How cold is TOO cold for a chicken?

[ckelley]

Thanks! I will need to get some. I have one large nesting box, but I'm considering putting individual tubs in there. That should help them be able to form it better I'm guessing.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks! I will need to get some. I have one large nesting box, but I'm considering putting individual tubs in there. That should help them be able to form it better I'm guessing.

Most definitely....also helps when the nest boxes are covered and have a deep lip. The birds like it better and it makes for warmer nesting solutions.

 

[timebider]

In response to the post by @Marrum:

We just went through a cold snap here in northwestern Wyoming - temps of 23 below zero. Even the Silkies are fine with no supplemental heat. I know that the theory is that if the heat lamp is secured there is no way for it to fall into the bedding and cause a fire. But that lamp doesn't NEED to fall into the bedding to cause a fire. Panicked birds can fly into it and those feathers are extremely combustible due to the oils and dander in them. Dust accumulates on the bulb and the housing of the heat lamp and that, too, is combustible. I had wisps of smoke that came up off a regular 60 watt light bulb I was using when I flipped on the light just to do my chores out there in the early darkness a couple of years ago.

The risk of fire is too great to ignore, in my opinion, especially when all the other logical reasons not to provide heat that @Beekissed cited are so solid. So far this season two people lost their coops and chickens to heat lamp fires within a couple of days of each other. I'm going to give you the links, and as you read their posts just listen to the anguish of their losses.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1145874/only-joined-after-my-coop-burnt

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1145876/dont-use-heat-bulbs

And we had one very close to home this spring, just a few miles down the road from us. The final investigation on this fire determined that it was, indeed, the heat lamp which caused it:




If nothing else can convince you not to use artificial heat, at least be sensible and don't use a heat lamp. There are other options, such as Sweeter Heaters, etc., but again, with the superb insulating qualities of feathers, the common sense approach to a dry environment, and not trying to base their needs on ours, they'll do fine all winter. The day I took this photo it was -9 degrees. We just opened the run door and out they came, and they didn't mind it a bit. Notice that there are 2 Silkies out with the other chickens.

I really appreciate the wisdom in this post, especially since I'm sitting in my warm, toasty house worrying about my chickens out in the -30 wind chill tonight (they have a dry coop, but still). Just curious: where you are, do you get much wind? My girls' coop opens into a greenhouse with a dust box and pine shavings that they can scratch around in, but they're still desperate to get outside. I haven't allowed it because 20-30 mph winds (with gusts to 40 and 50 mph) are routine here, and the last time they were out in windy, rainy weather, a few developed respiratory issues. But even though I do stuff like hang cabbages and throw scratch out in the greenhouse, they've begun picking on each other out of boredom, so I've actually been thinking of letting them out. I figure if nothing else, they'll find out the icy ground is not as nice as they apparently think it is!

 

[WthrLady]

We have howling winds. In fact, tonight we'll be down to -25'F. No problem. They aren't in the wind. Their in their coop and run which is protected from the wind. -9'F is not a problem for them. I don't bother letting them free range when it is cold AND windy. And when they do THINK they want out, I let them, and they turn right back around to get out of the wind. It is the wind that draws the warmed air trapped in their down feathers away from their body and chills them.

If all they have is a tiny coop for day and NIGHT, and cannot get out of and stay out of the wind in the daytime, then THAT is a problem you will want to address when you can. Space in the winter is important to keep peace in the flock.

As for the dangers of those *&^% bulbs, I agree! House burned to the ground last spring with family using the space under their front porch for new chicks until they built the coop. They were using a heat lamp, burned the whole house down. (Family and dog OK)

I went to go pop in on a family a couple of weeks ago that I provided their whole first flock to, 16 birds. COOP GONE, had gone up in flames.

They can get knocked over, flown into, explode on their own, fall, collect dust, or the glue holding the screw base can MELT, and then you loose everything!

 

[WthrLady]

That green house (covered hoop house) is FINE. As for the respiratory issue, it could have been caused more likely by a build up of ammonia in the coop or dust in the run. They need plenty of ventilation, but NO drafts. In fact, one whole end of my coop is even walled up, just giant opening with hardware wire across it.

 

[WthrLady]

ANother thought, is to get a hold of a bale of hay (NOT straw) and toss it in there. Just break it apart a little. The chickens will have a ball breaking it up looking for seeds, and bugs, and the hay is a warmer place to sit than dust and pine shavings. In the Spring, either let it deep mulch compost in your run (what we do) or fork it out and compost it.

 

[ckelley]

It's -23 and my coop is sitting at 8 F. I have one of those under the desk leg warmer panels on one wall at an angle. They can get up under it or against it if they want to.

I've gone out and checked on them (-12)and they were contentedly moving about- not huddled up under it.

 

[Kris7115]

I live in upstate New York. Winters here are long & fairly cold ie: 20 below is not unusual.
I don't try to heat my coop & don't know anyone who does. If your coop is draft free & dry you shouldn't have any illness problems.
Pheasants, Partridge & Turkeys,all relatives of barnyard birds, live outdoors all winter. They come with down coats remember.

 

[Kris7115]

DEPENDS on how cold, for how long - here in Colorado foothills, tonight it will dip below 32 overnight, get up to 50 in daytime. If chickens are DRY, they do just fine. I will plug in their heated water bowl overnight tonight, may put it on the timer. Once it's 32 or lower all day, colder at night, I will plug in a drop cord with lightbulb, on a timer for nighttime. Once it gets below 0 ...and it will...I will add a brooder lamp overnight, keep the lightbulb on all day. Chickens have a very good down covering underneath and can tuck their heads under and do just fine. (Oh, they also don't care much for wind). I have 7 hens, various breeds.)

 

[FarmDreamer]

This will be our first winter with chickens and I have a few questions. First off attached is the coop we are using for 4 hens. We live in south central Wisconsin and get some pretty blustery, frigid winters. The coop is located in the corner next to a 6 foot tall wooden fence and a garage so there should be some wind protection.

My main concern is that the chute has no covering either inside where they roost or at the bottom in the run area, and I am worried about the cold coming up into the top roost area. Should we make a door for the bottom, making one for inside would be too cumbersome and get covered in poop/bedding. If we do put a door should we also add extra ventilation in the top roost area, currently there are 3 holes at the roost end and we could add three to the nest box end.

Also I was thinking of getting something to cover the lower slanted sides where the hardware cloth is, in order to keep the snow out of the run area and provide some more wind protection during the day. Maybe corrugated roofing?

Currently the coop is attached to a pallet on the base to keep it from sitting in wet mud as well as to keep predators out, but this way the hens cannot scratch. Not a big deal right now as they have access to a much larger fenced in area during the day, but come winter I feel like they may spend more time in the lower run when the rest of their space is covered in feet of snow. Not sure if we should make more of a foot print border to attach to the bottom of the coop (with a buried hardware cloth apron) so they can access the dirt or if the frozen ground will even appeal to them. I don't think putting this coop directly on the ground is the best idea as far as longevity is concerned as their run area is pretty wet/muddy in the fall/spring and the coop is made of fir wood.

Last thing, not related to the cold but I was thinking we should divide the nest box in two, will a hen lay if there is already an egg in the nest box? (only one of our hens is laying right now, just started, and will probably stop as the daylight lessens. The others may not even start till spring.)

TIA!