Hatching chicks in cold weather?

[mvinotime]

Hi I have a hen that is broody and sitting on 4 eggs. I believe they should be due to hatch in a couple weeks but this puts it mid November ugh. I have only had a hen hatch eggs in spring/summer weather. How will this work out? Will she be able to keep them adequately warm?? She is in a separate covered enclosure with small nesting boxes so very sheltered from any wet or windy weather but it will probably start to get pretty cold soon. I am in northern California so not TERRIBLY cold but still chilly. Any advice? Thanks

 

[har]

If she is a good mother she should do just fine. I have had Brody's raise there chicks here in Arkansas in the winter.

 

[mstanton]

I have a hen who is sitting on a clutch of eggs that should be hatching in about two weeks. I am concerned because we live in central Maine and we built our house in the middle of a cow pasture and it gets pretty windy and pretty cold. I am going to bring the chicks inside if they hatch and put them in a brooder box. Hopefully by the time they feather out the worst part of the winter here will be over. I've had a few people tell me that they should be fine, but to put a heat lamp in the coop for a while so that they can adapt. I guess we will see how it goes!

 

[sumi]

I've had hens hatch eggs and raise chicks outside in the middle winter. Honestly it was no different from having them hatch them in summer. Our winters are not severely cold, after the worst nights I'd find frost and frozen water bowls, we don't get snow here. The chicks were not bothered by the cold temperatures, they were happily running around in the cold and crawled under their moms for a quick warm up when they felt like it, before running off again. They are a lot tougher than we give them credit for! All you need to do is provide a weather proof, sheltered spot for them where they can hang out when the weather's foul and to sleep at night. The hens will take care of the chicks and make sure they are warm enough. If your winters are extremely cold the hen I'm sure will appreciate some extra heat in the coop at night, but you don't have to provide that.