Can chickens stand the cold weather?

[aoxa]

Wimpy stuff! My wife said one of our Cubalayas was burying most of her whole self under one of the bigger girls! I've seen Peep decide she wanted to be on the other side of another chicken and since she is too small to step over, she tunnels under. GOOSE!

I've also seen the "higher" girls walk right over the back of a roosting girl to get to "their" spot.


Please hit the "Quote" button on a post if you are going to refer to it. Kind of hard to know WHICH wonderful idea is "the" wonderful idea. LOTS of wonderful ideas here on BYC.

You need an electric car Justine! Not only does it take mere seconds of YOUR time on the "pump" handle, they start in ANY temperature

Yeah, I understand people need a "second car" for longer trips. And no, I do not YET have an EV myself.


Comb? You call THAT puny thing a comb Julie?

THIS is a comb:



And that is Zia, Uwe's comb is bigger ( and flops to her left). They are getting a touch of frost bite on the tips but not as badly as your girl. And since someone will ask, they are Ancona.


They are more likely to get frostbite IN the coop since the humidity is likely higher in a (mostly) enclosed space.

Bruce

What a comb!

 

[rancher hicks]

What a comb!

No Comb over.

 

[aoxa]

No Comb over.

 

[Izzymoon]

Rancher, yes they do have enough room, and they laid 4 out of 5 eggs. I think one of my barred rocks might be starting to molt. I kept them inside till about 1pm and then the temps had gotten up to 18 degrees (F) so I let them out, and cleaned the coop. The black spots I saw had gone away, so I am happy I kept them in for awhile at least. Looks like weather is starting to warm up (20's F) so I think we are safe now

 

[Cknldy]

Chickens had more sense than the dog today. I heard gunshots and ran to make sure my dog hadn't gotten loose. She was sitting on the porch in front of the door with ice on her fur and iced ear tips! Crazy girl wouldn't go in her house when it was snow then rain then sleet. Took a dog comb to her to get the ice off, defrosted her ears with my hands and had to MAKE her go in her house. Yep, pea size chicken brains were smarter today

 

[LittleJJs]

If we have six hens how big should we make are coop

 

[rancher hicks]

If we have six hens how big should we make are coop

Well if you already have a coop you should increase it by a least five times it's size. Bigger is better I always say. It' easier to keep a small flock in a big coop than vice versa.

Anyhow seriously I'd say a good size would be 6' X 6' with a run added or 8' X 8'. Some thing in that square footage. What have you got? Pics would be nice.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Well if you already have a coop you should increase it by a least five times it's size. Bigger is better I always say. It' easier to keep a small flock in a big coop than vice versa.

Anyhow seriously I'd say a good size would be 6' X 6' with a run added or 8' X 8'. Some thing in that square footage. What have you got? Pics would be nice.

That's what we have with four hens and a rooster, and there is lot's of space.

 

[rancher hicks]

I really think a good way to tell is if it look visually crowded. The more space the better of course.

I have the covered runs so they can move outside if they feel cramped. I've noticed the Dels hang out under the heated waterer where they find some added warmth. Unless of course they're just gossiping about Buckwheat and Frenchy. The two frizzle girls.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

I tried to prevent it the best I could, but my rooster go frostebite...

two of the tips on his comb are on the verge of falling off, and his biggest tip on his comb is yellow and almost looks like it's peeling. I don't understand how he got it, because even though it was -8 degrees four days in a row, he was out of the wind and was in an area with tons of ventilation. He spends most of the day in the front of the barn, but like I said, he was well out of the wind. Is their any way I could have prevented this better? I was putting vaseline on him every night that it was below 10 degrees, but even that didn't keep him from getting it...

I'm just really upset, because he is one of the prettiest Rhode Island Red's I've had, and now he will probably loose 3 tips on his comb. So is there any way I can keep this from happening to him again, and keep it from happening to my other rooster? The rooster in my icon is the one who got the frostbite

Also, it doesn't seem like he is, but is he in any pain? Because it looks painful, but he is acting like normal. He does shake his head a lot the last 2 days though. If he is in pain, what are some ways I can help him?