Coturnix and the Cold

[albinosilver]

I’m wondering if coturnix could survive a Canadian winter without any additional heat. They will be fully sheltered of course. I plan on building an underground coop with all sides covered. I believe the lowest temperatures would be in the -20s C outside. It will probably be much warmer underground though.

I think we underestimate how resistant they are. I put my chicks outside on the ground at 2 weeks old. It’s been 8-9 C (high 40s F) degrees overnight and they’ve been doing great.

I only provided them a heat lamp for the first week. Second week was indoors with no heat and then they went straight outside. Will definitely be keeping a few over the winter to see how they do.

 

[le_bwah]

Never heard of an underground coop before. What exactly will that look like? I'd assume any windbreak + deep bedding would be the way to go.

 

[cosmosue]

They are super cool!!! Would love to build one of those!!

 

[RosieR]

They are supposed to be very cold hardy. Also in Canada and planning to over winter some birds.
Definitely shelter from the wind and elements. I’m using deep litter which should produce a tiny bit of heat hopefully as well.

 

[Robertrayklein2]

I too am wondering about wintering them. My tenitive plan is to scale back to 15 to breed in the spring. 3 by 5 ft insulated coop with 1 heat lamp

 

[Robertrayklein2]

I am in central wi by the way

 

[nightowl223]

We wintered ours outside in a metal shed with a minimum of insulation, and only a smaller-wattage heat lamp to help prevent frozen waterers. I did lose a couple of them, but they were older ones; not sure exactly how old - they may have been at the top end of Coturnix lifespan already. They barely laid, so they were more than 1 or 2 years old.

 

[nightowl223]

We wintered ours outside in a metal shed with a minimum of insulation, and only a smaller-wattage heat lamp to help prevent frozen waterers. I did lose a couple of them, but they were older ones; not sure exactly how old - they may have been at the top end of Coturnix lifespan already. They barely laid, so they were more than 1 or 2 years old.

I'm in the central midwest US, BTW. It drops to zero F a few times a winter, and sometimes below, but not for very long.