Anyone's hen actually ever freeze to death?

[FabulousMandy]

well my little Southern gals are definitely NOT acclimated to this cold weather

. I went out there this morning and they were none too pleased about the cold wind ruffling their feathers. Their coop is specifically designed to keep the heat out, not in, so I bought a couple yards of thick fleece and tacked some squares over their shutterless windows, and laid the remaining fleece across the bottom of the plastic mesh floor (coop is raised off the ground). I poked my head in through the side door and it was very cozy inside! I don't think I would run a heat lamp unless temps were colder than anything we'll ever see here in New Orleans. I'm too scared of electrical fires and flammable chicken poop

.

 

[DianeB]

Some breeds have been developed to be more acclimated to colder climates. However, chickens originate from rainforests in tropical Asia were temperatures are fairly moderate and consistent. Like most tropical animals, they can't tolerate large fluxuations in temperature.

All animals are susceptile to hypothermia if their core body temperature drops below a certain point. I believe this is around 103 degrees for chickens.

So, it is very possible that if the ambient temperature drops dramatically and this causes their core temperature to also drop, a chicken will freeze to death.

 

[BellLisamo]

had 2 seramas die the night after it snowed...

 

[Jenski]

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Oh dear Lord I hope that's not Thomas doing that!

 

[Jenski]

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I personally know several farmers around here (middle TN) who have had chickens freeze to death (and I mean frozen stiff like popsicles), and one who had many of his game birds' legs freeze completely off in one of our colder winters. Around here I am only hearing about these deaths in hard winters. I do see a lot of frostbite on my farm friends' chickens, esp. roosters.

Those folk don't tend to gather around chicken care forums.

I don't expect any of them to post here with their own stats.

 

[kcsunshine]

Glad to read this thread. I have 13 sweet ladies that only have a small roosting house - no nice warm coop to run around in when they wake up. I covered 3 sides of their covered run with tarps and thick plastic so they would be out of the wind. I take fresh warm water to them every morning when I open up their little shelter and that water is still thawed in the evening when they go to roost (frozen when I replace it every morning) - It's been below freezing for several days here. I let them free range. I did keep them in one day when the wind was blowing so hard I was afraid they would become balloons and fly away. But they want out!!!! I worried about them until my hubby reminded me they are wearing down coats.

 

[teach1rusl]

Well, in truth, I could probably survive without heat in my home (it's pretty well insulated), and without AC, and without a fridge, running water, etc. And I'd learn to make do. But I sure wouldn't enjoy it (although eventually maybe I'd forget I ever had those things available and I'd be okay). I would not like to live like folks did 200 years ago, much less like people from earlier civilizations. I like being comfortable. I like my PETS to be comfortable. I'm sure my dogs and cats and chickens could survive in much harsher conditions than I could (well...my one wimpy cat would probably die with me). But for those of us who want things a little more comfortable for our animals, what's the big deal? My coop is fairly well insulated, and I do use a heat lamp to keep it above freezing in there. My chickens aren't basking on the beach in there by any stretch of the imagination, but they're not huddled together shivering either, which makes me feel better. And it allows me to hang out with them a bit without me freezing my behind off!

 

[Joyryder]

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The best waterer I've found is a personal cooler. It holds 2 6-packs, one on top of the other. It never freezes solidly. Usually I bring it into the barn at night. One night I left it out, the temp dropped to 7 deg, only the top inch or so froze. And this was outside, not in the coop. It's big enough for 25 birds, they drink about half of the water. And they can't tip it over.

 

[pkeeler]

But for those of us who want things a little more comfortable for our animals, what's the big deal? My coop is fairly well insulated, and I do use a heat lamp to keep it above freezing in there. My chickens aren't basking on the beach in there by any stretch of the imagination, but they're not huddled together shivering either, which makes me feel better.

The heat lamp is an issue between the chicken owner and their pocketbook.

Insulation, closing windows, putting plastic tarp over windows, etc. is a different issue. Chickens are not people. Even pet chickens are not people. We can be too nice for their own good. We imagine ourselves in the coop, are sure we would be miserable, and conclude the chickens must be miserable. Setting aside whether a chicken can even have an emotional response to weather conditions, are we harming the chickens? Maybe the chickens are perfectly fine being in the cold, fresh, air. Maybe what is going to harm them is stale, damp, ammonia filled air. The kind of air that you get when you close off the chicken coop because you think they are miserable being in the cold, fresh, air.

Now, if you are keeping chickens for showing and have roosters with huge single combs, then maybe you need a heat lamp. Or if you are breeding fancy game birds for show, with their thinner feathers. But for everyone else, your chickens are best off with fresh air in a dry coop, at any temperature. Than in a climate controlled coop, where humidity and ammonia are elevated.​

 

[teach1rusl]

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The heat lamp is an issue between the chicken owner and their pocketbook.
Chickens are not people. Even pet chickens are not people.

Does it count if I like my pet chickens more than I do some people?