there every summer! We go to Sterling ren faire and usually stay over in the Best Western Captain's Quarters. At least you guys don't have 4 feet of snow this year, huh??