Cold weather?

[chix4lyfe]

Hi! We have 12 chickens and an 8x8 coop that is 6ft tall. We are going to be having some nights in the single digits in the next week or so and I was wondering if we should heat the coop at all. I know that this is dangerous which is why we haven't been doing this but I am worried about them. My main worry is our bantams, we have two that are just so small, ( less that a pound) and have always been really small. The 5 bantams sleep together in a nesting box and the rest usually on the perch. We have good ventilation as well.

 

[sourland]

Well fed and watered, dry and draft free and they should be fine without supplemental heat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I took this photo when it was +4 F (-16 C). It had been a little colder when I first went down there but it warmed up some when I went back to the house to get a camera. I leave the pop door open and let them decide what they want to do, they know when they are comfortable in their down coat. As long as a cold wind is not blowing they enjoy being outside. It was -4 F (-20 C) the previous night in a large unheated coop. They were fine.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Yep. -2 this morning. Ladies are fine so long as you keep them dry and draft free

 

[chix4lyfe]

I took this photo when it was +4 F (-16 C). It had been a little colder when I first went down there but it warmed up some when I went back to the house to get a camera. I leave the pop door open and let them decide what they want to do, they know when they are comfortable in their down coat. As long as a cold wind is not blowing they enjoy being outside. It was -4 F (-20 C) the previous night in a large unheated coop. They were fine.

View attachment 2513241

thank you!!
Well fed and watered, dry and draft free and they should be fine without supplemental heat.

 

[ErinLeah]

We are about to get into the negatives next week. I’ve been doing the deep litter method and sprinkling in some composting stuff dookashi when I add more straw. No odor, no shoveling poop- just out of the nest boxes. I’ll be adding more straw today so they stay warm!

 

[Deerpeer]

Same question here. Temp will drop to -16 Celsius (3,2 F) and im also worried for my 5 bantams. 1 of them is a curly feathered cochin. They are tiny.
But, the coop is dry and draft free.
I mounted a small chick ‘heating’ plate (5w, doesn’t do much) in one of the nest boxes but the cochin just sleeps on the roost between the other Wyandotte’s. Do I need to heat the coop for the curly feathered cochin bantam?

 

[Deerpeer]

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Same question here. Temp will drop to -16 Celsius (3,2 F) and im also worried for my 5 bantams. 1 of them is a curly feathered cochin. They are tiny.
But, the coop is dry and draft free.
I mounted a small chick ‘heating’ plate (5w, doesn’t do much) in one of the nest boxes but the cochin just sleeps on the roost between the other Wyandotte’s. Do I need to heat the coop for the curly feathered cochin bantam?

Its currently-29c where I am, in Ontario, Canada, and I promise you, if they have a dry, draft free spot to roost, and crops full of decent food, they will be fine. I have large fowl cochin, bantam hamburgs, production reds, and Silkies hanging out in my UNHEATED coop, and they're as cozy as can be. If my silkies are good, I imagine your curly cochin should be.

Edited to fix the ugly spelling autocorrect butchered my breeds with

 

[Deerpeer]

Its currently-29c where I am, in Ontario, Canada, and I promise you, if they have a dry, draft free spot to roost, and crops full of decent food, they will be fine. I have large fowl cochin, bantam hamburgs, production reds, and Silkies hanging out in my UNHEATED coop, and they're as cozy as can be. If my silkies are good, I imagine your curly cochin should be.

Edited to fix the ugly spelling autocorrect butchered my breeds with

Thank you for the info! I’m reassured and will let them sleep in the unheated coop.