Any prep necessary for -18f degree night with wind chill -45?

[alinas2010]

It’s our first year having chickens, so I’m nervous about the incoming frigid weather. Next week we’re supposed to get a very cold snap. The weather is supposed to be -18f at night and a wind chill of -45. They have a very small radiant heater I can leave on near them when they sleep, it doesn’t put off much heat, though. There’s only 4 of them, so not a lot of body heat to go around. Will they be okay in their coop in this weather? The coop is not insulated, but I’ve found that it’s generally 10 degrees warmer in there than outside. They haven’t really been out in temps that far below 0 yet. I do have a garage I could probably talk my fiancé into letting them stay in inside an XL dog crate if absolutely necessary.

 

[Equus]

Following.

 

[Ted Brown]

@Alaskan Any comforting words?

 

[alinas2010]

@Alaskan Any comforting words?

Thanks, I think a lot of the US is going to see very low temps next week. Hopefully this post can help someone else mitigate the weather with their flock, also.

 

[wamtazlady]

I'm in NW Montana. The only winter prep I do is to cover 3 sides of the run with clear vinyl shower curtains to keep the wind off the hens. Wind chill should not count as you should have no wind blowing on your birds. For water I use a 20 gallon tote with lid, horizontal nipples, and a stock tank deicer that is rated for use in plastic. I'll try to toss some treats out to them when it's really cold to keep them interested and moving a lot.

It's going to be a cold week. Tomorrow their food and water gets topped off so I don't have to worry about them running out of anything. They will have enough food and water to last them 2 weeks.

 

[aart]

There’s only 4 of them, so not a lot of body heat to go around.

Chickens only heat themselves under their feathers.
Ventilation can be key.
Post some pics of your coop, inside and out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Mrs. K]

DRY is what you want to think about - NOT WARM. Dry and out of the wind. The wind chill should not be important, that is only important if you out IN THE WIND. -18 is not that cold for healthy chickens with wind protection.

Dry comes from deep dry bedding, and good ventilation. The problem with heat, is the only way to keep it in, is to lock things up, and that reduces ventilation which is WAY more important than warm.

We will be very cold Wednesday - I will add extra bedding to the floor. I have been sprinkling the existing bedding with scratch, so they have turned it and broken up any manure piles.

Wind protection, good ventilation and DRY keep chickens healthy and comfortable in cold weather.

Mrs K

 

[Iluveggers]

Just added 1/2 bag of pine shavings today for this very reason!

Luckily we *should* be above zero at the lowest…single digits. I have to keep telling myself at least it’s a positive number!

 

[alinas2010]

Chickens only heat themselves under their feathers.
Ventilation can be key.
Post some pics of your coop, inside and out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

Great article, thanks. What is the SAC solution you talk about soaking oats in? Seems worth trying. I’ll get some good pics to post.

Dry comes from deep dry bedding, and good ventilation. The problem with heat, is the only way to keep it in, is to lock things up, and that reduces ventilation which is WAY more important than warm.

Thanks for this, I have put down some extra bedding and I am actually going to get more tomorrow, just to be safe. I think I’m gonna try to put up some old feed bags against the coop walls, too, to help insulate a bit. I’ll get some pics of ventilation. I tried to follow the 1 square foot rule per bird when we did our new set up for them, but admittedly I was probably a bit modest with it.

 

[aart]

What is the SAC solution you talk about soaking oats in? Seems worth trying.

There's a link in there that takes you to the exact product.