How cold is too cold for my location/situation?

[SouthDakotaLiving]

I live in Hot Springs, SD (southwestern black hills), a dry climate, where winter temps have become extreme. Tonight/tomorrow lows expected -25 to -30 degrees F. The air temp here can get even colder than this, apparently (actual temp, excluding wind chill). I should add that winter temps are highly variable, so even though it's this cold right now, it might be +40 degrees in a week. I'm new to chickens and new to living in such an extreme environment.

My five cold-hearty, 8-month-old pullets have an insulated, 83 sq ft converted shed coop with good ventilation (5-6 feet) above where they roost. I can tell the birds are miserable due to the cold. I have a radiant heater that only provides a tiny bit of heat for the one bird at the end of the line who roosts next to it. During the day the birds do not lean against it and I'm not even sure they know how to benefit from it. They huddle in a corner, often up on one foot. I have another little heat panel (which is designed for nesting boxes) up on a shelf, but they never hover against it. They have very deep straw bedding and I try to get the poop up daily.

My questions are: 1) Should I bring the birds inside to a tiny laundry room when temps get this low even though I know that would be extremely stressful for them? What air temp would require me to bring them inside? 2) Should buy another radiant heater and try to mount it so that more birds can benefit or is there some other way to ensure their survival?

Thanks so much for your responses.

 

[wamtazlady]

I live in NW Montana. My coop is uninsulated and has 10 square feet of vents that are never closed. There is no extra heat at all. The run has clear vinyl around 3 sides. At -26 my chickens are out in their run, pecking and eating and drinking and doing normal chicken things.

If your birds are huddled in a corner at a similar temperature that I have then there is an issue. I would look for a breeze blowing through your coop. You might want to hang some thin ribbon around the coop to check for a breeze. You might want to post some pictures of your coop. Some of our experts might see a problem that you haven't seen.

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

Thanks, that's very helpful. One bird seems Ok with the weather, but the others definitely are not Ok. The two smallest are having the most difficulty.

I just added a heat lamp, which I know is NOT a good idea due to fire danger and risk of birds not acclimating appropriately, but maybe Ok during the day when I can monitor it and when temps are extreme. I won't keep it on now, but may turn it on as temps get lower. The birds' behavior changed within 5 minutes of putting it up; they stopped whimpering and huddling and instead made their usual loud sounds and walked around the coop--clearly happier.

I believe the coop is virtually draft free except for the two pop doors which, even when closed, still allow some air in. I put "lean to" type porches outside the two pop doors to reduce any draft there, and I added tarps around those areas for the current storm. Other than taping them up, I can't think of any other way to mitigate against those small draft areas. Not sure how to tape them up since the surface is shingles. I don't currently see any evidence of condensation in the coop.

Although I had a heated waterer just outside one of the pop doors, the birds were so cold from the pop door being opened that I gave up on that. I have been bringing hot water in a rubber horse bowl several times a day, which I remove after a few minutes.

I can add more ventilation by opening the two windows even wider and by opening the top of the Dutch door, but frankly that seems cruel when they are huddled in the corner. Perhaps I should provide the extra ventilation if using the heat lamp (?)

I hope @Mrs. K might chime in, as she is also in southwestern SD.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

You could try a huddle box with or without a heating mat/pad. Safer than a heat lamp...

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

You could try a huddle box with or without a heating mat/pad. Safer than a heat lamp...

Oh, that's a good idea. Maybe a cardboard box with the little peeps warmer pad inside, but I don't think I should put straw inside there due to fire risk, right? Maybe I'll just put the box in with straw and omit the warmer pad for now...

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Oh, that's a good idea. Maybe a cardboard box with the little peeps warmer pad inside, but I don't think I should put straw inside there due to fire risk, right? Maybe I'll just put the box in with straw and omit the warmer pad for now...

Those low watt pads are pretty safe I think, though anything electrical is going to have some fire risk... Wouldn't leave it on 24/7 but might be good for those really cold days.

 

[Mrs. K]

Welcome to SD...where we frequently have 50-70 degree changes in temperature.

You need to do what you are comfortable with, SouthDakotaLiving. They are your birds. There is no chicken police that will call you on it if you bring them in or add heat.

The problem with adding heat is that people tend to want to close up the ventilation as we have been taught since childhood. And the real chance of fire, especially in a high wind. Wind can unexpectedly blow things down, and all of a sudden you have heat source in hay or straw, and not a good combination.

Instead of thinking warm, I try and think Dry and still. The last several days, I have sprinkled the bedding with scratch, and they have dutifully scratched and kicked it into a nice fluffy pile.

Inadvertently, my coop is place so that the pop up door is facing north. I created a tunnel around that door opening to the east, which took care of my draft. I was down there this morning, with a fairly stiff breeze - and I checked inside the coop, and it was quiet and still.

Outside in my run, I have wind protection, and a feed bowl under that, I seldom water inside the coop, but will for the next couple of days. I also soak the scratch with water for several hours before feeding them the drained mixture. They will peck at grains even frozen, whereas if I dampen the pellets or crumbles, and they freeze, they won't eat them at all.

Several winters ago, we got down to -35 degrees air temperature. I was pretty worried, but I didn't even get frost bite, and they were fine. Since then, I do not worry about my birds and temperature in my set up. However, I am not a real worrying kind of person, and I do know, that sometimes birds die. I can accept that, other people with more sensibilities really grieve terribly.

So I hope you are hunkered down, there seems to be quite a bit more snow than they were expecting, and the wind is howling.

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

I just added a heat lamp, which I know is NOT a good idea due to fire danger and risk of birds not acclimating appropriately, but maybe Ok during the day when I can monitor it and when temps are extreme. I won't keep it on now, but may turn it on as temps get lower. The birds' behavior changed within 5 minutes of putting it up; they stopped whimpering and huddling and instead made their usual loud sounds and walked around the coop--clearly happier.

A lot of times, something like this really helps - giving them a break from the cold, and then they can eat a bit more, and get ahead of it. You can turn the heater off for the night. I think the heat panels are not doing anything for them.

Mrs K

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

Welcome to SD...where we frequently have 50-70 degree changes in temperature.

You need to do what you are comfortable with, SouthDakotaLiving. They are your birds. There is no chicken police that will call you on it if you bring them in or add heat.

The problem with adding heat is that people tend to want to close up the ventilation as we have been taught since childhood. And the real chance of fire, especially in a high wind. Wind can unexpectedly blow things down, and all of a sudden you have heat source in hay or straw, and not a good combination.

Instead of thinking warm, I try and think Dry and still. The last several days, I have sprinkled the bedding with scratch, and they have dutifully scratched and kicked it into a nice fluffy pile.

Inadvertently, my coop is place so that the pop up door is facing north. I created a tunnel around that door opening to the east, which took care of my draft. I was down there this morning, with a fairly stiff breeze - and I checked inside the coop, and it was quiet and still.

Outside in my run, I have wind protection, and a feed bowl under that, I seldom water inside the coop, but will for the next couple of days. I also soak the scratch with water for several hours before feeding them the drained mixture. They will peck at grains even frozen, whereas if I dampen the pellets or crumbles, and they freeze, they won't eat them at all.

Several winters ago, we got down to -35 degrees air temperature. I was pretty worried, but I didn't even get frost bite, and they were fine. Since then, I do not worry about my birds and temperature in my set up. However, I am not a real worrying kind of person, and I do know, that sometimes birds die. I can accept that, other people with more sensibilities really grieve terribly.

So I hope you are hunkered down, there seems to be quite a bit more snow than they were expecting, and the wind is howling.

Mrs K

Oh how I wish I had your disposition! I so badly don't want them to die and have been up at night worrying about them.

I noticed that tonight with low winds and air temp of -18 F the "feels like" temp will be -40. This is pretty terrifying to me.

Thanks to you, I now understand better why these heat lamps cause fires, as I'd thought it due to birds knocking them down or faulty wiring rather than the wind! The temptation, of course, is to give them the heat lamp and close the window near it so that it won't blow down. But I know that defeats the idea of ventilation to reduce cold/frostbite. That's a great idea to give them little bursts of heat so that they can eat and drink and be less miserable for short periods. Yeah, it seems like these heat panels don't do much good.

I also didn't know about the idea of soaking the scratch for hours before feeding them the mixture-- a wonderful idea since right now they are just miserably crouching in the corner.

I guess I'll let them stay outside tonight without the heat lamp. If anybody dies, I'll bring them in to the laundry room tomorrow, as it looks like tomorrow will be very, very cold.

Thanks so much for your wise words! Stay warm, fellow southdakotan!

 

[Mrs. K]

Really and truly negative temperatures in the teens are not that hard on them. And the feels like is imaginary. If you are in a building, it is going to 'feel like' - 18. If you are out in the wind, then it is going to 'feel like -40' At nineteen below, it will not taking much breeze at all to magnify the coldness.

But if your birds are in an insulated building, they should be good.

Really, put them in a box, and bring them in tonight. Then you can sleep well, and if you do it after dark, and keep them in the dark, they will be fine. I would rather do that then have the heat lamp and possible fire all night. You can put them out in the morning.

Mrs K