Can chickens stand the cold weather?

[LittleJJs]

We leave are 6 hens in our basement and it is freezing out in Tennessee.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

How cold in Tennessee?
Also, centrarchid, thanks for the info. I usually fill the feeder up so that it is overflowing, almost.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

If you think they will freeze I would shut them up. Not sure how cold we are talking about but if it's below freezing point for several days or weeks they could freeze or get severe frostbite. Do you have maybe a heat lamp you could put in your coop just to keep it a little warmer for them? Also how well insulated is your coop? I have shut mine inside for a day or two when it's been really cold. Of course they would rather get out and run around the run. Chickens do surprise me sometimes with their tolerance for cold and heat. They are tougher than we think. Good luck!

This isn't true. Chickens will not freeze if it's below the freezing point, and a heat lamp is not needed just because the temperature is below freezing. For a hen to get "severe frostbite" it would have to be well below zero, like -20, AND there would have to be too much moisture in the coop (not enough ventilation). In Arkansas, it will never get cold enough to need a heat lamp or to confine the birds.

Chickens are well adapted to the cold, and mine will be outside foraging at -20 degrees F. At -15 to -20 F, I do hang a single heat lamp over the perches to give them a little relief, but not until then.

Now, the OP is from Canada, and their hens will see a LOT more cold than hens in Arkansas. They might want a heat lamp when the nights get really cold. But I definitely wouldn't lock them in the coop. Hens aren't smart, but they're not stupid either. If they get cold outside, they go inside to warm up. It's 30 degrees F here today (-2 C). These hens are not going to freeze:

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We leave are 6 hens in our basement and it is freezing out in Tennessee.

It doesn't get cold enough in Tennessee to hurt hens. Let them out to play!

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Thanks everyone. The hens are outside in the run today and are doing fine, but this is probably the warmest it will be, around -10 or so.

 

[bwalden]

No heat lamp in the coop and no insulation on the walls. Thanks, too. This will help.

I didn't say put insulation on your wall. I ask how we'll insulated is your coop? If you have no insulation at all that will directly contribute to how cold your coop will be. I use a heat lamp with a 100 watt bulb. My coop is ventilated and it stays above freezing inside.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

There is only insulation in the roof.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

There is only insulation in the roof.

Insulation in the walls will help a LOT with the temperature in the hen house. Our hen house has insulation in the walls just like a house. It makes a big difference on really cold and really hot days.

Not sure how your coop is built, if you can add insulation or not. Hens will eat styrofoam, so you can't just nail some up.

 

[JackE]

Insulation may be a good thing to have under the roof to help with summertime heat. But as far as winter goes, chickens have perfect insulation of their own, and need no help from us. My chickens thrive in an uninsulated, unheated coop. The only thing artificially warmed in my coop is the water fount.(Cookie tin water warmer) Other than that, nothing.
Jack

 

[centrarchid]

JackE,

I do not advocate heating or insulating for adult chickens but do you see a decline in eggs produced when temperatures in coop get really low. I do see a depression in egg production with my birds housed in pens with minimal protection from wind. I also remember declines in egg production with birds in chicken house holding about 200 hundred hens during periods of extreme cold.