Hey Northerners: What is the absolute coldest air temps your chickens have experienced happily!

[mjgigax]

Do you do anything to keep their water thawed. If not, how often do you get water for them?

 

[Scrambles55]

I have a heated waterer in the chicken pen. Although...it has been quite cold and part of the "dish" is frozen. I keep an eye on it. So far, all is good.

 

[megan80568]

Thanks for responding, I usually don't get many replies haha. I have her separates because the other birds were licking on her because She was limping well still is slightly limping. I'm sure I panic too much about them. Also when she was in the coop.no one would roost with her like they normally did She was alone and that worried me.
J

curious about why Orville is by herself - I usually don't segrate hens with bumblefoot.  She'll b happier with the others, but maybe there is some special reason you have her alone.  She will be ok, but lonely!


I'm kicking myself because when I left at 4:30 am, I decided to leave the coop door shut.  And now all this sun!  It was below 0 in the coop this morning.  It will warm up nicely with the sun though. 

I left it shut because of the -25 windchills predicted.  They probably wouldn't have gone out anyway.

Nice that y ou can go home for lunch and check and adjust!

nice to have girls that will go out!  this is the first time I've had to shoo girls out, not sure why, but things have changed since the new chicks last spring.  Hate them being inside pooping all day, it gets nasty so much gfaster even though its deep litter.

 

[walk2276]

Trying to find a watering system that is easy. Feed is no problem, just have to carry all....

 

[autumn123]

Feel like a northerner since it's so cold in Texas right now. I am taking the advice of all you with cold weather experience and not heating the coop. It has been in the low 20's for about 48 hours now and the next 5-6 nights will be below freezing. My 3 hens have been fine. They are laying eggs (not as many as summer, but I get 1 or 2 every day), eating and acting normally. I am feeding them a little warm mash in the morning and right before they go in at night.

The coop is just big enough for them, with a roost bar across it. I quit replacing the litter in there so I could have the deep litter heat, just remove excess poop every couple of days to cut down on humidity and ammonia, stir in some new shavings and DE. No smell whatsoever. The run underneath is covered on top and I covered the 2 windy sides for winter. The floor is hardware wire and I keep lots of shavings in there as sometimes they lay their eggs down there. It sits a couple inches off the ground on bricks. The whole coop and run is in a 6x8 chainlink dog kennel yard covered on roof and sides with hardware cloth, then for winter the top and 2 windy sides are tarped to keep out wind and rain. It also has shavings on dirt floor which, once they get really soiled, I stir up and push underneath the coop floor. This keeps it a bit warmer in there with the composting heat.

The coop has a window that I never close and I cracked the roof open for extra ventilation as it is humid right now. I weatherstripped the side door and the nest box to get rid of drafts. With all that and the tarp covering, I noticed it was indeed warmer in there than outside. It must be about 30-32 deg as it takes hours for the small waterer to freeze up, and I'm home to check it. I always close the pophole door at night for additional protection from the only pest that can get inside the yard and maybe the run would be a mouse or snake.

I have seen no signs of frostbite. I don't have electricity at the coop, and if I did, we lose power often enough out here so they would only suffer if they weren't used to the cold.

I don't take huge precautions in the summer either even though it can get 100+. I use a larger waterer filled with mostly ice and I also put out a splash tray with a big hunk of ice to melt over the day to cool their feet. Moisture is rarely a problem as everything is uncovered, there's usually a breeze, and it's just so hot. The coop and yard are underneath shade for almost all of the day.They move around a bit less and their beaks are open, but they did OK, eating, laying eggs, and doing normal chicken things.

 

[bobbi-j]

Currently there is no heat lamp, never has been.

I have needed some reassurance that my chickens will be okay in below-zero temps without any heat. Seems like they will be okay! Thanks, helps a lot.

Hello from a fellow Minnesotan! Here is your reassurance - your chickens will be just fine in this weather without any supplemental heat. This is the voice of experience speaking. Hoping the cold snap breaks soon, though.

Trying to find a watering system that is easy. Feed is no problem, just have to carry all....

I use a heated dog dish. Picked it up for $15 at the local farm supply store a few years ago. Works great!

 

[OneCountryChick]

Trying to find a watering system that is easy. Feed is no problem, just have to carry all....

We found some step-by-step directions for a heated waterer that will only run you $10-15. Do a search for cookie tin heated waterer. It took just a few minutes to make and keeps the water lukewarm all day and night. Hope this helps. :}

 

[lamelde]

Autumn 123 - if you are using the deep litter method you should NOT be using DE! It dries out the moisture needed for the composting reaction.
Learn more at www.the-chicken-chick.com. She has a great website & you can sign up to win chicken related prizes!!!

 

[Nevada Sun]

Hi, I live in Manitoba just north of Minnesota , north Dakota border.. we get cold here… right now it is -27 C colder with the wind chill.. my coop is -10 / 14 F right now even with 2 heat lamps.. I have a coop that is about 16X12 with 5 bigger chickens 4 silkies the rest bantams… I now have a dog dish that is heated Love it.. but the other water freezes that isn't heated of course. The coop has lots of windows and 1 should have been covered.. I am trying the deep litter method this year which is only my 2nd year … I keep reading everywhere here not to use heat lamps, any comments ..

 

[BunnyLover44]

61 degrees F -- coldest
93 degrees F -- hottest... I have two Black Sex Links so have to be careful they stay in the shade