It was 7 degrees when I went out this morning to check on the chickens. I have a variety of ages: 12 months, 18 weeks, 15 weeks and 7 weeks. The youngest are with a broody, but that doesn't seem to slow them down much as they still run around most of the time. She has stayed in the coop with them where I have a 250 watt heat lamp available (which is pointed toward the water and helps to keep it from freezing). The rest were out and about waiting for me to bring them a breakfast of hot oatmeal. They will stay out most of the day, using the coop for laying and occasionally roosting. Otherwise I have straw bales in sheltered areas under the deck where they love to roost on colder days. Tonight its supposed to get down below zero, but with the heat lamp and all the bodies in my uninsulated coop I think they'll be just fine.
