First winter with chickens: others have me feeling guilty about not heating. Going to be -3 & -16

[Beekissed]

Thank you all! I do feel a little better, especially from knowing you are a neighboring state and already experienced -15 in an unheated coop, song of joy. I am going to definitely keep an eye on that window, thanks for telling me about that! I do open the coop briefly to remove the largest poo and feel the inside walls to make sure they aren't sweating in the mornings. So far, it's been bone dry.

Snaffle, I often for mites and bugs. They are constantly dust bathing, and I put a bit of DE in their favorite spot. I am pretty sure it is a molt as two just went through the same thing and are fully feathered. One is already growing back her feathers and is nearly finished getting back in them all. One just started about a week ago and is missing quite a bit of feathers. But she isn't naked, you can see a lot of down still on her breast. She seems to be okay, but I did notice she spends more time in the coop.

Hearing sound advice from you all is helping me cope a little better. I'll listen to my gut about the heat lamp being unsafe for my setup and just keep an eye on the girls closely.

You've been given good advice here. I'm in your state and getting the same or similar temps and my flock is fine. I have two birds molting as well, but no issues. It sounds like you've been doing fine. Let the people who try to guilt you cope with the results of overly pampered flocks and you just keep truckin' with your hardy crew.

 

[gotthefever]

I am still surprised every day that no one has frozen to death, but honestly, they are the same as when they came in early october. They just get bored and pace expecting to be let out. grrrr. that is what i feel bad about but I dont have a house near my house and if they are kept in, they sit in their coop and peek out rather than sit and look miserable in the wind by my screen porch.

I think I know better in this case, I bring treats and hot water throughout the day....Can we say SPOILED?

 

[Swampgal]

We posted about the same time yesterday. See responses to my thread Crazy Idea. Very helpful. Good luck!!!!

 

[myfarm4579]

They will be ok. I had -25 other day they spent all day in their run. Seemed like just another day for them

 

[lceh]

Always keep in mind that the larger the building the harder it is for the occupant to heat it up with their little furnace called a body. lol

Too often people will put their dog in the largest dog house they can... not realizing the dog's body can not warm up that little building.

I am feeling nervous too, we're supposed to be -8 on Thursday night. I decided to work with the above principle -- I filled some largish airline dog crates (the kind with solid sides) with deep bedding, covered the large vent holes with brown paper bags (the door is wide open so there's plenty of air), and parked them in the large duck house. I figured it would cut any drafts and allow their body heat to work more effectively. Last night was a test run and the ducks bedded down happily inside. Our main chicken coop for the large fowl will be fine, but I'm thinking I'll put my kids' geriatric bantams in a smaller closed-sided cat carrier in the big chickens' coop overnight with the same idea. It's only for a few hours but it will make me sleep easier knowing I've done something!

 

[Ridgerunner]

A lot of this stuff is not really for the chicken’s benefit, it’s to make the human feel like they’ve “done something”. While there is a benefit in making the human feel better, be careful to not harm your chickens just so you feel better.

This is not about keeping the place where the chickens are warm. It’s about keeping the chickens warm. Just like the songbirds you’ll see at your feeder today, your chickens can do a pretty good job of keeping themselves warm with just a tiny bit of help. They are wearing a down coat. They keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air in their down and feathers. As long as a breeze doesn’t ruffle their feathers enough to let those pockets of warm air escape, they can manage some really cold temperatures. Wild birds can seek shelter out of the wind but we a lot of the time the chickens don’t have as much freedom in locating a place out of the wind so instead of worrying about keeping the coop warm, think about keeping the wind out of the coop. I bet those chickens walking around outside in -25 F weather are not doing that when the wind is blowing very much. Mine don’t like a cold wind but they go out on any winter day as long as the wind is not blowing. Even if the ground is covered in snow mine go outside after a couple of days to get used to it.

Another problem is that they need fresh air, just like you do. If you lock them up tight with no ventilation the ammonia from their poop breaking down can harm their respiratory system. Ammonia is lighter than air, so they need a hole in the coop over their heads so the ammonia can escape. If the poop is frozen it won’t break down, so the danger time from that may be when it thaws.

The other reason they need fresh air is that moist air makes them more susceptible to frostbite. Those chickens walking around outside in -25 F are not getting frostbite because there is great ventilation out there. The moisture is not building up. Moisture comes from two places, actually three. The moisture from their water dish isn’t that big a contributor and they have to have water. Their poop is pretty wet. If it is frozen it’s not giving off much moisture so again the risk time may be when it thaws. They also put out a lot of moisture when they breathe. That can build up. So you need to provide openings to have some air exchange.

To me, the easiest way to provide openings for air exchange without letting a breeze ruffle their feathers is to have openings up over their heads so any breeze if over them, but there are other methods that work. I’ve seen several posts on this forum where people solve frostbite problems by providing more ventilation, not locking them up tighter.

Goldfishes, when was West Virginia settled? When did your part of West Virginia get electricity? Did the people that settled their have chickens? Do you honestly think they heated their chicken coops?

Your biggest challenge in these temperatures is watering them, not keeping them warm.

 

[lceh]

Ridgerunner is right, most of this is about making US feel better, not the birds. However, I doubt the West Virginia (or in my case, Virginia) pioneers had ridiculously impractical birds like my 1st-grader's 8 year old Silkie hen . So no, I won't be adding heat to the coop or sealing it up like a drum, but with record-setting cold predicted Thursday night I will be taking a few extra precautions so my kids' elderly bantams are a little more comfortable for one night. It's worth the peace of mind to me. I'm sure our other birds will come through just fine.

 

[sandesnow]

I currently have 5 hens and a roo. I don't heat their coop. I do offer warm water to drink several times a day and plenty of entertainment when they are cooped up. We have about 4-5 feet of snow on the ground here in Nova Scotia, and my birds seem just fine. They don't really like the snow, so mostly stay inside, but the doors are open and they can go out if they like. I do keep them closed in when the wind is blowing and there is a storm happening, but otherwise, if there is no wind, they have access to outside on any day, rain snow or sun. Just keep the moisture as low as possible in their coop and from my experience, that has done well for me.


Someone once said to me when I asked about heating, they replied: I don't caudal my chickens. They have feathers for a reason.
So I thought. Alright. That makes sense.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ridgerunner is right, most of this is about making US feel better, not the birds.  However, I doubt the West Virginia (or in my case, Virginia) pioneers had ridiculously impractical birds like my 1st-grader's 8 year old Silkie hen   .  So no, I won't be adding heat to the coop or sealing it up like a drum, but with record-setting cold predicted Thursday night I will be taking a few extra precautions so my kids' elderly bantams are a little more comfortable for one night.  It's worth the peace of mind to me.  I'm sure our other birds will come through just fine.

Yes, you are right. My experience is with chickens that look like chickens, not the decorative birds. I will mention that the Naked Neck (Turken) is known as a cold hardy breed, even with bare skin and about half the feathers as standard breeds.

 

[goldfishes]

Thank you all for easing my mind and sharing your experiences! The odd thing is, my chicken friends aren't trying to make me feel bad about not heating; it's my friends and family without chickens. I've actually been accused of neglect. I think that in combination of being the first winter is where the feelings of guilt started. I will admit I am still nervous, but I am going to follow all your advice and just make sure to provide them an area free of wind and with plenty ventilation. I will report back in the next couple days.

I am including pictures of my two chickens molting. The first just started and the second seems to be done shedding feathers and just concentrating on regrowing them. The third picture is of one that just finished a molt and started laying eggs again, just for comparison. Also, you can see where they are making "nests" in the deep litter to warm up and dust bathe. The last two are of the coop. I went out with a pair of scissors and cut some good size holes in the tops of the plastic to make sure there are even more places for ventilation. I also cleared a section of snow off the roof of the run right by the vent of the coop and opened the shutters for the day. I'll close them tonight but leave a small gap.

The funny thing is, I went out to do all this maintenance and there is a little nuthatch currently residing under the coop for warmth. My presence made her fly off, but as soon as I left, she came back. I finally realized when the birds are scratching, bits of food is getting tossed out there and she is gobbling them up. Plus the snow built up is providing a wind break. And here I am worried about chickens that are forging around like there isn't nearly 11" of snow on the ground...