Are they cold?

[Buugette]

Last night I went to put Wilamena in the coop... (she comes in during the evening for a little dinner and some TV)... so, when I opened the nest box to drop her in the coop... there were three silkies wedged into the one little nest box. Not happy when I made them move into the coop. No sooner had Wilamena moved from the nest box to her roost, the 3 fuzzy butts were wedged back into the nest box.

There are no signs of broody... are they cold? It hasn't been that cold here yet. If they are cold now, they are doomed for the winter. Thoughts?

Here's a photo of our coop.

 

[Buugette]

Oh, and one more thing... we recently moved the coop as my hubby is building me a new one... and ever since we moved the coop about 10 feet to the right... not one of the girls has laid an egg.

Thoughts?

D

 

[Cluckn Crazy]

Not sure if this is a similar situation or not.... I have six 7 week old chicks that will only sleep on a 12" tall wood box that is 12"x10". Its amusing to see them wrestling to fit on this small space at dusk, yet somehow they all manage to pile on. There are plenty of roosts (short and tall) and they used to sleep on the floor in the shavings. I can't explain it.

 

[drumstick diva]

I love your girls checking out the ditch, chickens are such good contractors

 

[bjash]

How old are they?

 

[cluck love]

I am wondering about my small flock as well, all four cram themselves into one nesting box in their coop - a pig pile! Are they too cold? Temps went down to about 30 degrees last night. We are fairly new to this chicken thing.

 

[bjash]

Mine did that when they were younger (from a few months before they laid until just before laying).

Now, they just huddle up next to each other on the roosting rails.

 

[bburn]

Here I am answering like I have good sense. Everything I have read says that they have enough 'down' feathers to keep themselves warm. Especially if we let them get used to the cold.
And here I am in the south answering....but we have had a few temps in the 30's and will have more this week. I just make sure they get a little scratch an hour or so before roost time.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have some chickens about 3 and 4 months old that huddle together in the nest boxes at night. I just let them do it, because I put a dishpan in the coop for them to use as a nest box.

I didn't want to fight them on it anymore, since the roost and nest boxes are the same height. I have tried to shoo them out but to no avail.

 

[True Grit]

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