Chickens stopped sleeping inside

[Chickassan]

Nope you definitely don't need heat lol! They will snuggle up and be just fine no colder than it gets around here. The only things you may have to do is break ice off the waterer and maybe Vaseline some combs if it gets bitter cold. I think I had to do that maybe twice last winter.

 

[TexasSam]

This brings up something I have wondered about. Obviously I live in Texas and it doesn't get super cold here. So my question is we have A very humid cold here when it gets 32 degrees and 75% humidity is ventilation still the key or should something else be done.

 

[aart]

So my question is we have A very humid cold here when it gets 32 degrees and 75% humidity is ventilation still the key or should something else be done.

Ventilation is always the key!
Those conditions right there are prime frostbite conditions.

 

[TexasSam]

Ventilation is always the key!
Those conditions right there are prime frostbite conditions.

Is extra heat needed

 

[aart]

Is extra heat needed

I don't think any heat is ever needed unless you live where it's -20F regularly.

How frostbite risk is managed is a both ends of the spectrum thing.
I don't do anything preventative, have had few serious cases that healed up with no intervention, tho I was watching closely for infection on swollen cockbird wattles. Have had lots of mild cases. Birds regularly get wattles nipped from eating off the snow banks, hard to prevent that.

 

[lazy gardener]

Key is ventilation, and the right amount of space. IF you have a tiny little doll house coop, it's not possible to provide the right kind of ventilation in the right place. And the size of the coop in relation to the number of birds becomes a huge issue. Many doll house coops are not only small regarding the number of sq. feet, but they are small in that they don't have adequate height. The perch is too close to the floor, not allowing adequate depth of bedding. The bedding serves 2 functions: It absorbs the moisture from the feces, and hopefully, the feces gets mixed into the bedding instead of laying on top of it where the birds step in it, and then track it into the nest boxes. It also acts as an insulating layer. If there are only a couple of inches of bedding, that makes for a cold coop as there is not enough mass there to hold any heat. The perch is also too close to the ceiling. Even if there is good ventilation, it will be up high. In a short coop, it may be at the level of the bird's heads as they roost. but if the doll house coop perch is less than 18" from the ceiling, the birds combs are very close to that ceiling, and their moisture from respiration collects at ceiling height. It can condense on the ceiling and rain down on them b/c of the heat provided by the bird's metabolism. Those perches also tend to be too close to the back wall. Know what happens when your body touches a cold surface? Ever tried to sleep on the ground when camping... without adequate bedding under you? That cold ground sucks all the heat out of your body. In a small coop, if the birds touch the back wall, or they are crowded to the point that they are touching the side walls, that can make them colder.

 

[aart]

It also acts as an insulating layer. If there are only a couple of inches of bedding, that makes for a cold coop as there is not enough mass there to hold any heat.

Insulation, yes!!....holding heat? <shakingheadnosmiley> ...tsktsktsk

 

[lazy gardener]

I do believe that a coop with a good 6" of DL bedding will stay warmer through a freezing night than a coop with only an inch or two of bedding. Especially if the coop is well designed and has a lot of solar gain through the day. And, even more so, if that DL has some microbial action going in it.