How cold is too cold?

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

Do you have pictures? It may be from other chickens pecking them.

 

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

Do you have pictures? It may be from other chickens pecking them.

I had to take screenshots of the video I took tonight. I hope you can see what I'm talking about. They are starting to turn darker.

 

[aart]

I had to take screenshots of the video I took tonight. I hope you can see what I'm talking about. They are starting to turn darker.

Sure looks like frostbite.
Are you using an open waterer?
Looks like wattles were dipped.

 

[Iluveggers]

Sure looks like frostbite.
Are you using an open waterer?
Looks like wattles were dipped.

I agree. Looks like they got wet and froze.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Sure looks like frostbite.
Are you using an open waterer?
Looks like wattles were dipped.

X2

 

[TimonHens]

Don't feel bad, just make it as draft free as you can, lots of bedding and snacks. We do what we can with what we have.

It is easy to feel bad as a newbie with a Woods style coop built by ultra amateurs. However, they did okay. I put some old short curtains on the monitor beam that stopped at about 24inches above the floor. Snow blew in the full depth of the unshielded scratch front, which they avoided. After that also tossed some roof panels to reduce the window area at sunset. Water swaps every 90min to 2 hours on the worst 2 days and way too many snacks to make the straw under the roosting area fascinating.
They did eventually settle and line up and not exclude either bantam and my lil Nugget egger still made eggs, to her deep disgust.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

The only "other" reason I have seen for purple waddles & comb is poor circulation, but that is more likely frostbite.

Once frostbite starts you are more sensitive to cold, so if "before" she could tolerate a chilly day, now she can't. She needs to be able to spend her days in a coop, with warmth.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

It is easy to feel bad as a newbie with a Woods style coop built by ultra amateurs. However, they did okay. I put some old short curtains on the monitor beam that stopped at about 24inches above the floor. Snow blew in the full depth of the unshielded scratch front, which they avoided. After that also tossed some roof panels to reduce the window area at sunset. Water swaps every 90min to 2 hours on the worst 2 days and way too many snacks to make the straw under the roosting area fascinating.
They did eventually settle and line up and not exclude either bantam and my lil Nugget egger still made eggs, to her deep disgust.

Your bedding looks very inviting nice place to take a nap.

My first coop had a hard first winter and I did crazy things like use pieces of carpets on the floor to create insulation. I made these sections of flooring out of pieces of plywood/insulation/carpets that I wrapped in plastic and made like a puzzle floor. It sounds nuts and it was a lot of effort to keep clean, but we all survived.

First thing I did when spring came was insulate the underside of the floor on the coop with styrofoam and I nailed up some leftover floating wood floor to hold it in place. I continue to insulate that floor from underneath every spring. Cold floors are the hardest thing in a coop.

 

[Kanekoded]

Your bedding looks very inviting nice place to take a nap.

My first coop had a hard first winter and I did crazy things like use pieces of carpets on the floor to create insulation. I made these sections of flooring out of pieces of plywood/insulation/carpets that I wrapped in plastic and made like a puzzle floor. It sounds nuts and it was a lot of effort to keep clean, but we all survived.

First thing I did when spring came was insulate the underside of the floor on the coop with styrofoam and I nailed up some leftover floating wood floor to hold it in place. I continue to insulate that floor from underneath every spring. Cold floors are the hardest thing in a coop.

I heat the floor of my coop using dog house heating mats placed under click-together laminate flooring which keeps my chickens from destroying them. It may be something you might consider since it's easier than nailing on insulation.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I heat the floor of my coop using dog house heating mats placed under click-together laminate flooring which keeps my chickens from destroying them. It may be something you might consider since it's easier than nailing on insulation.

I feel like if i put a heater under my chickens they will never leave the warmth, therefore causing them to move around less and becoming victims of fatty liver or something. Also, making them less tolerant of the cold. A heated floor would be awesome in an emergency type situation tho. I get nervous because fatty liver is the #1 cause of death in Connecticut chickens. I am always doing anything i can to get them to move it, move it! There were a couple days in the past week that noone wanted to come out to free range. It was because of wind mostly. Those days, i make toys to stimulate. I wrap a small amount of treat/scratch into newspaper balls and they have fun ripping them apart. I love a scratching chicken. Good luck!