Are my chickens ok in this awful cold??

[aart]

After reading this I am feeling a little dumb.....
I live in, was born in, and was raised in Arizona. so when it gets "down" to 32 f. I freeze! Iv been scared that my 3 gals (Buff orphington, Americauna, Delaware) would be supper cold out there in a kids play house converted into a coop and have been scared that they would die or get frostbite. So when i read all of these post that they have Chickens in -10 or -20 F. I am no longer worried! Thanks for the info! I am checking on my ventilation situation when i get home!

I would be worried about over-heating in AZ!

We all face different challenges.

 

[pullinV3s]

yes that will be the challenge! it got to 117 this last summer. maybe our girls will become indoor chickens during the real hot months!

 

[Sbingr]

I live in Ontario winter here can be quite cold and all I do I'd keep them out of the wind and dry and they do fine. Mind you different breeds can be worse in cold weather. Personally I think I over worry myself lol I try to put myself in a mind set of 200 years ago I don't think most were heating coops lol and when all winter long I also see things like wild turkeys and grouse in minus 40 in my yard. But I do put down fresh straw of pine and increase their feed and make the feed richer and for the most part keep laying. I let them roost on a 2X4 which makes their feet lay flat so when then sit it covers them better. That shed is quite awesome compared to mine. I think they should be happy.

 

[tscha1]

Chickens know more about being a chicken, and what works for them, than either you or I do. Birds feet are especially designed so as to not be affected by the cold they way our skin would be affected. If you look around you, you will see wild birds all around you whose feet are also exposed to the damp.

My girls go in and out as they please. In the beginning of winter, when the snow looks strange to them, they will squawk and stand at the coop door, comically staring. I flip some hay over on top of the snow, and they are out in it in no time. As the winter goes on, it does not phase them.

I don't ever confine mine to the coop. I do confine them to the run, most days in the winter, as the predators get more desperate and love to eat chicken.

Mrs. K

I am in New York and it's getting into our colder months. I have been closing the coop door at night to try and keep the cold air out, but would you suggest leaving it open as you have done? They roost up higher than the coop door goes but the roost is on the opposite wall of the opening. I didn't want any windy cold air getting in. But is it better for air circulation? The coop itself is insulated and has ventilation areas at the top but I do not put a heat lamp out there.
This is looking in through the coop door. They always roost up on the top of their nesting boxes there.

 

[tscha1]

Its the wind that could hurt them and if its wet i would put them in the coop at night to help keep them warm. The heater not a good plan, it wont allow them to adjust to the cold and cause issues i would put vaseline on their combs and wattles to keep them from getting frost bite. And make sure when they roost they have to cover their feet with their feathers so they dont get frost bit on their toes. And honestly it depends on the breed most breeds were devoloped in colder climates so they do well in the winter not so well in the summer. Most of the breeds i have are happy right jow since its cold however in the summer i have to have a pool or mud area to help them cool off and some times i put a fan outside for them. But from my understanding chicken like the cold with their feathers. Just make sure there is no draft and that they are nice and dry they be happy chickens for that alone.

At what temperature would you suggest putting vaseline on them? And how often would you do that? Thanks in advance!

 

[Mrs. K]

I leave my chicken door open. It really is not the cold air, it is the humidity that gets them. It took me a long time to get over that notion.

Mrs K

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Its actually the wind chill that gets them as well. Here a sight all about it http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html?m=1

 

[Mrs. K]

Its actually the wind chill that gets them as well. Here a sight all about it http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html?m=1

Well yes, but I thought we had established that we had them out of the wind. Cold air is not a wind chill. Wind chill comes from wind blowing on something and removing the heated air around the animal. Many animals can keep themselves warm if out of the wind.

Mrs K

 

[Beekissed]

I'm with K...I leave pop door and the top half of my coop door and side windows open all year round, even when it gets -17. It's not the cold, snow or getting wet when they go outside that is the problem. It's humidity in the coop at roost level that doesn't move up and out of the coop on a steady basis, but settles on any exposed skin, where the cold can make it freeze.



You'll notice that upper half of the door is open and there are spaces open all along the roof, the back pop door is always open, the little side windows are open at the top and I have intentionally left large cracks and gaps throughout all levels of this coop and I can open other ventilation at any given time in the winter months. If I start to see any darkening of the edges of combs, I don't close up ventilation....I open up more. This is a hoop coop, so only the ends are made of wood, the rest is just tarp over wire fencing.



My chickens regularly plow through the snow, even in the super cold and even in the wind....



This bench is about 100 yds from their coop and they will go there for grass even when the snow is much deeper.



The point to all of this is, the snow, the wet, the outside cold or wind is not a problem, nor is too much cold air in the coop. Humidity in the coop when it's deadly cold is more of a threat, as Mrs. K has been saying. The only time I've ever had any signs of comb darkening was when I had tightened my coop down too much...learned my lesson and stopped doing that. Never had any since.

Same with open watering pans. They don't cause wattles to get frostbit....been using open watering pans since we started having chickens 40 yrs ago and never once had frost bit wattles, even with roosters with huge wattles.

 

[centrarchid]

For me the challenges associated with cold are related to the birds not being able to maintain temperature of core or extremities against the cold. Absolute temperature and windchill factor are important although so is the bird's ability to conserve heat against gradients imposed by the temperature and windchill. The complicating issues are moisture laden feathers associated with high humidity, poor feathering, and displaced feathers that can degrade insulatory value of feathers. Additionally birds in poor weight, nutrition or health can have reduced ability to generate the heat needed needed to replace heat lost.


Many of my birds live out under the stars even on the coldest nights when winds are high. The birds and I have learned to appreciate challenges imposed by those conditions.