Ever Wonder?

[spatcher]

Just curious what with all the posts regarding the extreme cold, how all the chickens, pre electricity, survived. I see sparrows and finches everyday, apparently oblivious to the cold. Could we be causing more problems by keeping them in heated coops rather than letting nature take care of them? If these birds get used to the heated coops, will they die in a power outage? Just something I've been thinking about.

 

[marytoast]

Yea, I was starting to panic because it is supposed to be very cold tonight (at least for NC). My husband said that the chickens will be fine."You don't see dead birds all over when it gets cold!" I am still worried about my girls.

 

[spatcher]

I'm just wondering if we cause more problems than we solve?

 

[miss jay's mama]

I have read not to heat your hen house because of a possible power outtage (leading to chickens dying). From all of the chicken info I've gathered it is best to get chickens that will do well in your area and have a well insultated/draft free hen house.
But I know how hard it is not to spoil my chickens and I know I'm tempted to heat their house on days like today (-5 tonight). I just try to follow what exprienced people have done not necessarily what I think is best.

 

[crazyhen]

See post about chickens freezing to death. An yes I have seen dead wild birds after very cold weather. Now having said that i think that keeping the grown chickens out of drafts and dry here in NC. will be enough. I use heat but mine are very young now. Jean

 

[gritsar]

Spatcher, I was hesitant to respond to your post because I live in Arkansas, so I must not know what cold is right?

I have faced one day so far this winter when I questioned whether I should let my chickens outside or not. We had an ice storm going on and the temp. hovered around 16 degrees all day. Then I looked out the window and saw the tiniest little finches actually frolicking in the layer of ice on the ground. I understand what you're saying.
My chickens live in an insulated, unheated coop. I give them the choice every day of going out and they choose to go out. AND at two weeks of age I did let them out (with supervision!) for short periods of time on sunny, non-windy days in April. If they were with their mama, she'd have done the same thing.
I'm raising my chickens the way that my SO's mom and his grandma and great-grandma before him did. Must be doing something right. I've yet to lose one.

 

[big greg barker]

If you have let your animals get used to the cold weather, and they can move about to generate their own heat, and if you have provided them with feed and water, they will be ok. I am not insulated or heated. My chickens are all fat and sassy. I put my hand under a hen that was sitting in the nesting box, and it was so warm, I wanted to crawl under there myself!! It was below zero outside the coop at the time.

 

[New2Peeps]

My 4 girls are in their small coop--only 3 x3 and it is not insulated and they seem to be fine. They all snuggle up on the roost. They are getting extra cracked corn in the afternoon. I did put duct tape over the ventilation holes on the north side of the coop last night as we had 30 mile an hour winds plus -5 degrees actual temperatures. Today it got up to a toasty 5 degrees outside and they were all running around outside, so obviously they don't mind the cold. Plus they gave me a couple of nice warm eggs this morning

 

[jubylives]

I could care less about what they used to do. I do wonder what they did but that has no bearing on what and how I do things with my birds. I don't imaggine they had breeds in colder areas then like we do now. Thins were different then and there were more people staying at home to tend to the chickens. Like feeding and keeping water available. I do not "heat" my coop I just add a couple heat sources to keep waters unfrozen and eggs from freezing.

jeremy

 

[spatcher]

This thread was not started to draw a line in the sand! Mine are doing well (12 degrees tonight and 5 tomorrow night), and that kind of cold isnt something I have to worry about often, where I live. When its this cold I do check often and keep their water from freezing in the daytime and am at their coops first thing in the morning to make sure they have water to drink. I am at a loss to understand what is meant by having more people to take care of them in the past. What is it that all these people did for them that we are not doing now?