Have you ever had a chicken freeze to death?

[I'M On Island Time]

We had -37F here last night (air temp, wind chill was -54F)...which was mighty cold.

My birds are all OK. I am worried about roo with possible frostbite on comb, but I have 3 heat lamps on in their coop (which is insulated pretty well).

We get lots of cold and snow here (Northwest Chicagoland in snow belt), and we built the coop knowing temps get down below zero. My main concern is keeping it above 32 so the water doesn't freeze (I am dealing with frozen pipes in my house tonight, as the temps are way down again to -25F with -40F wind chill).

But yes, the birds will freeze to death like anything else. If it gets below 20F, i would keep some sort of heat available. I personally think it is uncomfortable at those temps, and chickens will be chickens and wedge themselves in somewhere...

 

[henlady]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

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Add to that standing on one foot, not moving when prodded or enticed with food, though the huddling and lethargy are the biggest ones. When it's warmer the birds will all pop up when you come in with treats, and run around... not so when they're too cold. They just seem listless, and I had one youngster that found himself pushed out the pop door, then just kind of stood there with a dazed and confused look on his face. I picked him up and brought him inside, and he's fine now.

Good observation! I do have only one acting listless and 'too cold to move' during breakfast. I'll bring her in tonight and make sure she get a big cropful of food to help her throught the night. Thanks!​

 

[Mrs MIA]

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Add to that standing on one foot, not moving when prodded or enticed with food, though the huddling and lethargy are the biggest ones. When it's warmer the birds will all pop up when you come in with treats, and run around... not so when they're too cold. They just seem listless, and I had one youngster that found himself pushed out the pop door, then just kind of stood there with a dazed and confused look on his face. I picked him up and brought him inside, and he's fine now.

Good observation! I do have only one acting listless and 'too cold to move' during breakfast. I'll bring her in tonight and make sure she get a big cropful of food to help her throught the night. Thanks!

That's what you want to look for...

Let us know how she does.

 

[wischickenlover]

our wind chill got down to -50 last night with a temp of -35. everyone i asked (friends with chickens) said they should be fine. I have had chickens through 5 winters and never had any freeze to death.....until today We made sure they all had extra, dry bedding in their new coop. That may have saved some though. Right now, I have 12 casualties and three that I'm not sure if they will make it. That's about 1/3 of my flock. We were out this morning in the coop carrying each chicken, one by one, into the garage and started heaters. If only I had known........they would have been in there 3 nights ago. Everything I read and asked told me they were gonna be OK. I hesitated to use any kind of heater in the coop because of a tragic fire 4 years ago that burned both my coop and goose hutch to the ground while we were at work. I lost my 3 geese, but the chickens all survived by running into their yard. I swore I would never use another heater again. Now I am paying for it. It has been an absolutely terrible morning, filled with many tears and the feeling that I maybe somehow it could have been prevented. I am devastated and have been crying since I discovered the bodies. Please, even if you THINK it might be too cold, get a flat panel heater(s) for your coop. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Tiffany

 

[kbarrett]

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I'm so sorry to hear of your losses Tiffany.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

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Wow--TWELVE?

I'm so sorry!

 

[morelcabin]

Well last night we had to bring some in at our house too. It has been -40 for three nights now and the daytime temps are btween -28 and -34C. The first two days they were okay, and if it would have lifted things would be bussiness as usal, but last night when I went to check on them my slikies had frost all over them...NOT a good sign that things are okay. I also have a barred rock roo that has pretty bad frostbite on his comb and has been limping, so I brought him in the house with the silkies because he was showing signs that he wasn't doing well with it anymore either.
I also finally put in a heat lamp over the roost for the rest of them. Haven't lost any but I think I would have if I hadn't checked on them last night and noticed the ones that DID need extra help.
Our temps are supposed to come up to bearable temps tomorrow so the heat will come out and the silkies will return. The roo will need a little extra attention for a few days I think he will be staying in the house for a bit longer

I am so sorry you lost some to the cold last night Wis...we all live and learn, don't be hard on yourself...these temps are so rare that it is hard to tell how they will affect anything

 

[pax12]

I had 1 die a few years ago

 

[katrinag]

I was really worried about going out this morning and opening the door. It was COLD here. -50 with the windchill. But everyone seems just peachy. Eating like little pigs.

 

[Mrs. Mik]

Tiffyany, I'm SO sorry to hear of your horrible loss! We are not far from you in Ladysmith . . . we're just east of Abbotsford and had the same temps. All our chickens, geese and ducks appear to be fine. Do you have any idea why you lost so many? Are there any drafts in the coop?

Again, I'm so sorry. I was devastated when we lost four in one night. I can't imagine 12.

(((((hugs)))))

Julie