Acclimating 3 month old chickens to outdoor temps in November

[CoffeeintheCoop]

We are in central IL. People are wearing coats, with temps ranging from 30 to 50 in general right now.

I have 3 month old chickens, on the smaller size range, and finishing their coop and run this week.

I have them in an exterior porch all day, to acclimate to outdoor temps, but I've been bringing them back into the 65-68 degree house at night. The porch is VERY cold overnight, much colder than their snug coop will be. They were completely indoors until about 5 days ago, for several suboptimal reasons.

Any advice on slowly acclimating them? Their coop is 40" x 37", made of thick plastic with adjustable ventilation slats. I can easily keep it clean and dry. Maybe it will be warm enough that as soon as everything is ready, maybe in another week or so, they can use the coop overnight, since it should be much warmer than the porch.

 

[saysfaa]

I would pick the warmest night you are likely to get in the next week or so and put them out in the coop that night. At three months, they should be well feathered and can handle the drops you are likely to have. Especially as they have been on the cooler porch during the day.

 

[3KillerBs]

I've had 5-week-old chicks off heat in nightime lows in the low 40's for the past couple weeks.

If they've got all their feathers and you ensure that they can be out of the wind they should be fine. They'll probably huddle up nice and cozy.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If they have been having field trips outside during the day I think they're fine to put out at night.

 

[aart]

The porch is VERY cold overnight, much colder than their snug coop will be.

Remember that they need to be dry and out of the wind, rather than 'warm'.
Ventilation is key, even in the winter.

Posting some pics of your coop, inside and out, will let us help you optimize for winter temps.

central IL.

Would be good to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[CoffeeintheCoop]

Remember that they need to be dry and out of the wind, rather than 'warm'.
Ventilation is key, even in the winter.

Posting some pics of your coop, inside and out, will let us help you optimize for winter temps.


Would be good to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2885043

Awesome, thank you! Here is an outside photo of the coop. I will grab an indoor image next time I am home during daylight. It seems tight to me but has ventilation louvers at the top that could be closed, but offer partially-closed options as well as being fully open. They are under the highest roof peak on both sides.

 

[WIchickMama]

Not sure what the other 2 sides look like but might not be enough ventilation. How many chickens?

 

[CoffeeintheCoop]

Not sure what the other 2 sides look like but might not be enough ventilation. How many chickens?

Four. Two are small Easter eggers, one probably will be a full sized Black Astralorp, and the fourth is a small BA. I will snap a closeup of the vents, too. I can do these additional photos tomorrow morning before work!

I'm so grateful for everyone's input!

 

[3KillerBs]

Awesome, thank you! Here is an outside photo of the coop. I will grab an indoor image next time I am home during daylight. It seems tight to me but has ventilation louvers at the top that could be closed, but offer partially-closed options as well as being fully open. They are under the highest roof peak on both sides.

I'm sorry, but that coop has nowhere near enough ventilation.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Generous ventilation is required because, while chickens can tolerate dry cold well down to 0F and below, cold + moisture = frostbite.

Here's a useful article on cold-weather chicken keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[CoffeeintheCoop]

I'm sorry, but that coop has nowhere near enough ventilation.

This is starting to make more sense to me. I am now understanding that the reason the porch is so cold is that there is condensation on the inside of the windows. THAT is what you mean by wet/damp. BAD.

I moved 10 other chickens to a super well-built and recently improved garden shed and I put about a foot of shavings and straw on the concrete floor and that coop, although taller than the ceilings of the house, (it has a second floor level to half of it) is WARM AND COZY. even though the ventilation isn't very large (and may have to be enlarged based on your guidelines), I now am aware how warm a coop can be compared to the colder outside.

So. I'm not sure what to do. Would it harm the 4 Littles to come inside the house each night, and outside during the day?