Negative bitter temps

[Jwebb35]

Good morning! This is our first winter with our 3 backyard hens (2 barred rocks and an Easter egger) we are about to hit bitter, way into the negatives, weather..is there anything else I can do to help my girls?

Here's their current set up.. they have a coop and run which is tiny so we built a bigger run around it and they free range (although they haven't wanted to go outside as they're molting) the large run is covered in plastic and vented. Their coop and run, the run part I put up plexiglass and the coop has lots of hay and is vented. I've been giving them cracked corn at night and warm water and warm treats. Should I put their brooder box in the coop to help them till we get back into single digit temps? Is there anything else I can do to help them??

Thank you so so much!!

 

[SmiYa0126]

This looks great; you don't need to do anything else

 

[aart]

way into the negatives

Does this include windchill?
If they are out of the wind, disregard wind chill temps.

Should I put their brooder box in the coop to help them till we get back into single digit temps?

No.
Warm food will make you feel better, but doesn't do much for them.
Water needs to stay liquid but doesn't need to be warm.
Those tiny coops do not have much ventilation, which can lead to frostbite.
Watch for condensation on coop and run walls.

Is there anything else I can do to help them??

Here are my extreme weather tips and tricks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Jwebb35]

It does not include wind chill..the high for Dec 22 is 0°

 

[SmiYa0126]

It does not include wind chill..the high for Dec 22 is 0°

You could stack some straw bales around the coop ( below the vents). Would you agree @aart?

 

[aart]

You could stack some straw bales around the coop ( below the vents). Would you agree @aart?

Do you mean around the run under the tiny coop?
Might help if a wind break is needed.

But the plastic covered run should take care of all the winds....
....tho it might not hold up to much snow load.

 

[Sally PB]

You could stack some straw bales around the coop

They need windbreaks down on their level, so bales could work. When the temps warm up a bit, they can perch on them. In the spring, they'll love tearing them apart.