Frozen chickens?

[Byrd gal]

My chickens are in a hard molt. Our first one actually. It is supposed to drop into the twenties at night and forty with wind all week with snow. Should I put a coop heater out? It is a flat panel type for chickens just as an option. They are quite bald to the point of seeing skin. It is such a temp change will they adapt?

 

[DobieLover]

My chickens are in a hard molt. Our first one actually. It is supposed to drop into the twenties at night and forty with wind all week with snow. Should I put a coop heater out? It is a flat panel type for chickens just as an option. They are quite bald to the point of seeing skin. It is such a temp change will they adapt?

As long as she can seek shelter from any wind, she'll be okay.
I had a hen go through a hard molt in similar conditions. She wanted to sleep in the nest box. I let her. She did feather out pretty quickly.
I would avoid adding heat to the coop.
I would also add more fresh dry bedding for them to hunker down in during the day and make sure you're winter run wind protection is in place.

 

[aart]

As long as she can seek shelter from any wind, she'll be okay.
I had a hen go through a hard molt in similar conditions. She wanted to sleep in the nest box. I let her. She did feather out pretty quickly.
I would avoid adding heat to the coop.
I would also add more fresh dry bedding for them to hunker down in during the day and make sure you're winter run wind protection is in place.

Ditto Dat!

make sure to put vaseline on their combs

Do NOT do this^^^.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She should be fine so long as she can stay dry and out of the wind. I have some naked necks currently going even more naked and they seem just fine despite it not getting warmer than 45 during the days

 

[Hensintexas]

I would just pay close attention to how they act. A chicken has a body temp of @ 103 to 105. They will snuggle together and stay toasty for the most part.
Ours aren’t dropping too many feathers right now, except for the Cornish X. Those poor babies are literally half naked, not that they have heavy plumage to begin with. Now they do get cold, stay huddled together, and don’t move much if it’s windy. They have a sheltered place to gather. So, that’s what they do, giving the chicken stink eye to anybody else who wants in.

 

[aart]

Actually, unless temps are below freezing during the day, all this is unnecessary.

Yes, well below freezing.

 

[Fallenone05]

@aart why not vaseline on the combs I do it so I am just curoius?

vaseline can worsen the frostbite on chickens because it retains moisture in the comb/in the skin. More moisture + sub zero temps = really bad frost bite.

 

[DobieLover]

put heaters out, put out heat plates, and try to do everything you can to keep them warm. also, make sure to put vaseline on their combs

Where in "Places" do you live in general? Do you keep chickens where winter temperatures regularly drop below 0?
I do.
I do not use supplemental heat.
I DO heat the water source but it is kept in the run.
I DO install tarps to block the winter wind in the run.
I DO have lots of ventilation in the coop and the roost areas are draft free.
I DO make sure the birds go to roost with full crops. Crops full of their normal diet.

A chicken's high metabolism and their ability to fluff their feathers to trap and warm air pockets in the down are how they stay warm in winter. So, these girls in a hard molt will need a place to protect themselves from wind and trap some of their body heat next to them, hence the dry fluffy bedding that gets added in mid-fall and allowing a hen to use the nest box overnight to help trap her body heat. I have 2 hens using nest boxes now and three others are done with them and back on the roosts with the vast majority that did not use the boxes. The nice thing about HENS using the nest boxes overnight is that most of them will hold it all night and not poop in the boxes, but instead wait until they get out in the morning. The cold will stimulate feathers to grow out quicker.

Vaseline on the combs won't prevent frostbite. Keeping the moisture in the coop as low as possible will. Even with that, large combs can lose their tips if it gets below -20F. For that reason, people in colder climates should select birds with smaller combs. This is the same reason why waterer positioning is important to reduce the chance of large wattles dipping into the waterer and causing frostbite. I keep my fount waterer at chicken chest height.

 

[The WinterWolf]

put heaters out, put out heat plates, and try to do everything you can to keep them warm. also, make sure to put vaseline on their combs

 

[aart]

@aart why not vaseline on the combs I do it so I am just curoius?

Because it doesn't prevent frostbite.
Have a link to a post where someone actually tried some with V and some without, they all got nipped....I'll have to look for it.
Best to leave hands off, before and after frostbite.