Can orientals handle cold weather?

If you have heat lamps, I would highly recommend using them. And if you can cover your run or line it with visqueen, I highly recommend that too.

It rarely gets freezing cold out here, but never gets hot either, so really, our climate is pretty cold for Shamos, however they fair pretty well in it. As for your area, I think in order for healthy birds you really need to help them along. Generally speaking, they are not cold hardy.

 

Cubalayas are not hard feathered, and they will be fine in your climate. For the shamo and asil, make sure that their perches are wide enough so they can keep keep their toes covered. If you use a small perch, their exposed toes can freeze due to the lack of fluff covering them. Plenty of people keep hard feathered breeds in very cold climates without heat. Keep them dry, out of the wind, and give them wide perches.

 

I have orientals and when the windchill got down to -35 and such I did loose some birds...young ones mostly. This last round of really cold plus snow though wasn't bad on me...it wasn't as windy or as cold though. It can be done. The older birds did fine. I did but out tarps to cut the wind.