Cold col, what is too cold

[MaspethMatt]

I have a light on a timer so they get 14hrs of light but still only a few eggs. I was getting 7a day all last summer. Please help.

 

[outdoorsii]

I have a chicken who roosts by herself....I'm not sure what to do about it....

Yea my whitey leghorn is stubborn and sleeps kinda off to herself too, but we have 12 big chickens that sleep together, so usually they're bundled together, We put 120 watte "daylight" lamp in there b/c our wyandottes just hit 8 months & 1 of them still isn't laying, although the past month our RIR's have quit laying, they're at least 3-4 yrs old though, but were laying almost everyday

 

[minpins99]

Hi, all.

This is SUCH a great learning experience for me. I'm planning on starting my small flock (approx. 6 laying hens) and because it's getting plenty cold here in NH and making me think of keeping them warm next winter, I keep thinking of questions to ask you seasoned veterans and those who live where it gets real cold. Because it gets dark so early, do the hens go to roost as dusk approaches? Do they just either stay indoors when it gets cold and if they venture out, will they automatically go back in the coop as the light diminishes? I get home from work when it is full dark. I'm afraid the startle them into heart attacks by shutting the coop door when I get home if they've gone to roost! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Mimi
Nashua, NH

 

[Our Roost]

Its our first winter with the chickens purchased in early April. The support and knowledge we have gained from this web site on this subject has been a great help. Someone almost always seems to answer you with an answer wether they are an authority or just another chicken lover like yourself. I purchased a couple of thermometers to monitor temperature inside and outside the coop. My coop on a much smaller level is built pretty much like an outside garage with insulation in the ceiling and weather treated construction grade plywood sides. 2 windows for sunlight and air vents on the outside walls near the ceiling for cross ventilation. Anticipating daylight savings time change and darknes during the winter months, I installed electric and ran 3 inside light sockets from the ceiling, a light switch, and a wall plug outlet for a shop vac and other accessories. 2 of the 3 lights are halogen low energy flood lamps bulbs that emit more heat than a regular light bulb. I have yet to hook up a timer for these as yet and just turn them on with the pull string when needed at night. The other light is just for turning on in the dark mornings to let them into the run area and at night when putting the ladies down for the night which only entails closing their coop entry chute. We also installed a flood light outdoors shining into the run area. What a blessing that has been in the dark! I can only hope these lights will help take the chill off the inside of the coop on those cold and miserable winter nights. Right now the inside temp has held at lowest, 32 to 34 degrees. Outside its been much worse at 20 to 26 degrees. I think this is going to work for me. Goodluck!

 

[goose4]

We have our chickens roosting on 2x4 's turned so that they csn keep their toes toasty warm. They also cuddle up to Mr Wonderful. We have a heat lamp over the water dish to keep it from freezing. They live in the end of our pole barn so they are out if the wind. The outside walls have been lined with straw bales. It got down to -7F last week and everyone was fine.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Hi, all.

This is SUCH a great learning experience for me. I'm planning on starting my small flock (approx. 6 laying hens) and because it's getting plenty cold here in NH and making me think of keeping them warm next winter, I keep thinking of questions to ask you seasoned veterans and those who live where it gets real cold. Because it gets dark so early, do the hens go to roost as dusk approaches? Do they just either stay indoors when it gets cold and if they venture out, will they automatically go back in the coop as the light diminishes? I get home from work when it is full dark. I'm afraid the startle them into heart attacks by shutting the coop door when I get home if they've gone to roost! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Mimi
Nashua, NH

The chickens will go to bed as soon as it starts getting darker. Mine start drifting toward the coop when it the sun starts going down, and by the time it is dark they will be in the coop. Story to prove they WILL- I had put them in the run and gave them their nightly treat in the coop - I forgot to close the run door! I, thinking they were all tucked in, didn't go back out. Well, they stayed in the run/coop and went to sleep, even though they had the choice to go out. Thankfully, no critter came in, and the chickens were alright. I almost had a heart attack that morning!

As for scaring them, I've went out before 9ish-10ish because I forgot to do something. Just don't be loud and rambunctious and they'll be fine.

 

[r devries]

All your chickens will be fine I have 4 birds in an uninsulated 1/2'' thick plywood coop and I live in the great white north (canada) it has already dipped down to around -10 C and their coop was as warm as my Bed. The temperature here will likely drop down to around -20C on the colder nights.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

The chickens will go to bed as soon as it starts getting darker. Mine start drifting toward the coop when it the sun starts going down, and by the time it is dark they will be in the coop. Story to prove they WILL- I had put them in the run and gave them their nightly treat in the coop - I forgot to close the run door! I, thinking they were all tucked in, didn't go back out. Well, they stayed in the run/coop and went to sleep, even though they had the choice to go out. Thankfully, no critter came in, and the chickens were alright. I almost had a heart attack that morning!

As for scaring them, I've went out before 9ish-10ish because I forgot to do something. Just don't be loud and rambunctious and they'll be fine.

OOOOoooohhhh!!! Something similar happened to me... I count my birds before I lock up for the night... sometimes even more than twice. This one day, I counted everyone, not realizing that one of the ones I was counting was on the other side of the fence!!!. She was inside the tarped area, but outside of the fence. She stayed right there all night and part of the next day!!! She was either too scared or too smart to leave her spot. (Plus she was close to the other birds, just not as well protected.) I cried when I found her. She didn't try to run from me when I went to get her, but when I put her in the coop she drank water for several minutes. The poor thing was soooo thirsty! It gets me choked up just thinking about it! I'm so thankful I didn't lose her, but I still feel so bad that I didn't realize she was out.

As far as the heat question goes... Our heat lamp is pointed at the water to keep it from freezing. Some of the heat is reflected towards the chickens, but it is mostly to keep the water from freezing.

 

[silkiefarmer]

Slkies can not get up on roosting bars or high nesting boxes. Every night we put our bearded silkie up on the bars,'cause she can't, and had put a small wooden box on the coop's floor that she can easily access to lay her eggs. Don't forget silkies get broody about 4 times at year. During that period they can become heavily infested by mites. It is an awful thing.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

We put a heat light over their waterer (not over the perches) when it starts to freeze the waterer in less than three hours. That's probably around 15 to 20 below. But the heat lamp is really just there to keep the water flowing, and it's six feet from the perches. We've had it cold enough that eggs froze within a couple hours of being laid, but the chickens were fine as long as they coauld get out of the wind. We've had a little frostbite, but that can be mostly prevented by putting Vaseline on the combs.

The hens will just huddle together. They'll be fine. It's not really good for them to heat the coop, unless you live in the far North and it consistently gets around -20 or colder (not windchill, real temp.). I've only ever had one bird die from exposure, and it was her fault. It was a pullet that was determined to sleep under the hen house, and we couldn't get her out to put her inside.

So its not a terrible thing we provide our hens heat in the winter, XD, we start to when its around 0 or less, lock them up for the winter in the coop around the 20's or so.