Can chickens stand the cold weather?

[TheReadyBoys]

-30 with wind chill this morning (-22 without). Was pretty rough. -10 isn't too bad, but it's not that +10 we got here earlier this week!

Ya, actually it's -27 with the wind chill right now, plus the wind is blowing from the west and the west is our back yard and our back field! The cattle haven't been out of the woods since it started getting cold this morning! So that must show something

 

[TheReadyBoys]

I dont think we get it as cold in the uk -3 at the moment. Chickens are suprising, mine have the choice to stay in the hen house, come out to a sheltered area, or go further to the more open area, most of the time they can be found perched on their log in the open area. They dont seem bothered by much. They go in at dusk and never before. I then put the pop hole down and they seem happy enough. Now its cold, the 3 of them sleep in one nesting box, they look really comfortable.

Sounds like they have a pretty good life! My chickens haven't been outside today.

 

[jmarie]

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

did you build your coop or was it a kit? totally lovely coop!

 

[jmarie]

so here in VA we have had rain for 3 days in a row and last night it snowed and so we have nasty wet mud covered by snow. The chickens have been fine.

If fact we had our holiday party for work last night and the chickens refused to go in the coop early. They free range in our yard and the door to their run blew shut once we were gone. they all roosted on top of the coop all night while it rained and snowed.

Even with the constant rain they have been out in the yard going crazy for worms flooded out by all the rain.

 

[JackE]

did you build your coop or was it a kit? totally lovely coop!

Thanks, I built it. I got the design from the book I got from Amazon, 'Fresh air poultry houses', by Prince T Woods. This coop was one the author designed back in the early 1900s. The book has the basic plans. I just slapped it together over a couple months.
Jack

 

[Going Quackers]

Honestly, the best thing i have found is watch your birds, they provide the best info on whether what your doing is working, climate vary, housing varies and even the breed makes a difference in what you require to keep the birds healthy.

My coop is not insulated persay more just structural materials that provide good steady temps, our location helps too, as does a large window that lets sun saturate the coop. My run has natural protection on one side by cedars that tower into the sky which aids in being a windblock and shade in times of heat.

I guess i am meaning well thought set ups for coops and runs as well as choosing hardy birds best for your climate, goes a long way to get through less than idesl times weather wise

 

[Rhoise]

Ok I finally caved tonight. Went out this morning and two of my production reds with the biggest combs were showing noticeable signs of mild frost bite(white cold tips on combs and front edges of wattles). The weather has been brutal(9-16 F) for weeks, unusual for Boise, but all was well until last night we got a big foggy icey damp deep freeze, temps plummeted to below zero and at 6am when I checked the girls I noticed the frost bite!
As soon as I got off work today, with the help of a neighbor, I brought them in one at a time to inspect and lather them up with Vaseline on their combs and wattles. Two of the seven had damage on their combs and two others had a tad bit but not bad on the front of the wattles too, the ones without are the girls that are smart enough to sleep with their heads buried under a wing.
Same weather tonight, so I rigged up their brooder light with a 40 watt bulb covered with heavy duty aluminum foil to block the light(couldn't find low watt black light at hardware store) and hung it from a chain double secured to the wall with clips and carabeaners, near the top of the metal roof in my small coop. The temperature now outside is 1 Fahrenheit and plummeting, the coop temp is reading 16F..... I hope they are ok and this stops the pain and their beautiful combs from worse damage. I have to say frostbite no matter what folks say I'm sure hurts! Just following my instincts and trying my best to manage :-( very bummed to have caused my girls any harm!!! I appreciate the posts here, and just wanted to tell you folks what I'm going through if it can be helpful for anyone. Julie

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Thanks everyone. Also I noticed some blood and aggravation on all the combs of the chickens. They are whitish color and have black spots, kind of like when a cut is healing, it seals up and leaves a noticeable spot. Is this the first sign of frost bite?

 

[kdwag]

The heat/cold issue seems to be a concern for a lot of us-this is my first winter with chickens, I have 4 pullets that are 18 weeks old- barred rocks, a partridge plymouth and a rhode island red. Our temps this year in NW Ohio have been cold (20's and teens and night, upper 20's to mid 30's during the day, lots of wind). I bought a prefabbed coop this summer - not huge but big enough for them. I have it full of pine shavings and sand and I have a heat lamp secured that I leave on during the day with their coop door open (if the temps are 30's or below). At night, I close them in and the heat lamp goes off. THe coop is also wrapped with a plastic tarp because I'm not convinced that it's draft proof or that it's water proof since we didn't build it ourselves. I do keep the vents on top open for circulation. The girls do very well. They are predicting temps for us next week in the single digits with -0 windchills. I am not sure whether I'll keep the heat source on all night or not at this point but will see how they do. For sure, they do not like wind. I've only had to close them in during the day once due to a snow storm. What i've learned so far is that they probably don't need heat during the day, but I know they enjoy the warmth especially when it's windy and colder. So, they get heat during the day. If it's going to be single digits at night and bitterly cold, I'll leave their heat on a lot longer at night and if they are resting and roosting, i'll leave it on, if they're restless and not roosting, i'll turn it off. If the seem stressed the next morning after whatever I did, i'll do it differently the next day. I think we, myself included, make it harder than it needs to be. LOL

 

[kdwag]

I think signs of frost bite do include black spots or combs laying flat? I read that somewhere on this site, don't recall where. I also read that frost bitten combs may interfere with laying.