Can chickens stand the cold weather?

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I've even used pallets and old oil pan trays. Also sheet plastic. Old door sounds

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[rancher hicks]

My chickens can stand the cold, but they can't stand my sister in law.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Hahaha! Too funny!

 

[rancher hicks]

seriously, my sister in laws dog died and vet said he thought it was suicide.

I do know she was taking Benny to a animal therapist.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Hahaha! Really? I never heard of animal suicide!

 

[rancher hicks]

Hahaha! Really? I never heard of animal suicide!

You've never met my sister in law. My sister in law wanted to be an actress, but she only made it half way. She lives in a trailer.

 

[Lewjay]

Down here in GA. it has been down in the 30's and lots of rain lately. My RI Reds won't go inside their coop but instead hop on the top and roost on the flat roof. Cold does not seem to be bothering them at all. I put heavy plastic on the roof to make it easier to scrape the poop off in the mornings and I have a plastic tarp over where they sleep. Also put a tarp over the S end of the pen and an old truck tail gate plastic liner to shield the nest boxes from the wind. I think I'm going to redo the whole pen this summer and enlarge it a bit and probably expand the coop and add a couple more birds to the 6 I have.

 

[bruceha2000]

Wonderful articles for a Bird Novice like myself.

My girls have passive ventilation with roof vents along the soffits and vents cut in the walls so I get air passing straight through the coop.
My concern was that my girls would get frost bite with subzero temps coming. So I close the wall vents, and covered the roof vents with foam. Its far from being air tight and there is no insulation but this eliminated the drafts.

I think the best design for a "closed coop" (assuming one gets to start from scratch) is the same as house attic venting. Soffit and ridge vents. Gable vents tend to work only when the wind is from a direction that it blows directly through them and in a small coop, that might not be much higher than the birds on the roost. Or, if you build one of the Woods style open air coops as shown by JackE, the entire front is hardware cloth so no "active" ventilation needed. Assuming the other 3 sides are air tight, no air will flow through. And for summer cooling, the windows on top open. IF you somehow had a winter time humidity problem, you could crack the upper windows to get the air moving.

I have a question, even though it makes me seem stupid I'm trying to understand draughts.

Theres no additional ventilation other than the hole in the floor.

Because there are no higher up vents does that mean air won't get sucked up and create a draught around their poor derrieres? Will the warmer air of the arc exclude the colder air from rising up and in?

I can open up the side and slide a piece of wood over the opening once they've all roosted if necessary.

1) Unless the rest of the coop is ABSOLUTELY air tight, you can get a very strong breeze up through that hole.
2) I would be somewhat concerned about a coop that had NO way for enough air to get in. How is the humidity in the coop?
3) I guess you don't have predator worries. I would say most people lock their birds in at night so having an easy way to close that opening would be helpful both for keep the cold wind AND predators out of the coop.

I also had to re-staple the plastic on the runs. I didn't put enough staples and card board up the first time, guess. I spaced them too far apart. Plus with no snow it was not as secure along the bottom near the ground.

I'm not sure I would trust staple to hold plastic in a breeze. I would probably screw wood battens over it instead.

You've never met my sister in law. My sister in law wanted to be an actress, but she only made it half way. She lives in a trailer.

Hmmm, sounds like a variation on the "Your Mama's so fat" jokes

Bruce

 

[Rhoise]

"Boiseans are welcoming in the new year with goosebumps from three solid weeks of frigid temperatures. All but two days in January have been below normal — and not just a little. We're talking average daily temperatures that have been 10 to 24 degrees below normal.
In fact, the city is on track to record the fifth coldest January on record since 1865, according to the National Weather Service."

Let me start by saying a combination of greenhorn and bad weather has been cause for my birds to suffer.......

I did do a bit of research on breeds(obviously not enough) and also had to consider heat tolerant birds as well. In the high dessert here we had several weeks straight of above 100 degree Fahrenheit temps this summer. I moved out here 18 years ago and have never seen the temps go this low. Last three nights it has been 87% humidity and a foggy wet frost on everything, the temps have dipped on my thermometer as low as - 6 below zero Fahrenheit. After seeing actual frostbite on the tips of the combs of 4 of my seven birds, I decided to add some heat. With a 40watt bulb it has raised the temps inside the coop to 16 degrees above zero at night while they roost. Their is alot of ventilation in the coop, but the outside humidity is a culprit here too.

I got my design and chicks from a local old timer who has had alot of experience and designed his coops with the local climate in consideration. The fact that my grandad and my dad never had electricity or heat in their coops is true, but they also had problems and lost chickens in the frigid New England winters. My dad often teases me about my "spoiled" hens, but also admits they weren't getting 6.5 eggs per day on the average from 7 pullets in the middle of winter either.

There is so much information and conflicting information from experts and old timers, out there and on this web site, it makes my fool head spin sometimes! A person has to live and learn, and all that I'm truly sorry about with this darn cold snap is that my girls had to suffer at all on my watch! Pets or Livestock is my business, but either deserves my best to be fed right, well cared for, and managed humanely. Just because I may eat them or set them on my lap in my living room, shouldn't matter, but was does, is that the birds don't suffer from preventable human mistakes. I wish I could control the weather, and I draw the line at bringing them in the house, but if anyone decides that's what works for them have at it!

Sorry for the rant, I probley just committed political suicide, and drove some folks away with my whining. Just feeling guilty about my pullets and was hoping by posting my experience from a few nights ago it might help or prevent someone else from the same fate, or at least let them know the reality of what happened and what I am trying to do to remedy the situation. My skins a little thin tonight, and I guess being defensive isn't going to help my chickens any, but sometimes cutting holes in the coop isn't the only kind of venting needed........

At times I get testy at the judgmental, condescending attitudes, or lack of patience from some of the folks here. There are several I really appreciate though, so I'll keep learning and listening, and hopefully keeping my tiny flock thriving. The common sense, experience, advice, wisdom, and patient live and let live approach to sharing their knowledge is indispensable, a huge asset and resource to many, for that I am truly grateful.............

Thanks, Julie

I'll be quiet now, lick my wounds, and get off my soap box, there's chickens to care for!.......... Julie

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/...for-you-boise-temperatures.html#storylink=cpy​

 

[Jeepman]

Lets just say my birds are spoiled. I have a 11x16 coop with an 8' wall shed design. My outdoor wood boiler line is on the other side of the wall of my coop that is attached to my garage. I ran the return line under one of the 2 roosts for them. It does not heat the whole run just one of their roosts.
They can go out in their run at all hours of daylight. If there is even a dusting of snow they won't even go outside in their fenced in 16x40 run after the scratch feed I put out or the breads I buy for them. They stay inside on the cement floor covered in deep litter.

I did put a netted hanging cabbage in there coop every other week. They love it and it is gone in 3 days.

I have a mix of barred rocks, rhode island reds, and cornish whites. I did have an issue with the whites combs getting chapped and bleeding early inthe season but vaseline did the trick.

I have natural roof venting and watch my humidity levels. I've only seen it a couple percent higher by the thermostatically heated watering tin. Other wise it's exactly what it is outside.

I've heard from many people that tell me "Don't heat your coop! What did they do before the times of portable heaters?" I say fine, but why not give them a place to warm up and cool as needed? I do not use a heat light or other heater. I noticed the amount of feed consumption has gone down about 15% as opposed to not doing anything during the colder months. I also noticed egg production is a whole two eggs higher per a day since giving them a heated roost. I say they like the warmer days just like us. Will it kill them probably not, but why not be comfortable?