Are my chickens ok in this awful cold??

[Blooie]

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I'm one of the people that many frown upon because I do provide warming areas in some of my coops on the coldest nights.  I have a group of oldies that I got in 2009, and lets face it, most oldies, whether human or canine or whatever, feels the cold a lot worse.  That group of gals get a 75W heat bulb on cold nights.  I have a coop of seramas (tiny bantam breed) who get a contained oil heater all winter long.  On super cold nights (for my area of Indiana), my regular bantam coop gets a 50W heat bulb.  

Healthy chickens with good nutrition/water, in a draft free environment, should be able to easily survive in temps well below freezing.  Do they enjoy it?  Probably not...lol. But we all deal with things we don't necessarily enjoy.  That's life. I view my chickens as pets, and so they're afforded a little more comfort.

By the way...if used properly, heat lamps are wonderful things.  Low wattage bulbs (found in the reptile section of most pet stores) and lamps secured properly (wired, screwed, or chained in place...not clamped) with plenty of clearance from potential combustibles...
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yOh my goodness! I can't imagine anyone frowning upon you because you have a winter system that you are happy with - at least I certainly hope not! I figure it this way, and I've said it here before - if there was only one way to do everything this entire forum would be just a few pages long and could be read in 30 minutes!

 

[beginnergirl]

I'm one of the people that many frown upon because I do provide warming areas in some of my coops on the coldest nights.  I have a group of oldies that I got in 2009, and lets face it, most oldies, whether human or canine or whatever, feels the cold a lot worse.  That group of gals get a 75W heat bulb on cold nights.  I have a coop of seramas (tiny bantam breed) who get a contained oil heater all winter long.  On super cold nights (for my area of Indiana), my regular bantam coop gets a 50W heat bulb.  

Healthy chickens with good nutrition/water, in a draft free environment, should be able to easily survive in temps well below freezing.  Do they enjoy it?  Probably not...lol. But we all deal with things we don't necessarily enjoy.  That's life. I view my chickens as pets, and so they're afforded a little more comfort.

By the way...if used properly, heat lamps are wonderful things.  Low wattage bulbs (found in the reptile section of most pet stores) and lamps secured properly (wired, screwed, or chained in place...not clamped) with plenty of clearance from potential combustibles...

Thanks for posting this! I am glad to read different options. If we had very cold weather (we usually don't) I would consider putting a lightbulb to bring the temperature up. If the light is carefully anchored away from combustible sources, I would feel comfortable with that.

 

[nchls school]

X 2. I also have serama, an old hen, and view them as pets

I'm one of the people that many frown upon because I do provide warming areas in some of my coops on the coldest nights.  I have a group of oldies that I got in 2009, and lets face it, most oldies, whether human or canine or whatever, feels the cold a lot worse.  That group of gals get a 75W heat bulb on cold nights.  I have a coop of seramas (tiny bantam breed) who get a contained oil heater all winter long.  On super cold nights (for my area of Indiana), my regular bantam coop gets a 50W heat bulb.  

Healthy chickens with good nutrition/water, in a draft free environment, should be able to easily survive in temps well below freezing.  Do they enjoy it?  Probably not...lol. But we all deal with things we don't necessarily enjoy.  That's life. I view my chickens as pets, and so they're afforded a little more comfort.

By the way...if used properly, heat lamps are wonderful things.  Low wattage bulbs (found in the reptile section of most pet stores) and lamps secured properly (wired, screwed, or chained in place...not clamped) with plenty of clearance from potential combustibles...

X 2. I also have older birds, serama, and view them as pets. I have heated my coop/bird room with a contained oil heater for many years. Chickens do make good pets, living ten years or more; as long as many dogs, cats, and other pet animals.

 

[beginnergirl]

X 2. I also have serama, an old hen, and view them as pets
X 2. I also have older birds, serama, and view them as pets. I have heated my coop/bird room with a contained oil heater for many years. Chickens do make good pets, living ten years or more; as long as many dogs, cats, and other pet animals.

My chickens are pets too. I certainly would want to make sure when my girls get older that they are comfortable.

 

[centrarchid]

X 2. I also have serama, an old hen, and view them as pets
X 2. I also have older birds, serama, and view them as pets. I have heated my coop/bird room with a contained oil heater for many years. Chickens do make good pets, living ten years or more; as long as many dogs, cats, and other pet animals.

Some breeds like serama's are poorly suited to resist cold. We must careful when extrapolating management methods across breeds.

 

[Lady2959]

Hi There!
I live in NL Canada. My flock is fine in their little wooden/insulated coop. But I would not keep them where it is uninsulated. Chickens bodies temps are as high as 106 and their bodies are like little mini furnaces. The problem is when either all the heat they produce, escapes. ie: in a metal uninsulated structure or when there isn't enough bodies to heat the structure they're kept in.
If I were you I'd insulate the coop. Otherwise you're looking at frostbite and possible death.