Can chickens survive sub zero temperatures?

[HappyClucker7]

Hi!
So, the weather where I live is supposed to get really cold for three days. What i was wondering is, can chickens survive a wind chill of thirty below zero? My breeds are rhode island red, barred rock, and australorpe. I know these breeds are made for cold weather, but this cold? Will they be ok just locked up in their hen house or should I bring them into my garage? I would really appreciate it if you anwered quikly because the cold weather is coming tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[chickencheeper]

Yes they will be fine, other members have talked about how their chickens have thrived in -40+ for multiple days. Just make sure you have adequate ventilation and a heated waterer

 

[chickencheeper]

Where are you located?

 

[HappyClucker7]

I dont have a water heater. Should i keep them locked up in their hen house?

 

[chickencheeper]

What type of waterer do you have? You’ll definitely need a heater, get to your local feed store right away. If you waterer is compatible(post a pic)

 

[chickencheeper]

You don’t need to lock em up

 

[Jukasorenson]

Hi!
So, the weather where I live is supposed to get really cold for three days. What i was wondering is, can chickens survive a wind chill of thirty below zero? My breeds are rhode island red, barred rock, and australorpe. I know these breeds are made for cold weather, but this cold? Will they be ok just locked up in their hen house or should I bring them into my garage? I would really appreciate it if you anwered quikly because the cold weather is coming tomorrow. Thanks!

I just wrote nearly this same post, so thank you for asking the question!! Temps to get -15 here tonight, and windchills on top of that! Brrr. I do have a heated waterer, my henhouse is wrapped in 6 mil plastic to keep winds out, and the hen box itself is insulated above with foam (and snow), and I keep a ton of straw in there for their comfort and warmth. Let's hope our chickens are more cold-hearty than we are!! Good luck!

 

[aart]

I dont have a water heater. Should i keep them locked up in their hen house?

That would depend on what your run is like....and your coop...and how many birds you have.
No one can reasonably answer that question without more information.
Even then, in the end, only you can decide what is best for you and your birds.

Knowing more about:
your location,
your flock size(numbers, ages, genders),
your coop(size in feet by feet with pics),
would help immensely.

 

[Michael Propst]

Mine just survived 3 days of sub zero temps. I do have a heated waterer that work fantastic, just got a bit of ice along the outside edge, K&H Pet Products Thermo-Poultry Waterer. My actual coop is too small for mine to just hang out in so I have wrapped all sides of my 9x9 run in 7mil plastic to keep the winds out and I have about 6-8 inches of straw on the ground. Mine did great during those days. I checked on them several times a day. The only thing I had to keep up with is I do give them fermented feed in the mornings and had to go out and bring it in every hour to heat up in the microwave. Other than that mine braved out the sub zero just great. As everyone has said you just have to be prepared for it with making sure you have done everything you can to winterize your coop and run and protect your chickens.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Yours should be fine... with the wind and snow we had yesterday, we opened the coop and let them decide. They pretty much rotated around between the nest boxes and the coop. My nest boxes are plastic covered cat boxes under the coop, so with two or three of them in there, it was getting pretty warm. LOL they did they're thing, and hung out, laid eggs... they were fine.