Heat

[Granny Hatchet]

Merry Christmas y'all. I hope everyone has a perfectly wonderful day
Gnight

 

[Rick589]

You are very tender-hearted, thoughtful and caring and those are good things. But with chickens one must also be practical. Maybe it will help to remember that chickens are BIRDS. And birds of all kinds, from sparrows to eagles, are designed to live outdoors and to survive in all kinds of weather. Except for a few breeds that humans have foolishly bred to have no feathers, most will do fine in practically all conditions, just with the equipment Nature gave them. They have a thick dense undercoat of soft downy feathers that serve as insulation by locking their body heat in close to their bodies. They also have an outer layer of feathers that covers the down and further locks that body heat in. Finally, they will instinctively huddle together if they get cold, generating another layer of warmth. And we generously provide them with dry, draft-free coops or houses, which is way more than wild birds have, and you see that chickens are just about the most pampered birds on the planet. So in short, your chickens are probably fine without added heat of any kind. In fact, if they get accustomed to added heat, they will be at a severe and possibly deadly disadvantage if for any reason that heat is unexpectedly lost, say to a power failure. They won't have adapted to natural conditions and could succumb to the cold.

Thank You for the compliment. You bring a good point to mind, that being a birds, any bird, adaptability to natural surroundings. I suppose that, in my mind, chickens are some where between wild and domesticated and therefore may need a bit more accommodation. Having said this I do follow the ‘no heat’ approach as has been clearly stated as the correct approach by so many of you.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You are very much further north than I am and may get much colder than I do. Do use common sense and also listen to those who live in those colder regions. Remember how important ventilation is to preventing frostbite. Wishing you all the best for you and your birds, and also - a very Merry Christmas to you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m curious if anyone supplies heat to their coops so they don’t feel as though they’re abusing the chickens.

People do a lot more than that but first let me tell a story or two.

Many years ago two states away when the dog was still young the morning was bright and clear. No wind. Right at freezing. A heavy frost on the ground. That dog was laying out in the front yard with her head up and observing her queendom. My wife saw her and said, that dog must be miserable.

Being a wise husband I said nothing and turned away before I smiled. That dog chose to be there. Using a doggie door she could have been in a warm attached garage or many other places. What my wife really meant was that if my wife had been laying out there my wife would be miserable. That dog was really enjoying herself.

Another story. Growing up on a farm Dad had a flock of free ranging chickens. Most slept in the coop but a few slept in trees. Those trees were in a sheltered place so wind wasn't much of a problem. Besides, the way their feathers lay, if they face into a wind and hide their head under a wing to protect their comb and wattles they can handle a reasonably strong wind. You cannot get better ventilation than sleeping in a tree. The coldest I saw it with them sleeping in trees was about -10 Fahrenheit. Those were single combed chickens, they did not have any issues. No frostbite.

When we lock them in a coop we limit their ability to find safe places. If the wind hits them wrong the feathers can be ruffled and they can get really cold. The biggest danger is from frostbite. If moisture builds up they can get frostbite if the temperature is below freezing. The more moisture the higher the risk. That's why we talk so much about ventilation.

Your job is not to keep the chickens warm. Your job is to give them a way they can keep themselves warm and safe. That means a way to get out of breezes. It also means great ventilation so the moisture from their breathing, their poop, and any open water sources can be removed from the coop. There are different techniques for that. I do it by having any openings up above their heads when on the roost so any breezes pass overhead. Others may have a design where one wall is pretty open but the others are solid with the roosts in the back protected area. There is enough air movement out front to get rid of moisture but in the cul de sac it is calm.

When it gets really cold (below -20 F or so) you may need to do things differently. Some people on this forum house them in a way that even those temperatures are not a problem but it gets a bit more tricky.

They are your chickens, you can do as you wish. Just because they may not need something doesn't mean you can't pamper them. Good luck!

 

[Seaslug]

Just wanted to add, surviving something is not the same as thriving through something.
Many have noted that wild birds survive winter... but colder temperatures present stress on the body. I think that any chicken breed is working above baseline to regulate its temperature when environmental conditions are, say, 0 degrees F. Having just read about the way blood circulates in humans in colder temperatures (reducing to the extremities and brain to keep the core warm, resulting in delayed response times), I would assume the same would be true in other animals. So, the cold may not out and out kill the bird, but does put physiological stress on it and could cause it discomfort, leading to failure to thrive.
Most chickens would survive hot temperatures, but, realizing it is stressful on the chickens, many owners do what we can to mitigate the effects of extreme heat on our birds.
I see it as good husbandry (not tenderheartedness) to do what you can to make sure that your chickens not only survive, but live a life as free from stress as possible.