am I overly worried??

[asthrngal89]

I have six little chickens in a quaint coop, its suppose to be 19 degrees tonight and bitter wind chills I closed all vents and door to keep wind off but I was wondering if I shojld keep I light on all night for tem? Thanks in advance!

 

[asthrngal89]

Should* *them

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

If you have cold hardy breeds they'll be fine. Make sure you aren't buttoning up the coop too much, humidity will build up and harm your birds. You want ventilation without drafts. I woke up to -5 F this morning, all my girls did just fine, they came running out like kids to an ice cream truck. I would not use a light, either heat lamp or regular bulb. Too much fire risk and will mess with your birds' internal clocks and cold acclimation.

 

[candr01]

I feel you. Here's my experiences:

I am a newbie chicken owner in Charlotte, NC with two girls (an australorp and a brahma, so cold hardy varieties) in a sweet little 4'x4' coop. We had our first really cold night last night. It got down to 8*F with wind chill to just 1*F! That is pretty cold for us and I was a little anxious about the girls and how they would fair in such cold, windy weather. I closed up their windows and added a little extra straw to their nest boxes in hopes the eggs wouldn't freeze before I collect them in the morning. I left the soffits and ridge vent open and did not provide any additional heat. Their outside waterer (only one) has a bird bath heater inside to prevent it from freezing. And then I crossed my fingers and hoped they'd be ok.

I checked on them early this morning when it was still only 12*F outside and was glad to see that they really were very cosy in their coop and were happy as usual. The air in the lower part of the coop where they sleep was still so they would have been able to keep their bodies warm by fluffing and snuggling together, while I could feel a slight breeze up higher indicating the ventilation between the soffits and ridge vent was working well. I was also glad to see that there was no condensation on the windows at all indicating there is still plenty of ventilation in the coop even with all their windows shut up tight- very important to avoid illness and frostbite.

ie. they were just fine and I need not have worried so - ha!

So what I learned:
- BYC people are right when they say that chickens can handle the cold.
- keeping them protected from the wind (drafts) and rain is key. Any drafts can ruffle their feathers and rob them of the warmth they have cocooned themselves in with their feathers. In bitterly cold weather this can be dangerous and must be avoided.
- ensuring plenty of ventilation while keeping chickens cosy is vital for their health and protection from frostbite and can be achieved with a little forethought.
- keeping their water from freezing is important too

So how did you all fair last night? I hope you all stay warm in this weather!

 

[asthrngal89]

They did well I did have a regular light out there but this morning when I opened the coop it was off and they were fine and eager to come out even! So I think no light they will be just fine I just love my feathery babies! I have one silkie rooster all black his name is Booger, a white silkie hen thats name is magnolia , another hen is small white sultan and another to match names Shelby and weezer then a buff orphington hen (the only big hen) her name is buffy and then my little frizzle her name is frenchy! My sweet babies!

 

[asthrngal89]

All rescues