Coop and Cold

[JasonWaterfalls]

Hello. This is my first fall/ winter season with chickens. We have freezing temperatures expected the next three nights where I am in Georgia.

I am attaching a photo looking at the coop from outside the run, through the run, into the coop through a large opening with hardware cloth. The highest roost in the coop is visible through the hardware cloth, where usually 2-3 birds roost at night. The adjacent run is covered over head. Would you cover the large opening at night with the freezing temperatures coming?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Penpal]

You chickens are wearing down coats. You are in Georgia, not Saskatchewan. Although I would like to see the roost below the level of the opening, you need the opening for ventilation and I would not cover it.

 

[my hennypenny]

Hello. This is my first fall/ winter season with chickens. We have freezing temperatures expected the next three nights where I am in Georgia.

I am attaching a photo looking at the coop from outside the run, through the run, into the coop through a large opening with hardware cloth. The highest roost in the coop is visible through the hardware cloth, where usually 2-3 birds roost at night. The adjacent run is covered over head. Would you cover the large opening at night with the freezing temperatures coming?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[my hennypenny]

Hi. I am too a first time BY chicken owner and I have the same problem. I live in the high Mt of Utah and we are already getting down to 12 degrees at night. We have been known to get down to below zero. I have 4 mo old Americanas, Wyandottes, and Ancona hens. My small coop has some wire on the top half of one side. The roost is below it. Do I need a heat lamp in with them.? I worry about burning it down.! Thanks for any advice.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hi. I am too a first time BY chicken owner and I have the same problem. I live in the high Mt of Utah and we are already getting down to 12 degrees at night. We have been known to get down to below zero. I have 4 mo old Americanas, Wyandottes, and Ancona hens. My small coop has some wire on the top half of one side. The roost is below it. Do I need a heat lamp in with them.? I worry about burning it down.! Thanks for any advice.

(FYI best to post your question separately as you do not have the same set up or climate conditions as OP.)

We'd need photos of your set up - have you checked for drafts at the roost location on a typically windy day?

I have birds choosing to sleep right up against open windows at 12F. It's not a problem as long as there's no draft.

Heat lamps are always a fire risk, a burn risk (to the birds) and a risk of shock if they become acclimated to the heat and then the lamp or power fails. In most cases heat should only be used in sustained ambient temperatures -10, -20F or more.

 

[Alagirl]

Hello. This is my first fall/ winter season with chickens. We have freezing temperatures expected the next three nights where I am in Georgia.

I am attaching a photo looking at the coop from outside the run, through the run, into the coop through a large opening with hardware cloth. The highest roost in the coop is visible through the hardware cloth, where usually 2-3 birds roost at night. The adjacent run is covered over head. Would you cover the large opening at night with the freezing temperatures coming?

Thanks for any advice!

My 5 girls made it through last year's Christmas freeze with little more than a roof and a wind break.
I added a little more 'junk food' like worms and oatmeal to the diet, to give them more fat in the diet. Something I learned from horse keeping, but might not really work for chickens.
I don't think it will be that cold down here yet (but I did bring my tender plants inside)

 

[JasonWaterfalls]

My 5 girls made it through last year's Christmas freeze with little more than a roof and a wind break.
I added a little more 'junk food' like worms and oatmeal to the diet, to give them more fat in the diet. Something I learned from horse keeping, but might not really work for chickens.
I don't think it will be that cold down here yet (but I did bring my tender plants inside)

Thank you that helps!

 

[Alagirl]

Thank you that helps!

as the others mentioned, keep them out of the draft.
And dry. They should be good.

 

[Alagirl]

PS
as we are going into the cold season:
Make sure they have water. During the Christmas freeze I made sure to bring warm water from the house frequently down to the coop. I also made them a 'mash' with warm water and feed crumbles (plus oatmeal at times) which probably made me feel better than them but you have to make sure the birds stay hydrated.