Do polish bantams do well in the winter?

[I-need-help]

I am new to having chickens so the upcoming winter will be my first. I have 4 standard hens (they are 10 weeks old), a Cornish, and two polish bantams (a rooster and a hen, 17 weeks old). I tried to do some research and it sounds like chickens are fine in the winter as long as they have a nice coop that is well ventilated & no drafts, however my little polish bantams are so tiny and I don't know if they'll be okay! They aren't as big and fluffy like the others. I live in southern Pennsylvania, our winters can get down to in the negatives, even colder with wind chill sometimes.

Should I be prepared to take them inside if it gets too cold or should I heat the coop somehow? How can I tell if they're too cold? Should I keep them in the coop on really cold days? Also any other tips for keeping them happy and safe in the winter would be very helpful! I love my little bantams so much, I don't want to risk losing them!!

 

[cavemanrich]

I live in about same (Zone 5) as you do. It does get COOOOOLD here. I keep my chickens over winter inside my garage loft draft free. December to March. I have 4 bantams, 1 RIR, and 2 Polish LF.
Your tiny banties may get cold during extreme lows. Like below Zero temps. I personally would bring those in (+10*F or less) for the night into a garage. You do not want to bring them into a place too warm, like inside home. The drastic change of temperature would be BAD. Let them back into coop in the morning when daylight, and they are active. Offer them scratch grains which have the carbohydrates. They do generate heat energy in birds. (I know there are others that will dispute this, and favor just standard feed) Each person has their views, and neither may be necessarily wrong.
Chicken are generally cold resistant birds. They vary in their ability from breed to breed. Even the very cold resistant varieties, can loose combs and wattles due to frostbite. Being realistic, when a chicken is small, it can freeze much faster than a larger one.
Many may say,,,,,,,,,,, Oh ,,,,,,,, they will be just fine. Then when they die in extreme cold, the response will be something like this... Wellguess it was too cold for them.
Providing heat inside coop is a sensitive subject, with opinions valid on both sides. Those in favor, and those not in favor.
Things to consider ,,,,,,(these are my opinions from longtime chicken keeping)
Only provide minimal heat and during extreme cold. Do not make the coop over 32*F .
Consider the possibility of a power outage. If chickens are used to a Cozy Warm Coop, then power outage would do your chicken much harm.
If you keep the ADDED HEAT temps at or below 32*F then power outage would not be a big shock.
This type of heater is used by some chicken keepers that do have bantams. It is considered SAFE, compared to some other light bulb options.

I am not sure of the controls on this one. I assume there may be temperature settings. If not, then there are alternate ways to reduce heat output on electric appliances.
Fell free to ask anything you are not sure of. The BYC community is here to help ALL.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[aart]

I think @oldhenlikesdogs has bantams in Wisconsin.

 

[I-need-help]

I live in about same (Zone 5) as you do. It does get COOOOOLD here. I keep my chickens over winter inside my garage loft draft free. December to March. I have 4 bantams, 1 RIR, and 2 Polish LF.
Your tiny banties may get cold during extreme lows. Like below Zero temps. I personally would bring those in (+10*F or less) for the night into a garage. You do not want to bring them into a place too warm, like inside home. The drastic change of temperature would be BAD. Let them back into coop in the morning when daylight, and they are active. Offer them scratch grains which have the carbohydrates. They do generate heat energy in birds. (I know there are others that will dispute this, and favor just standard feed) Each person has their views, and neither may be necessarily wrong.
Chicken are generally cold resistant birds. They vary in their ability from breed to breed. Even the very cold resistant varieties, can loose combs and wattles due to frostbite. Being realistic, when a chicken is small, it can freeze much faster than a larger one.
Many may say,,,,,,,,,,, Oh ,,,,,,,, they will be just fine. Then when they die in extreme cold, the response will be something like this... Wellguess it was too cold for them.
Providing heat inside coop is a sensitive subject, with opinions valid on both sides. Those in favor, and those not in favor.
Things to consider ,,,,,,(these are my opinions from longtime chicken keeping)
Only provide minimal heat and during extreme cold. Do not make the coop over 32*F .
Consider the possibility of a power outage. If chickens are used to a Cozy Warm Coop, then power outage would do your chicken much harm.
If you keep the ADDED HEAT temps at or below 32*F then power outage would not be a big shock.
This type of heater is used by some chicken keepers that do have bantams. It is considered SAFE, compared to some other light bulb options.
View attachment 1931531
I am not sure of the controls on this one. I assume there may be temperature settings. If not, then there are alternate ways to reduce heat output on electric appliances.
Fell free to ask anything you are not sure of. The BYC community is here to help ALL.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

Thank you so much!! My garage is not the biggest and we do not have a loft, would I have to build a secondary coop to be inside the garage for them to stay in? Also should I cover their run so that there's no direct wind or is that not something to worry about? Thanks again!

 

[aart]

Also should I cover their run so that there's no direct wind or is that not something to worry about?

Show us your coop and run, lots of pics, close and far, inside and out.

Also....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

@BantyChooks has banties in a cold climate.

 

[cavemanrich]

Thank you so much!! My garage is not the biggest and we do not have a loft, would I have to build a secondary coop to be inside the garage for them to stay in? Also should I cover their run so that there's no direct wind or is that not something to worry about? Thanks again!

You can get by with a large dog cage with some bedding on bottom. They are in there only for the short nighttime duration. Only on the extreme cold nights as well. There are not going to be that many.

Covering the run from wind is a good IDEA. It is also good to cover from blowing snow getting inside. Many peeps use clear plastic to do this. This way, there is plenty of natural light. Come Spring time,,,,,,,,,, remove plastic
Dog cage similar to this, or you can make your own enclosure from 1" x 2" wood, and staple chicken wire to it.

 

[thesegirlscrackmeup]

Hi, we purchased a heater for our coop (it looks like a flat screen tv). It wasn't expensive and we only use it when it gets extremely cold. Its great to take the edge off when needed. The other thing we purchased was a Thermometer with 3 sensors (also not expensive). This is a fantastic tool to have. We keep the Thermometer in our house, 1 sensor in their coop, 1 sensor in their run and one outside. We are able to monitor the temps and if we need to we can just turn on their heater. Our heater is on a google smart plug so we can turn their heater on and off from our phone, from anywhere. I live in Southern Ontario, so winter can get pretty cold. Being able to monitor the temp from our home is fantastic.

This isnt the exact Thermometer/sensor we have, but just to show you what I am referring to. This will take you to a similar amazon product:
http://tiny.cc/4hvsez

Similar Heater we have:
http://tiny.cc/ilvsez

GoodLuck!

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

I currently have a flock of about 14 White Crested Polish Bantam chickens. I have found that they do find given you take a few steps to keep them comfortable.

1. They need digs that are protected form the winter elements. Due to their crests, if they get wet in the cold months they can freeze causing illness to the birds. I wrap all my coops in plastic to keep them warm by keeping the winter winds out along with the elements. They do very well. I have not lost any of my polish crew to the winter weather.
Hope this helps.

 

[cavemanrich]

I currently have a flock of about 14 White Crested Polish Bantam chickens. I have found that they do find given you take a few steps to keep them comfortable.

1. They need digs that are protected form the winter elements. Due to their crests, if they get wet in the cold months they can freeze causing illness to the birds. I wrap all my coops in plastic to keep them warm by keeping the winter winds out along with the elements. They do very well. I have not lost any of my polish crew to the winter weather.
Hope this helps.

View attachment 1939323

View attachment 1939325

View attachment 1939327

Everything looks quite sealed up. Do you have any ventilation to outdoor fresh air?

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Everything looks quite sealed up. Do you have any ventilation to outdoor fresh air?

They do. I do not cover the back of the coop to allow fresh air to enter and exit the pen. They have enough covering to block the wind and element while allow fresh air and keeping them dry.