Freezing temperatures

[Mkgcc]

Hello! My hens will be on their own for a few days while I’m out of town and I have someone to check in daily, but she can’t be there in the morning and evening to open and close the coop door (it is always open throughout the year as our run is very secure, but I’ve been closing it at night in the winter.) If I am sure to wrap the whole run in plastic will that be ok if the nighttime temps are in the low 20s? All of my breeds are cold hardy. Thanks!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

More important that it be well ventilated and draft free than "insulated" by way of plastic wrap. If you are putting up plastic to block prevailing winds and reduce drafts, that's good. If you are thinking to turn the run into a plastic wrapped "greenhouse" type structure for warmth, that's not.

Your cold hardy breeds will take 20 degree weather with hardly a fluff of their feathers as long as they are dry and draft free. The third leg of that stool is ensuring there is a way for moisture to escape so you don't return to find they have frost bite on their exposed bits - toes, combs, wattles.

 

[drinkoj]

Ventilation above the roost bar in the coops is a MUST !!! It allows moisture and the ammonia from their poop rise up and escape out of the coop. If it doesn't, the moisture will build up inside, possibly lead to frost bite on the chickens legs, and lead to respiratory problems that will ultimately kill them.

Wrapping it makes me think that there is something missing from the description of the coop itself, and I fear that if you wrap it you're going to stop all air flow. Pictures and letting us know where in the world you are can help folks here, help you and your feathered friends better.

 

[bobbi-j]

They’ll be fine whether you wrap the coop or not. I don’t close my pop door until it’s well below zero.

 

[cmom]

As long as you run is very secure otherwise the only things I would worried about is predators. I leave my pop doors in my coops open 24/7/365. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering my pens. At least you do have someone to check on your birds. Good luck and have fun on your trip...