How cold is too cold during molt?

[ChickenCanoe]

takes a little while for the hens to get used to cold weather. if you supplement heat……and lose power……your chickens may suffer because they are not acclimated to temps lower than 30 degrees or whatever. My hens are freezing at 30 degrees at first, but gradually get used to the cold. the hens do well even in 20-10degrees. I never supplemented heat b/c of what I was taught, and I’m glad I didnt. This will be our third winter and I couldnt imagine worrying about heat plugged in anywhere near them. I was told by the pros here that they should be fine in Connecticut winters, just block the wind. That was solid advice. my hens like the cold, but hate the wind chills and snow and will avoid. All this advice would be modified if any hens are molting. winter Molting hens get extra checking in on, and extra protein for warm and assistance with healthy molt. Good luck winter chickens!!
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The same can be said of bringing chickens indoors. You can't just stick them back outside without some period of acclimation.

 

[alinas2010]

takes a little while for the hens to get used to cold weather. if you supplement heat……and lose power……your chickens may suffer because they are not acclimated to temps lower than 30 degrees or whatever. My hens are freezing at 30 degrees at first, but gradually get used to the cold. the hens do well even in 20-10degrees. I never supplemented heat b/c of what I was taught, and I’m glad I didnt. This will be our third winter and I couldnt imagine worrying about heat plugged in anywhere near them. I was told by the pros here that they should be fine in Connecticut winters, just block the wind. That was solid advice. my hens like the cold, but hate the wind chills and snow and will avoid. All this advice would be modified if any hens are molting. winter Molting hens get extra checking in on, and extra protein for warm and assistance with healthy molt. Good luck winter chickens!!
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Your chickens are so beautiful. I know from the bottom of my heart I am doing them more disservice than good providing heat. I should work on less heat this winter. It’s hard for me. I usually do follow the increments I listed before but if they seem to be doing okay running around in 12f weather all day and go to bed with full crops, I don’t worry quite as much. They have the choice to sleep by a radiant heater if they want to and if not then I suppose it’s more for me than for them. I do try really hard not to make it so that they are too well used to being warm, I swear. And I definitely would not try to ever provide heat in temps as high as they are currently, nor would I keep the coop as warm as I am right now, this molting chicken and now sick chicken are just getting the best of me and now everything is going to pieces.

Believe it or not, we’ve had the worst case scenario of a power outage on a -30 degree night during that winter vortex a few years ago! Chickens came inside and spend the night in an xl dog kennel and half the next day inside. Acclimating them outside again was tough. But that’s okay, that’s what I did to myself. It was feasible with a small backyard flock of 4.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Your chickens are so beautiful. I know from the bottom of my heart I am doing them more disservice than good providing heat. I should work on less heat this winter. It’s hard for me. I usually do follow the increments I listed before but if they seem to be doing okay running around in 12f weather all day and go to bed with full crops, I don’t worry quite as much. They have the choice to sleep by a radiant heater if they want to and if not then I suppose it’s more for me than for them. I do try really hard not to make it so that they are too well used to being warm, I swear. And I definitely would not try to ever provide heat in temps as high as they are currently, nor would I keep the coop as warm as I am right now, this molting chicken and now sick chicken are just getting the best of me and now everything is going to pieces.

Believe it or not, we’ve had the worst case scenario of a power outage on a -30 degree night during that winter vortex a few years ago! Chickens came inside and spend the night in an xl dog kennel and half the next day inside. Acclimating them outside again was tough. But that’s okay, that’s what I did to myself. It was feasible with a small backyard flock of 4.

 

[CrystalAnon]

Aww poor Xena! I just hate molt! Don’t blame you one bit for bringing her inside, Id have no problem doing the same. Luckily it warmed up a bit here the past few nights but the next few look bitter again. People always talk about how tough they are but without their feathers I really don’t think they hold much heat. It will be over soon, hang in there!

Thank you!! Xena is not a very people friendly chicken. She did not seem to enjoy being inside. I left her out last night cause it was supposed to be around 38, so a tad warmer. It was 41 outside the coop, so prob a tad warmer inside. I strapped some hand warmers to the sides of the roosts to help them a bit when I closed up the coop last night.
Just did a wellness check (we have a couple hours before it will start warming up). She’s def cold but seems to be doing okay. I strapped one more hand warmer near her to help a bit for the next few hours. Luckily the coldest it will be is 44 degrees at night while I’m gone for Thanksgiving. My husband will be here to let them forage a little while I’m gone, but he’s not as hands-on as I am with them.
Just praying the cold will get her body to up the pace of feather growth. Plus extra protein snacks.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Thank you!! Xena is not a very people friendly chicken. She did not seem to enjoy being inside. I left her out last night cause it was supposed to be around 38, so a tad warmer. It was 41 outside the coop, so prob a tad warmer inside. I strapped some hand warmers to the sides of the roosts to help them a bit when I closed up the coop last night.
Just did a wellness check (we have a couple hours before it will start warming up). She’s def cold but seems to be doing okay. I strapped one more hand warmer near her to help a bit for the next few hours. Luckily the coldest it will be is 44 degrees at night while I’m gone for Thanksgiving. My husband will be here to let them forage a little while I’m gone, but he’s not as hands-on as I am with them.
Just praying the cold will get her body to up the pace of feather growth. Plus extra protein snacks.

Just an idea, but I'm thinking if I were in your boat with one freezing hen, I would get a small dog crate, load it with hay, and when roost time comes, add a heated water bag or bottle and have that hen sleep in there amongst the flock. Be sure to get to her first thing in the morning so she can load her crop up again! Maybe start the day with some extra protein, say tuna, cooked meat, scrambled egg, or even some feed with warm water and a dash of oatmeal. Good luck

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Just an idea, but I'm thinking if I were in your boat with one freezing hen, I would get a small dog crate, load it with hay, and when roost time comes, add a heated water bag or bottle and have that hen sleep in there amongst the flock. Be sure to get to her first thing in the morning so she can load her crop up again! Maybe start the day with some extra protein, say tuna, cooked meat, scrambled egg, or even some feed with warm water and a dash of oatmeal. Good luck

Even if its best for a hen to spend a night inside, the stress could be worse than the actual issue at hand. I have 7 hens, and 4 of them would go nuts if I took them away from the flock. If necessary, add a second hen or maybe a mirror. I had a hen spend 10 days inside the house with me as she recovered from a bad comb wound. A mirror was a serious help each night she would lay right next to it looking at her friends, lol!

 

[CrystalAnon]

Even if its best for a hen to spend a night inside, the stress could be worse than the actual issue at hand. I have 7 hens, and 4 of them would go nuts if I took them away from the flock. If necessary, add a second hen or maybe a mirror. I had a hen spend 10 days inside the house with me as she recovered from a bad comb wound. A mirror was a serious help each night she would lay right next to it looking at her friends, lol!

Yup. My Xena gal was so obstinate, she didn’t even poop overnight. She waited until the moment I put her up on the roost in the coop, in the morning!
She’s already stressed because of molt. I hated to take her in, but I was way too worried about her freezing to death out there. Her feathers do seem to be growing in pretty quick.Hoping they’re in enough to start helping her stay warm soon!!

 

[CrystalAnon]

Yup. My Xena gal was so obstinate, she didn’t even poop overnight. She waited until the moment I put her up on the roost in the coop, in the morning!
She’s already stressed because of molt. I hated to take her in, but I was way too worried about her freezing to death out there. Her feathers do seem to be growing in pretty quick.Hoping they’re in enough to start helping her stay warm soon!!

Xena seemed to be pretty slow this morning. Was a bit worried. She only ate a few dried BSFL when I gave them scratch this morning. She wasn’t even working for them when I was dropping crickets into the run near her. So I did a big batch of scrambled eggs with some canned chicken mixed in. Made sure to give it to them still warm. She ate a decent amount of that, so I’m feeling a bit better about her now. Hopefully that will help.
Might give them more scrambled eggs tomorrow morning to make sure she gets some good protein in her before I leave for my Thanksgiving trip. Plus it’s going to be warming up for several nights in a row after tonight. Will be in the low to mid 50’s.

 

[Georgia Chickens]

My French Fry is having a rough time molting and much later than last year. Their run is in the shade and I’ve seen her shiver a lot but otherwise she does normal chicken stuff. It’s been windy, but she has access to her coop during the day. She stays in there until late morning (with everyone else), but then is out most of the day. Temps hang around 40s-50sf during the day and 20s-30s at night. Going to be in the 30s next week tho with snow. I have been giving them heat during the night and mornings via the flat radiant heaters and at night I add a small dog house heater if it gets under 25 only bc they’re molting.

Should I worry she is shivering? I don’t have great pictures, I feel like she looks worse in person, but here she is. She’s only been this bare about 2 days. She still shakes and loses SO many feathers. Will she stay in her coop if she’s cold enough, or follow her flock and get too cold outside?View attachment 3988880View attachment 3988882View attachment 3988883View attachment 3988887

I've got one I thought was molting, seeing she kept laying in sunny areas, but still felt cold. Upon closer inspection, thinking new rooster's reason for feather loss. She's been quite docile last 4 days. Not roaming around w/others and avoiding him anyway possible.
Brought her in yesterday morn & she's been inside since, sleeping. Have not seen her eat anything I've offered. Not even bites of fav goodies. Crop empty & doesn't seem to have any hard areas around rump. Gave her dose of Nutridrench & put B cell in water. About to go force some water, via syringe, into her.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I've got one I thought was molting, seeing she kept laying in sunny areas, but still felt cold. Upon closer inspection, thinking new rooster's reason for feather loss. She's been quite docile last 4 days. Not roaming around w/others and avoiding him anyway possible.
Brought her in yesterday morn & she's been inside since, sleeping. Have not seen her eat anything I've offered. Not even bites of fav goodies. Crop empty & doesn't seem to have any hard areas around rump. Gave her dose of Nutridrench & put B cell in water. About to go force some water, via syringe, into her.

good luck ❤