At what point is it too cold for chickens to sleep outside?

[cstronks]

They would be fine if it were not for the exposure to wind and draft. That is the only reason I would be hesitant to keep them outside. Frostbite can do a lot of damage to the birds flesh. Mine have all been trained to sleep inside, they love their hen house. I spent a small fortune on the thing, so they better! I also close them up due to predator fears. Neighborhood has a bunch of raccoons and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[thornhill]

They would be fine if it were not for the exposure to wind and draft. That is the only reason I would be hesitant to keep them outside. Frostbite can do a lot of damage to the birds flesh. Mine have all been trained to sleep inside, they love their hen house. I spent a small fortune on the thing, so they better! I also close them up due to predator fears. Neighborhood has a bunch of raccoons and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Training is a pretty loose word when it comes to chickens.

When I first got my hens I too trained them to go into the coop at night. And I always also closed the door after them.

Because the run was predator proof I didn't see the point of closing the coop door at night during the summer (and I didn't want to have to worry about getting up early to open it), so I just left it open. For a while they kept going inside at night, but then they stopped.

So it would seem that when given the choice, they prefer to stay outside. I'm sure that in the summer the climate outside is a lot more pleasant, and even in the winter the outside air is fresher.

But as I noted in a recent post, a long spell of rain appears to have motivated them to go inside again. So the hens know they still have access to a sheltered roost and will use it if the weather outside is bad.

 

[Macis Papa]

Mine will spend the whole day outside in single digit temps so Im guessing that they will be fine.

 

[donrae]

While I don't think it's a huge difference in temperature, the coop does offer some wind proofing and should capture some of the warm air given off by the birds.

I guess this is where each person's idea of a coop can make a difference. I agree in a smaller coop, this could happen. I've always had large, walk in coops with lots of ventilation and an open door to the run, so I'd probably have to have birds literally packed into the coop to raise the ambient temperature much. We each have a picture of "coop" in our minds when we respond here, and since coops vary so much, it's hard to give such blanket advice. I remember being shocked when I read one person saying how roosters rarely mate in the coop....mine do all the time. Well, if you have a smaller, elevated coop, I can see that's not going to happen so much, he just won't have a lot of space to do the deed inside. Different set ups lead to different results.

 

[Spartan22]

Ha ha, yes you probably need to attached something to protect them from rain, wind not so much. I do love Hilo, I was there couple of times before, nice and green from the rest of big island.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Ha ha, yes you probably need to attached something to protect them from rain, wind not so much. I do love Hilo, I was there couple of times before, nice and green from the rest of big island.

Thank you for responding...Knew I'd get a laugh or two Got more shower curtains today, so far the one on the EMT rod is working great. The plan was to pound some nails on the top frame to hook the curtains on, remove when not in use but thinking of having Hubby make me more rods for the remaining three sides since they work so great....He don't know it yet

Glad you liked Hilo side, most prefer Kona, too much rain this side. However, Kona's got a lot more rain the last few months last year, it was nice & green there too. It was so beautiful. Thanks again

 

[Spartan22]

By the way where do your pets lay their eggs? I didn't see any nesting boxes. Just curious.