REALLY cold weather

[Egghead_Jr]

Our heater that goes under the waterer is having a very hard time with these super cold temperatures, and it is going to get even colder! I've been pouring hot water on the frozen ring, then lifting it out. What other options are there?

I've got the plastic heated water fount like this: http://www.statelinetack.com/item/f...rccode=GPSLT&gclid=CLvb1YSk47sCFYtQOgodvy0AFQ

It will get an ice ring like it did today but there is still a small ring of water open, even that bit was froze by end of day but one side always has a 1X1.5" hole of open water. Typically it can keep up and is only partially froze on the single digit days. The trick is to bring it in at night. Why try to heat something when the chickens are asleep anyway?

 

[huntin fool]

Quote:
the reason you arent supposed to heat the coop is you get the birds used to the heat, then when the power goes out or the heat bulb goes, you'll lose all your birds in one night. more important than temp is humidity, if you dont let the moisture vent out of the coop, too much moisture in the air will kill them, good luck

 

[24279102]

It's funny the antics we go through to protect our chickens - and there's nothing wrong with that ! I'm in Alabama and the temperature yesterday barely made it to the 40's and the wind was bitter. I felt so sorry for my girls. But it's like my son used to say "I have to put on a sweater because my Mother is cold !!" I just stapled Tvek around the coop area to keep out the wind and it helps a lot . After the girls got over their fright that is !

 

[Cindy in PA]

Got down to 3 last night. All guineas & chickens doing fine except they are waiting for me to dig the snow out of their pens! The guineas have no water heater, so fresh water was taken out. My water heater in the chickens that I complained about freezing up under 15, actually stayed liquid last night in these temperatures! Will go shovel when the temps get over 20 today.

 

[featherz]

We got to -20 last night. No heat in any of my coops and I have bantams and leghorns mixed in with big fat breeds. No losses and they don't even seem bothered by the cold..

 

[keesha63]

Hey Naturegirl44...I am a little south of you around Orillia area. I feel your cold pain! We also hit the -30's without windchill here. I have a small coop and 6 chickens. It is insulated and I picked up a heated waterer from Home Hardware (water has never froze). I do have a small panel heater called "cozy legs" which I have used twice now. It helps somewhat and got the coop temp at night up to -13 C when it was -34 C outside. So far so good! Now if the snow would stop I'd be a happy girl

 

[pipsypeach]

I'm in WNC and we are supposed to get some really cold weather the next couple of days. While my girls don't seem to mind the cold, I still worry that we need to put plastic up around the top of their coop. We built it with about a 4 inch gap all around to allow for ventilation. Do I need to put plastic up on all 4 sides to keep some of the heat in so their water doesn't freeze? I worry about not getting enough ventilation. We do have a window built in that we could slide open. Thank you for any advice!
Nichole

 

[king4]

I live in Ohio and we are around 30 degrees now but are supposed to drop down to below zero the next couple days with 6-8 inches of snow so not as cold as some of the other folks on here. I was also worried about my 5 Red Stars so I asked my granddad about it and he told me he's never seen a chicken freeze to death. Just as a precaution I went ahead and put a tarp up around the coop and run. I fed them some warmed up leftover mashed taters and green beans just to warm them up a little. Right now they seem ok and the other day when it was in the single digits they were still happy happy happy so my mind is at ease.

 

[Naturegirl44]

Hey Naturegirl44...I am a little south of you around Orillia area. I feel your cold pain! We also hit the -30's without windchill here. I have a small coop and 6 chickens. It is insulated and I picked up a heated waterer from Home Hardware (water has never froze). I do have a small panel heater called "cozy legs" which I have used twice now. It helps somewhat and got the coop temp at night up to -13 C when it was -34 C outside. So far so good! Now if the snow would stop I'd be a happy girl

Hi Keesha63!! Boy its been a tough winter so far!! You got more snow then we do!! surprisingly lol I am literally on the NW corner of Algonquin Park, 20 minutes off Hwy 11. I had a good look at my girls today and I see a little bit of frostbite on some of them I am not sure how to deal with it My poor girls!! This is our first winter with chickens so I am still learning. I think, come next summer, I will work on fortifying my coop better for winter.I wish I could afford to build a whole new one fully insulated with all the bells and whistles!! For now I need to think of ways to keep them a little warmer on the cold nights we get up here.

 

[keesha63]

Hi Naturegirl...the snow! Wow so much snow I just read we had 136cm in just the month of December. I am sure we are at least up another 25 since then. For those American folks thats about 63 inches! This is my first winter with chickens as well. I was looking at my coop roof today wondering just how much more snow the roof can take! I also took a good look at my girls today and I have a bit of frostbite damage on a couple of combs. I think it was from being in their run last week when we hit the -30's. My run is enclosed and wrapped in plastic (except for an area at the top for ventilation). There wouldn't have been much of a "windchill" in there...but I think even the -25 without was a bit much. It's looking like tomorrow afternoon/night is going to be bitter again. Hopefully it will be short lived. I'll take some pictures tomorrow so you can appreciate the insane amount of snow we have