Freezing temps - should I keep chickens in coop?

[cstronks]

Will stay below 0 today, and they are out in the run now, but it is protected for the winter.

Eagleeyeice, what is the material that you use to surround the run? Is that foam insulation or is that metal sheeting? Thanks!

 

[iPeanut1990]

Thank you so much for this post! I feel much more reassured now. I'm in NE Oklahoma. This is my first year with chickens. Currently it is 19F feels like 3F with the wind chill. Inside the coop the thermometer says 41F with 22% humidity. I haven't added heat or anything. It's going to keep getting colder. Tonight I think it's supposed to get down to 11 not including the wind chill. They're still out in the run pecking around. They don't seem bothered at all when I check on them. I've been checking on their water every couple hours and giving them warm water when it starts freezing. I guess we'll just leave them be and let them do their thing.

 

[EagleEyes]

I put plastic on the run for the winter to keep the snow and wind out. I bought it at ACE. They sell it by the foot, and it is the plastic that has nylon woven all through it. It only costs $1.00 a foot and came in 42" width.
I'll see if I can post a close up of it.



If you click on it you will be able to see it better.

 

[ageewax]

It was 17 degrees this morning and is about 25 or so now, but the coop temperature, even with the open door, has been holding steady at between 31 and 33 degrees. The sand underneath the coop is at 40 degrees. And there they are chilling in the shavings we put down on the snow (they really don't like the cold snow on their feet). The plastic does a decent job of keeping most snow out, but it blows in sometimes. We are probably going to enclose the sides of the run in that plastic for the remainder of the winter.

If you provide supplemental heat, make sure you have a backup power or heat source should the power go out. No need for the chickens to suffer because of poor advance planning.

I can tell my girls aren't stressed out by the temperatures inside or outside because I still get four eggs a day from the four of them.

 

[WNCcluck]

Remember, wind chill only matters if you're in the wind. If the coop isn't drafty, the wind chill doesn't matter so much. Ours girls spent the day out in the run as usual ... wind and all. Of course, today's high was a balmy 22*. It's supposed to get cold tonight

Y'all stay warm.

 

[The Lurker]

I have a coop attatched to a 8x5 run. I open the door to the coop in the morning and if they want to come out, they do. I'm in SW Missouri and we're having low temps too, so they stay in the coop if it gets too cold for them. If it stays that way for the day, i just make sure they have water and food and keep them in the coop.

 

[TXchickmum]

-in N. Texas, here. It is supposed to be 18 degrees tonight with highs in the 30s for the next few days. My gals are clueless to the fact that they are chickens. If the wind blows, the temps fall below about 40, or a sprinkle of rain drops they stay indoors. I go out each morning and scoop the coop, put out fresh food and water, and open up the sliding doors to the run. On some winter mornings one or two will peek out the door then turn and go back into the coop. Yesterday, I went to the side of the coop and looked in a window since nobody had ventured out. They were all lounging in the sunshine, happy to be "house hens".

I don't worry much about them. -assume as long as they have shelter, food, and fresh water available, they will do what they need on go where they please. -stress much more here in the summer when temps exceed 100.

 

[WNCcluck]

-in N. Texas, here. It is supposed to be 18 degrees tonight with highs in the 30s for the next few days. My gals are clueless to the fact that they are chickens. If the wind blows, the temps fall below about 40, or a sprinkle of rain drops they stay indoors. I go out each morning and scoop the coop, put out fresh food and water, and open up the sliding doors to the run. On some winter mornings one or two will peek out the door then turn and go back into the coop. Yesterday, I went to the side of the coop and looked in a window since nobody had ventured out. They were all lounging in the sunshine, happy to be "house hens".  

I don't worry much about them. -assume as long as they have shelter, food, and fresh water available, they will do what they need on go where they please. -stress much more here in the summer when temps exceed 100.

Believe me, I'll take our cold over TX heat any day!

 

[yellowchicks]

My chickens would go crazy if they were locked inside the coop even for a few hours. One time, I forgot to open the coop door overnight after cleaning, they were stuck inside the coop in the morning before I woke up to let them out. Well, these crazies must have been jumping up and down the roosting bar, flatten all their poop and kick up all the pine shaving everywhere. Made a complete mess inside the coop. It doesn't matter how cold it is outside, they want to hang out in the shielded run all day except for laying eggs to go inside. It's a nice coop, mind you, plenty of natural light and fresh air, good view, but they made me realized what "cooped up" means in chicken's world.

 

[jochickenlady]

We thought about that, but our electric is set up that if the power goes out our while house would go out, we would know right away. Then our girls would come in the house.