chickens and drafts

[irish44395]

being new to chickens I am wondering if there is a draft,will they move to another part of the coop were there is no draft?
Pete

 

[Chicken_loverXx]

being new to chickens I am wondering if there is a draft,will they move to another part of the coop were there is no draft?
Pete

They might or they may just puff up their feathers to warm themselves up.

 

[aart]

I doubt you'll ever have to worry about too cold of a draft in your climate.

 

[Aapomp831]

If you’re in Florida, you shouldn’t have to worry about this too much. Drafts are not good for birds; there shouldn’t be any that can make contact with them as the roost at night. All ventilation should be up higher than the roosts. But again, in Florida you may only have to worry about this for one or two nights. It’s birds that are regularly exposed to drafts and freezing temperatures that end up with frostbite.

 

[aart]

Drafts are not good for birds; there shouldn’t be any that can make contact with them as the roost at night.

In the summer they may be good, can keep pesky bugs away.
In cold winters, not so much.
'Drafts' are hard to define.
Airflow is good, unless it's strong enough to literally ruffle the feathers on the roost during cold weather.

 

[Sally PB]

'Drafts' are hard to define.
Airflow is good, unless it's strong enough to literally ruffle the feathers on the roost during cold weather.

So a draft/breeze strong enough to ruffle feathers, but over 12 inches above their heads would be... too much? No worries? A problem only below a certain temperature?

 

[aart]

So a draft/breeze strong enough to ruffle feathers, but over 12 inches above their heads would be... too much? No worries? A problem only below a certain temperature?

If it's not ruffling their feathers it's fine.
If feathers are ruffled, they can't hold their body heat in.

 

[Ridgerunner]

being new to chickens I am wondering if there is a draft,will they move to another part of the coop were there is no draft?
Pete

Even in the dark they have more mobility than many people think. If you look at how their feathers lay, if they face into a breeze they are streamlined, wind bothers them a lot less than if they are facing away from the breeze. As a minimum they can do that much and usually more. People tend to think of them as totally helpless and forget they survived in the wild in temperate climates while sleeping in trees. Those temperate climates had colder winters than you will ever see.

The word "draft" is misleading. We tend to think of holding a candle near a door or window to see if there is any draft, a very slight movement of air. That kind of movement in a coop is good, it helps with ventilation and helps replace bad air with good. The way a chicken keeps itself warm in truly cold weather is to trap tiny pockets of air in its down. The down is not what keeps them warm, it's those tiny pockets of air. Down jackets and down comforters work the same way. The reason they mention ruffled feathers is that if the feathers are ruffled those tiny air pockets can escape. They lose their insulation.

Then there is the Florida part. You are way down in the Tampa area and totally surrounded by water (thanks for providing that location information). All that water protects you even more from extreme cold. You don't have a thing to worry about from cold weather.