Inside AND out in the cold?

[Trishkabob]

what do you think of bringing the girls in at night when it's below zero and then putting them back outside during the day (still very cold, hovering around 0 but sunny)? We don't want them to become so used to 45 degrees that they can't handle cold but until we can open up more ventilation in the henhouse we're afraid they'll get (more) frostbite. We recently added our four 19 week olds to the 4 adults we had and it turns out we didn't have enough ventilation for 8 and 2 have frostbite on their combs.
We expect to be able to do that this weekend and put them back in their usual digs but until then (and it will be 20 below tonight) the combo of unusual cold and more birds makes the humidity in there a problem.
Think this is ok for the moment? Too much variation/shock to the systems? They seem all right so far.
(all are cold hardy breeds.)
thanks.

 

[azygous]

I would definitely bring them in. However, I would also try to lower the temp in the space where they will be sleeping indoors to be closer to the lower 30s. That way, they are less likely to suffer from the wide temperature spread.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I won't be bringing mine in tonight, and I'm supposed to be -22 overnight. My husband was all for it, but I'm too worried about the extreme temperature change. I don't have a garage, so I'd have to bring them into my heated house. If that was the case, then I'd just have to set up an area in the house they stayed for the winter. Which I really don't want to do.

 

[azygous]

I agree. Sometimes it's better to let our chickens cope with the cold than to subject them to the stress on their bodies that a huge temperature variation would inflict. Chickens can withstand extreme temps far better than they can quickly adjust to an extreme change in temperature.

 

[chickens really]

They do not suffer a temp change if brought in..
That is something, someone must of said and ran with it.
Many people here in extreme colder climates bring all kinds of animals into heat barns, coops, houses ..I'm in Alberta and would never subject anything to the cold..

 

[The Phantom]

I have a crane that has to stay inside my house if it is below 30F.
I let him out twice a day to go for a flight. He normally does laps around and above our house. Even when it is 0F I’ll still let him out and bring him right back inside when he lands. I have done this for a while and seem to have no effect on him. I do the same with his 2 chicken friends. Hope this helps

 

[azygous]

I sure do sympathize with the decisions you all in the east are having to make regarding these onslaughts of frigid weather. It's not an easy call, especially since we are prone to projecting onto our chickens the extreme discomfort we would feel under the same circumstances.

Here are some criteria to indicate chickens might not be able to cope with extreme cold:

-Young chicks or chickens with small body mass. These are less able to generate enough body heat from food calories to take them through an extended exposure to sub-zero temps.

-Old chickens that may have health issues. Cold can stress them to the point they can tip toward not making it.

-Any flock that is usually accustomed to a barely-below-freezing winter climate facing a sudden drop of more that twenty degrees below that norm.

All others should be able to cope with the extreme cold with shelter from direct exposure, good, high calorie food, and good ventilation.

 

[Trishkabob]

thanks everyone. As I mentioned in my initial post, it's the ventilation problem rather than just temp.s (which caused some comb frostbite) that made us decide to bring them in since we can't open up more of the upper henhouse walls until the weekend.
The 4 young ones, though they were ready to join the older ones, seem much smaller in both body weight and depth of feathering even though they have always lived outside, especially our buff brahma, who seems very small for her breed.
The room we are putting them in at night does seem too warm but we can't go lower without creating other issues.
Normally, our chickens live in their coop, unheated, all winter and do just fine (and though this is an unusually long frigid spell we do have VERY cold winters in Saratoga, NY) so bringing them in is an aberration for us.
They seem fine-they insist on being on our porch where they have a box with lots of bedding and another spot under a bench with bedding; lots of food, water, and some sun.
Curious times.....

 

[Ridgerunner]

At least it is Friday, the weekend isn't far off. If you are experiencing a problem you need to do something and with frostbite it probably is a ventilation problem.

My chickens went from the mid teens Fahrenheit one night to the mid 70's a couple of days later. Temperature swings like that either way are not that uncommon. I don't think it will bother yours a bit if you bring them in a night or two and put them back out the next morning in those temperatures.

 

[chickens really]

Extreme temp change here..Went from -27C to +1C here in a 24 hour period..Do for your animals as you would do for yourself in those situations..Then everyone is happy .
Next week 0 on Monday and dropping to -20C..Yikes.