Baby its cold outside!

[artsvarc]

What is the standing air temp without the feels like factor?

Should be about 8° F

 

[WindingRoad]

Merry greetings all! I know, no heat in the coop! My question is...how cold is too cold for chickens? This is our first winter with our girls and so far, so good! But we are supposed to get a cold snap over the next few days. I'm a little nervous. They have a good amount of straw and I have made sure there are no drafts, just ventilation up high. The hen house is cozy. The girls roost all together in a row. The outer part of the coop that is not enclosed is wrapped in plastic to keep wind out. I feed them corn before roosting to.e to help keep warm. I just worry I'm missing something. How cold before I have to do something different? Thanks!

Please put your hand under a chickens wing. Preferably when it's nice and cold. Warm under there. Remember back in the late 1800's when farmers didn't have electricity. Ok so you probably don't remember. Trust me they didn't and their birds survived. When you find a bird in the nest box just sitting there put your hand under it's belly. Warmer under there than under a wing. Now on a very cold day wash your hands but don't dry one of them. Go outside and notice how cold that hand get real quick. So what you need is a well ventilated coop. If you have frost on your coop walls you don't have enough ventilation. Add more. Always have your birds on a roost at night. Let them snuggle up. Birds have two coats just like some dogs do. They put their under coat (down) over their feet. Feel their feet sometime when it's cold. Warm 'eh. Birds run a temp of about 106F. We run 98.6 or less.

You really aren't doing them any favors by bringing them inside. They lose their ability to stay warm when you take them back outside. Remember chickens didn't live inside before we took them in

Look around you how do the wild turkeys, song birds, crows, blue jays chick-a-dees etc cope with the cold. But they do. Good luck.

ETA: Seagulls in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Should be about 8° F

As long as they are all fully feathered they should be fine.
First winters are nail biters.

 

[briteday]

Ours have done fine with -10 for a couple of nights in a row, but days are usually sunny here even if it doesn't get above freezing. At night in the coop they are not subject to wind chill so I don't worry about "feels like."
I never keep water buckets in the coop at night, preventing any extra moisture from happening. They don't drink it at night and by bringing it into the garage I don't have to deal with ice in the bucket in the morning. That being said I make sure that they get plenty of water all day long, refill it to keep it liquid if below freezing during the day.
I spoil them a bit during the winter giving them all of the kitchen scraps that are appropriate. They also love the mice that the cat leaves on the porch or anything they can catch around their feed. I give them extra meal worms when I fill the bird feeders too. And scratch is definitely on their menu too!

Almost forgot to mention that I have an old-timer ranch neighbor who does not believe in chicken coops and his birds roost on some old ladder rungs that he has hung horizontally for them under the pine trees or the birds go up into the tree boughs. He's never lost a bird in the winter that I know of, only lost them to predators because they are not locked up at night, only in a chain link enclosure during the night while totally free ranging in the scrub brush all day. But since he has roosters he has plenty of chicks under his broody hens, more than enough for replacements.

 

[Jenthehen127]

Please put your hand under a chickens wing. Preferably when it's nice and cold. Warm under there. Remember back in the late 1800's when farmers didn't have electricity. Ok so you probably don't remember. Trust me they didn't and their birds survived. When you find a bird in the nest box just sitting there put your hand under it's belly. Warmer under there than under a wing. Now on a very cold day wash your hands but don't dry one of them. Go outside and notice how cold that hand get real quick. So what you need is a well ventilated coop. If you have frost on your coop walls you don't have enough ventilation. Add more. Always have your birds on a roost at night. Let them snuggle up. Birds have two coats just like some dogs do. They put their under coat (down) over their feet. Feel their feet sometime when it's cold. Warm 'eh. Birds run a temp of about 106F. We run 98.6 or less.

You really aren't doing them any favors by bringing them inside. They lose their ability to stay warm when you take them back outside. Remember chickens didn't live inside before we took them in

Look around you how do the wild turkeys, song birds, crows, blue jays chick-a-dees etc cope with the cold. But they do. Good luck.

ETA: Seagulls in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

Thank you! I know all this, but well...new chicken mom! Lol!

 

[Jenthehen127]

Define 'cozy'?
Temps and humidity should be the same inside and outside the coop.
Newbs tend to close coop up tooo tight.
Pics of your coop, inside and out, might help us help you with reassurances and/or improvement suggestions..

First winter is scary, but you'll see just how tough they are.


Multiple nights and days of -10°F or colder.

Lol! Cozy as in not very big! You can see them on the roost in the picture. There are 2 roosts, but mostly chose to all get on the one. I have never seen frost on the walls, but I keep watch. There was a small amount of condensation on the window in the door, so I added more vent holes. I haven't seen it since then. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Jenthehen127]

You must be farther north than me. Alexa said low of -11° with windchill

It is a little nerve wracking, isn't it?!

 

[artsvarc]

Had my first frozen egg today! 0° tonight.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Had my first frozen egg today! 0° tonight.

Mine haven't laid in so long I quit looking weeks ago.

Hang tough.

 

[Sarah koma]

Please put your hand under a chickens wing. Preferably when it's nice and cold. Warm under there. Remember back in the late 1800's when farmers didn't have electricity. Ok so you probably don't remember. Trust me they didn't and their birds survived. When you find a bird in the nest box just sitting there put your hand under it's belly. Warmer under there than under a wing. Now on a very cold day wash your hands but don't dry one of them. Go outside and notice how cold that hand get real quick. So what you need is a well ventilated coop. If you have frost on your coop walls you don't have enough ventilation. Add more. Always have your birds on a roost at night. Let them snuggle up. Birds have two coats just like some dogs do. They put their under coat (down) over their feet. Feel their feet sometime when it's cold. Warm 'eh. Birds run a temp of about 106F. We run 98.6 or less.

You really aren't doing them any favors by bringing them inside. They lose their ability to stay warm when you take them back outside. Remember chickens didn't live inside before we took them in

Look around you how do the wild turkeys, song birds, crows, blue jays chick-a-dees etc cope with the cold. But they do. Good luck.

ETA: Seagulls in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

Such great advice! Thank you!