Low night temps

[Callender Girl]

I put food and a limited amount of water in the coops. I used to fill the waterers, but that just resulted in lots of solid ice. I would rather give a little water at a time and rotate/replace the waterers throughout the day as I thaw them in the house.

BTW, although your weather looks chilly, it is 16 degrees here and -11 is predicted for the weekend. Plus, up to 7 more inches of snow is predicted. Spring can't come fast enough!

 

[The_1898_Homestead]

I understand your concern about frigid temps. I go through the same thing every winter. It's not unusual for the temperature to dip well below zero and with wind chills in the negative double digits here in the flat land of northern Iowa.

But I have never used heat lamps, and my chickens have been fine. I agree with @aart -- as long as your birds are out of direct wind, have good feed and especially thawed water, they be okay. I suspect you, like me, will still worry anyway.

This winter has been so extreme just last night we had 19 below with windchill 31 below. We have had nights and days where it has been 41 below with W/C. Our coop is dry with great ventilation. Our roofed run has wood chips on the ground with heavy plastic wrapped around it with ventilation. They have circulating water system in the run giving them clean and not frozen water. We currently have one of our roosters in our utility room with severe frostbite and by severe I mean feet, entire wattles and entire comb are white. He is an American Bresse with super dark feet and legs normally. The feet are also double the size they usually are.
I have read so many articles, spoke to long time chicken keepers and they all told us - don‘t add heat. Now we are dealing with a roo in a lot of pain and the decision we had to make to end that pain. The rest of the roosters and girls will heal with the silver gel on combs and wattles. We will be adding heat in one way or another from now on. Up here in the plains region this wind and cold are brutal. I feel like I have failed and the grief is real. I am looking for good options for the coop. It’s 12’X12’. We do have electric in there.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

This winter has been so extreme just last night we had 19 below with windchill 31 below. We have had nights and days where it has been 41 below with W/C. Our coop is dry with great ventilation. Our roofed run has wood chips on the ground with heavy plastic wrapped around it with ventilation. They have circulating water system in the run giving them clean and not frozen water. We currently have one of our roosters in our utility room with severe frostbite and by severe I mean feet, entire wattles and entire comb are white. He is an American Bresse with super dark feet and legs normally. The feet are also double the size they usually are.
I have read so many articles, spoke to long time chicken keepers and they all told us - don‘t add heat. Now we are dealing with a roo in a lot of pain and the decision we had to make to end that pain. The rest of the roosters and girls will heal with the silver gel on combs and wattles. We will be adding heat in one way or another from now on. Up here in the plains region this wind and cold are brutal. I feel like I have failed and the grief is real. I am looking for good options for the coop. It’s 12’X12’. We do have electric in there.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. I'm sure you, like most, tried to do and follow the best advice for your flock's safety. Most advice that I see is not to add heat. But we have bantams, frizzles, and one that is molting now. I can't imagine such a brutal winter climate as you have. I decided to add heat, even though we live in a warmer climate. I don't know what the best thing to do is, so just trying to do what feels right. I think many use heating panels and the flock can nestle close to them for warmth. With a 12 by 12 coop like you have, you could perhaps set up a few places. I'm continuing to research heating options, and will post what i find, if that helps.

 

[The_1898_Homestead]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. I'm sure you, like most, tried to do and follow the best advice for your flock's safety. Most advice that I see is not to add heat. But we have bantams, frizzles, and one that is molting now. I can't imagine such a brutal winter climate as you have. I decided to add heat, even though we live in a warmer climate. I don't know what the best thing to do is, so just trying to do what feels right. I think many use heating panels and the flock can nestle close to them for warmth. With a 12 by 12 coop like you have, you could perhaps set up a few places. I'm continuing to research heating options, and will post what i find, if that helps.

Thank you Frazzled. I was thinking of using the electric sealed oil heaters that give a radiant heat. They look like old home radiators Or use the flat panel radiant heaters. I won’t use the lightbulbs they scare me. I know of people who lost everything due to fire. I can’t do that.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

Thank you Frazzled. I was thinking of using the electric sealed oil heaters that give a radiant heat. They look like old home radiators Or use the flat panel radiant heaters. I won’t use the lightbulbs they scare me. I know of people who lost everything due to fire. I can’t do that.

The electric sealed oil heaters should work great. We have one I'm going to set up. I think they put out more heat (in a safe way) than the panels, as I've heard birds need to get close to the panels to get warm. And i keep placing my little birds near the panels but they dont like being moved from their favorite spot on the roost. Tonight where we live its supposed to be very cold (for our area) then warm up next week with rain.