Cold weather coming, what should I do?

[Emily_loveschickens]

Hi Everyone,
we have some super cold weather coming, and I am just wondering how should I prepare for It?
so tomorrow on Friday the high is 36* F and the low is 11* F and Friday night being 11* F The low, with the real feel being 7* F. Saturday is when it gets cold...
on Saturday the high is 20* F and the low is 1* F and at night the real feel being -5*F. what should I do? I will never use heat in my coop but here are some things I have done to prepare. put in a extra thick layer of bedding, and I put a tarp over there run. what other things should I do and should I keep there food or water in the coop?
Thanks. and happy new year!

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

I have pretty hardy breeds too if that helps

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

aand I also feed them scratch at night

 

[bobbi-j]

If your coop is well ventilated, your chickens will be fine. If they have been without heat all this time, they are acclimated. That nice, thick downy undercoat traps their body heat when they fluff up and keeps them warm. Excess humidity in a closed up coop is not good. Cold and damp is much worse than dry and damp. (Think of a cloudy, damp, humid 40* day as opposed to a sunny, dry 40* day. The temperature is still the same, but it feels very different.)

 

[Mrs. K]

DRY is what you want, dry chickens are warm chickens despite the cold. Mine have come through -35 degrees, so cold when I opened the door with my bare had, I had a burn. I almost added heat...but I didn't and they came through no problem.

Once I had a broody hen, raise 2 week old chicks in a spell of weather at -20. I almost pulled them, so glad I didn't, they were the healthiest chicks.

Dry bedding, - deep on the floor. This will catch and dry out their droppings.
Open vents - on the lee side of the building, away from the predominant wind. This lets moisture escape.

Black rubber bowls, that you can stomp out the ice.

And you are golden.

MRs K

 

[WIchickMama]

DRY is what you want, dry chickens are warm chickens despite the cold. Mine have come through -35 degrees, so cold when I opened the door with my bare had, I had a burn. I almost added heat...but I didn't and they came through no problem.

Once I had a broody hen, raise 2 week old chicks in a spell of weather at -20. I almost pulled them, so glad I didn't, they were the healthiest chicks.

Dry bedding, - deep on the floor. This will catch and dry out their droppings.
Open vents - on the lee side of the building, away from the predominant wind. This lets moisture escape.

Black rubber bowls, that you can stomp out the ice.

And you are golden.

MRs K

this x2! We will be having some of the same weather here but colder-real temp won't be getting above 0. Dry and draft free

I don't put water or food in the coop--I have a heated dog bowl and a plastic waterer that I just check throughout the day

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

Ok I have some black rubber bowls and should I keep there food in there coop

 

[bobbi-j]

Ok I have some black rubber bowls and should I keep there food in there coop

Personal choice. Just know that by keeping food in the coop, you take a chance on attracting mice and rats.

 

[aart]

with the real feel being 7* F

Remember that 'real feel' is the wind chill.
If you birds are out of the wind, it doesn't count.

Post pics of your set up, inside and out.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Same issue here. My coop is dry and well ventilated. My birds weathered a big (well, big for California) snowstorm with no problems! Their run is wetter than I like atm, though, because the ducks are in with them, and they have to stay shut in since a fallen tree took out their fence. We will fix it this weekend, and the run will be dry once again!

I find cleaning out any wet areas, adding dry material, and turning the substrate frequently helps with the dry, esp of they end up having to stay inside for a while. Add and turn... Add and turn...