At what point is it too cold for chickens to sleep outside?

[Macis Papa]

Mine will spend the whole day outside in single digit temps so Im guessing that they will be fine.

 

[donrae]

While I don't think it's a huge difference in temperature, the coop does offer some wind proofing and should capture some of the warm air given off by the birds.

I guess this is where each person's idea of a coop can make a difference. I agree in a smaller coop, this could happen. I've always had large, walk in coops with lots of ventilation and an open door to the run, so I'd probably have to have birds literally packed into the coop to raise the ambient temperature much. We each have a picture of "coop" in our minds when we respond here, and since coops vary so much, it's hard to give such blanket advice. I remember being shocked when I read one person saying how roosters rarely mate in the coop....mine do all the time. Well, if you have a smaller, elevated coop, I can see that's not going to happen so much, he just won't have a lot of space to do the deed inside. Different set ups lead to different results.

 

[centrarchid]

It has been sometime since I had enough birds packed into a coop to raise temperature markedly. As that density of birds was approached the ventilation had to be increased to control moisture buildup which had potential for being much more stressful than low temperatures. If temperature is to be increased then I think a dry heat source would be better than humid as coming from chickens themselves. The higher densities were also associated with feather problems later.

 

[ChickNanny13]

We just built a secure/enclosed Run with a dog house for a "coop"....Would it be ok to "teach" them to spend the night?
They sleep in the Patio Coop, walk with me to the Run in the mornings where I feed them & they stay when I'm not home. Otherwise they're out grubbing in our fenced yard. The Run has 2 sides with shade cloth & 1 "protected" by a Samoan Coconut tree (Hilo, Hawaii), the front I have shower curtains on an EMT rod that I open/close. Main concern here is the RAIN & WIND. I was thinking of adding shower curtains (removable) on the 3 sides to cut the cold/wind at night. I read about all your birds out & I'm thinking I'm overly protective?
My Chickens are more Pets with Benefits than production Or am I worrying too much?

 

[Spartan22]

Ha ha, yes you probably need to attached something to protect them from rain, wind not so much. I do love Hilo, I was there couple of times before, nice and green from the rest of big island.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Ha ha, yes you probably need to attached something to protect them from rain, wind not so much. I do love Hilo, I was there couple of times before, nice and green from the rest of big island.

Thank you for responding...Knew I'd get a laugh or two Got more shower curtains today, so far the one on the EMT rod is working great. The plan was to pound some nails on the top frame to hook the curtains on, remove when not in use but thinking of having Hubby make me more rods for the remaining three sides since they work so great....He don't know it yet

Glad you liked Hilo side, most prefer Kona, too much rain this side. However, Kona's got a lot more rain the last few months last year, it was nice & green there too. It was so beautiful. Thanks again

 

[Spartan22]

By the way where do your pets lay their eggs? I didn't see any nesting boxes. Just curious.