How cold is TOO cold for a chicken?

[ChickenSmitten]

http://groups.google.com/group/Mad-City-Chickens/browse_thread/thread/d37cbd50a2b263c6#

Here is very good article posted on Mad City Chickens about moisture/ventilation/cold air

I have decided ( in Wisconsin) no heaters or lamps except to keep the water thawed and keep the coop vents open and provide a covered sheltered area outside too.
My chickens are breeds with little to no wattles or combs to get frostbitten.

 

[speckledhen]

I have a thermometer in my coop. Last night it was 15 degrees. Inside the insulated coop with top vents cracked through the entire 20' length of it, the inside coop temp was about 32 degrees. I have about 47 birds in there and the body heat for the group keeps everyone warmer.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I say we all do an experiment, and see how cold our chickens can get this year.

 

[speckledhen]

I think yours will win every time, Miss Victoria, LOL!

 

[Mrs MIA]

Oh, I don't know about that... I've seen some winters when Michigan and Minnesota were WAYYYY colder'n us!

 

[DawnSuiter]

The almanac predicted much colder conditions here than in years past, so far so true. I think in that case a good year to find out what our chooks can tolerate for the extremes. We've already had more days below freezing here than we usually do all year.. I'll keep a record of our lowes to see... the thermometer does that anyway...

 

[kbbeale]

I was just about to ask this very question. I'm leery about putting the heat lamps in again this season for some reason.....

We have adult buff orphs, laying seramas and young marans. The reason I ask is because night before last, we got down around 35 and the next day, one of my serama roosters was dead - in the laying down/huddling position with his head up! Everyone else is fine - but I'm worried that the seramas are less tolerant to the cold......

Thoughts? Advise? We're near San Antonio, TX. Thanks.

 

[basicliving]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I say we all do an experiment, and see how cold our chickens can get this year.

Victoria - I may have missed it in all the pages of this thread, but do you know how low the temps in your coop get at night? If it's -6 outside (which is just mind boggling to me, BTW!), is it also that cold inside the coop? And if not, how much warmer is it?

Many thanks
Penny​

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Wow... that's the first I've heard of a chicken possibly dying from the cold, though at +35F that shouldn't have been a factor. It's possible there was something else going on, healthwise, with your roo... I'm sorry for your loss!

Now, the bantams are smaller, and therefore retain heat less, and if you only have a few birds, you might want to consider a little heat. But only enough to make them comfortable, not tropical.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Victoria - I may have missed it in all the pages of this thread, but do you know how low the temps in your coop get at night? If it's -6 outside (which is just mind boggling to me, BTW!), is it also that cold inside the coop? And if not, how much warmer is it?

Many thanks
Penny

Hi Penny! I have a weather station hooked up to the internet, and a remote sensor in the coop that I can monitor from indoors. I moved it out to the layer coop last night, which is an 8x8' by 8' tall building, insulated, with two small pop doors and two vents near the rafters. At this very moment in time, it is -0.4F outside, and 18.9°F in the coop. But, that is after I've been in there opening and closing the door, fluffling litter, etc. It usually stays about 25°F warmer than the outside temps.