Did I make a mistake bringing my 3 chickens in the house overnight because of the cold?

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

Im in Southeast PA and my 3 girls are 6 months old. It went down to 2 degrees lastnight, so i set up a dog kennel in my laundry room. They roosted & slept fine. Ive read below 20 can be dangerous for them. Now goldie is due to lay an egg and bitching, i opened the door but they didnt venture outside its currently 8 degrees but my laundry room is 58 degree. can they go back out or is it too drastic temp change?

 

[casportpony]

Let them stay in if they want, especially they one that wants to lay.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

I know the difference can be hard on them. Especially if they are kept so warm they don’t grow proper feathers, but the drastic weather change that just happened via Mother Nature is also hard on them. I don’t think what you did was bad. I also moved mine temporarily yesterday having the same weather as you. They are back in the coop today with a heat panel if they want it.

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

I know the difference can be hard on them. Especially if they are kept so warm they don’t grow proper feathers, but the drastic weather change that just happened via Mother Nature is also hard on them. I don’t think what you did was bad. I also moved mine temporarily yesterday having the same weather as you. They are back in the coop today with a heat panel if they want it.

I just coaxed them back outside and goldie ran right to the nest box she did NOT LIKE the square bucket w bedding n fake egg i set up in the kennel. She squawked at it knocked it around and kick the egg axross the floor lol. I leaned plywood on 2 sides of their prefab coop run to block wind. Not sure what else to do for them. I feel really bad to get them accustomed to 50+ degrees. I didnt know. Many posts talk about larger flocks doing OK because they can huddle together. Mine 3 hens free range my fenced in yard most of the day, so i never built a a bigger run. I dont have a heater that will work outside in these temps, just small bed room heaters. I have a heating pad i could run and extension cord to their coop? But is it a fire hazard, how do i know if they hate it. I can put it on the floor, dont care if the poop on it maybe?

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

I know the difference can be hard on them. Especially if they are kept so warm they don’t grow proper feathers, but the drastic weather change that just happened via Mother Nature is also hard on them. I don’t think what you did was bad. I also moved mine temporarily yesterday having the same weather as you. They are back in the coop today with a heat panel if they want it.

Let them stay in if they want, especially they one that wants to lay.

They're outside right now, i can see if they want to follow me back in.. im so torn. Im filling their coop w pine shavings theres about 2 inches in there now. Ill put in another couple inches. Weve not had a night below 25 degrees so this cold is a 1st for them and i never had chickens before so for me too. They know their names, and some words, theyre more than eggproducers here. My daughter "tucks them in" every night, Says "roost" & theyll jump on to the roost before she turns coop light out 730-8pm. This is crazy how worried I am. Jeez

 

[Alagirl]

this is my first winter with chickens.
when we had a cold spell in May/June when I got them, I fed them warm mash. Now I don't, because it freezes.
I did not get around to winterizing my run, because life kept me busy. A family health issue took priority.

yesterday and today the temps were in the low teens.
The chickens were fine, sitting on their roost at night, not very different than on warm nights
I bring them fresh water two or three times a day, and they enjoy that. This morning it was 10 degrees, 'feels like -4' the lone egg I found was frozen.
I fried it up, the perfectly cooked yolk was still cold inside.

I feed them a little more 'junkfood' more fatty food, more carbs.
It might be mammalian husbandry wisdom to increase the energy for the animals, but I don't plan on doing this once it warms again.

I am muddling my way through it myself, encouraged by the help from folks here who live in cold climates.

it is hard not to grab the chickens and try to tuck them in at night.
So far so good. My husband handles the cold far worse, and he is inside, next to the heater, under a heated blanket.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How are they acting after you put them outside? My guess is that they are staying out of the wind but otherwise acting fairly normal, maybe not moving around as much as normal. In your previous lows they have grown acclimated to be able to take those temperatures. They are not likely to die or get injured, though frostbite could be an issue. It's probably pretty low humidity and they generally stay out of the wind so windchill should not be a problem for frostbite. They are acclimated to winter. I've seen the temperature swing by 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit in less than a day, including warm to cold. They should be able to handle that easily.

Did you do wrong by bringing them in? Not in my opinion as you were concerned. Your peace of mind is pretty valuable. Would they have survived outside? Almost certainly but they are your pets and they were more comfortable inside. But now they may want to be somewhere else.

My suggestion is to watch them, which I'm sure you are. Make your decisions based on what you see, not what some stranger over the internet like me says you will see. You might see something different.

If the wind is calm mine choose to go outside when the temperature is below 0 F. If a cold wind is blowing they stay out of the wind. I'd expect yours to act much the same way.

 

[SueT]

While I do bring my sole bantam hen into the basement for single digit temps, most of my chickens stay out and are fine. They were fine during the 2021 polar vortex when it got down to -20. I was afraid it could kill them all but no. I had brought 3 or 4 in that year. Stinky and unnecessary. Their down jackets seemed to keep them warm enuf.
This current cold spell brought us -6 one night. What they hate more than the cold is the snow that came w it. Now the sun is out, it’s up to 8º and they are realizing it’s not The End of the World, after all.
Our basement is in the 50’s. The little hen has been in 2 nights, she’s going back out when it’s above 10º, She could probably take the cold we’ve had but she’s my favorite chicken and kind of old. And not messy like the big girls.

 

[RoyalChick]

I know the difference can be hard on them. Especially if they are kept so warm they don’t grow proper feathers, but the drastic weather change that just happened via Mother Nature is also hard on them. I don’t think what you did was bad. I also moved mine temporarily yesterday having the same weather as you. They are back in the coop today with a heat panel if they want it.

Same weather here and I did the same. I had mine in the garage and they are now back out.
I think they would have been fine out in the coop - but one is only part way through a molt and has some naked patches so I was worried about her.

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

As i read your post im looking at used to be warm mash that is now frozen to the sanded wooden plank (chicken feeding tray)
Tarp i use to cover their coop on really wet days blew off in the winds lastnight and it literally a frozen blob. I just brought it in to thaw so i can put it back on to block wind. I tried outside and it sounded like it was going to crack shatter.
I empathize with your husband as have the heater & blankets waiting for me when im done.
Thanks fr the idea, gonna bring out some cracked corn & bread slices !