-40 wind chill forecasted for Friday

[Doris29]

Well we had -26 with wind chill yesterday and my 2 girls were in their mostly protected run. I was still feeling some air movement in there with gusts and they were standing on one foot and one was shivering so I took a new bag of pine shavings and spread some and left the rest in a pile with treats mixed in to keep them moving and warm them up. They did ok!
But after seeing the forecast for this coming weekend… lows -18 for 2 days without windchill.
I have a crappy prefab coop that allegedly holds 8. I have 2 Easter eggers. Wondering if I should keep them locked up with a battery light until it warms up a little more. I’d like to put a heater in there but Their poop was steaming yesterday in the run… so I feel like a heater would create too much moisture.
Any advice for the insane cold snap?

 

[Doris29]

FWIW we are in a suburban area and their coop/run area is pretty sheltered from our fence/house right now, which helps a ton with the wind.

 

[nuthatched]

Do you have a garage or shed?

 

[Doris29]

Do you have a garage or shed?

I’m not sure my husband would let me put them
In the garage, but maybe that could work. I wish I could get their coop in there lol.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I’m not sure my husband would let me put them
In the garage, but maybe that could work. I wish I could get their coop in there lol.

I would throw mine in the garage (if I had one). I've seen people use a playpen over a tarp. Add shavings and some bird netting on top to prevent fly outs. Could use an old camping tent, if you have one. Dog crates would also work in a pinch.

-26 with wind is absolutely brutal!

 

[Doris29]

I did keep their old portable brooder pen thing that has a zip top. They wouldn’t have a ton of head room but I guess it would only be for a few days.

 

[Doris29]

I would throw mine in the garage (if I had one). I've seen people use a playpen over a tarp. Add shavings and some bird netting on top to prevent fly outs. Could use an old camping tent, if you have one. Dog crates would also work in a pinch.

-26 with wind is absolutely brutal!

I went out and sat with them for a little bit I felt so bad. Couldn’t feel my legs or my fingers for awhile after that lol.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I did keep their old portable brooder pen thing that has a zip top. They wouldn’t have a ton of head room but I guess it would only be for a few days.

Hey, better to be cramped than hypothermic!

 

[Doris29]

I’m actually wondering if I just should keep them locked in the coop where it’s familiar. It’s supposedly made for 8 (I wouldn’t do more than 4) but I only have 2. I wouldn’t be able to got the heated water in there though. First world problems, I know.

 

[NatJ]

Windchill only matters to chickens if they are exposed to the wind.

If the coop and the garage are the same temperature, and if the two places provide equal shelter from the wind, I would leave them in their familiar coop. But if the garage is warmer, or if it provides better shelter from the wind, then it might be a good idea to move the hens into the garage.

If you want to provide extra heat, you might be able to put something like a space heater inside the garage near the chicken pen, but not actually in the chicken's space. That would help keep the chickens from knocking it over or getting a bunch of flammable stuff (like wood shavings) on it. This is definitely easier to do in the garage than in a small coop outdoors.

If you do provide heat, I would not try to make the area actually warm, just a bit less cold. You don't want the chickens shivering, but you don't want them to think it is spring either. So for example, if the chickens were okay at zero degrees but not colder, maybe provide heat to bring their area back up to zero. Or some other temperature, based on how you see your chickens behaving.