cold weather.

[lionpearl10]

I am worrying a little about my rhode island reds. I am in the northeast and it has been in the teens the past few nights. We have the heater for the water. There is a thermometer in there and it seems to be about 6 to 8 degrees warmer inside than the outside. The coop is insulated. But it has been in the 20's in there by the morning. Like i said they all seem to be fine. I am the worry wart even though I thought i was doing a good job of not worrying, lol. I even threw a ton of shavings in thinking that might help. I know about the vaseline on the combs, haven't done it. There roosts are also pretty wide for their feet. I know they can stand the cold but how cold and how long? Geez the winter hasn't even started. I will have them in my garage before you know it. No i don't really plan on that. They didn't even want to be out much today because it was 21 and windy. We also dropped the ceiling but it is still pretty high. These chickens are spoiled and they just started giving eggs a couple of weeks ago so I have been very happy. I will stop my rambling. Any thoughts suggestions would be appreciated for the worrying one. [email protected]

 

[SewingDiva]

I think you're doing everything right! It's 23 degrees outside my window, and our girls have been behaving pretty much like yours during this cold snap. It's been windy here too, so they have been pretty much hanging out in the coop. I close them up tight at night; they do just fine, and our coop is not insulated.

We have a heated stand for our galvanized water can, and the only thing I noticed is that the water seems to evaporate faster when the heater has been on, so I'll need to check it a bit more often in the morning when I open the coop.

Phyllis

 

[NurseNettie]

Quote:
I'm in northern Maine-- and this is our first year here, and our first chickens ever. Everyone in the area has chickens throughout the year, even last winter when it was the worst it's been in 50 years. They're fine if they have food and water, and a draft free place to get out of the weather. Sounds like you have a good set up for them. They have down coats and should be fine.

 

[Omran]

As long your coop is draft free and the water not frozen, your chicken will be fine.

 

[antlers]

Yeah what the others said. Was down to plus 2 here the last 2 mornings and highs of 14. I have 8 hens in a 8 by 12 insulated building. No heat, but a heat light over the water pail so it does not freeze. Their just fine as long as they have food and water. They produce a lot of body heat. Draft free and dry is the key for any animal when it get really cold.

 

[Frizzledhen]

RIRs are a very cold hardy bird. Like the others said, draft free and dry goes a long way in keeping them comfortable. The wide roosts are good. They will hunker on down and the wide roost will give them plenty of support for the long cold nights. The only problem with RIRs is their combs. They are prone to frostbite. It is a bummer to have to catch up all your birds and put vasoline on them but it will help. I changed to the rosecomb RIR and that solved the problem of frostbite on my birds.