How cold is TOO cold for a chicken?

[chickness]

Ha! That's what everyone keeps asking me in my neighborhood, "why are you only getting two! chickens!" Silly ordinance rules! ( That's a diff. topic!) You can see why I am already planning ahead 6 mo. because I didn't even think of a light for me to see by in the darkest part of the winter! I will look for some outdoor extention cords on sale this holiday season! Last question, If you were me, then would you place a heated dog dish in the hen house...or in the chicken run during the winter? I would use a secondary rubber dish to pound out ice also somewhere in the chicken coop. ( I am thinking many winter items I need I could buy ahead of time on sale...) Thanks~! s.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Quote:
X2. Just a heated waterer in run, lows went below -20's F.
No heat, no problems.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

For just two chickens, a heated dog water bowl would work fine. They're easy to clean, too. When I use heated water containers or add heaters to water containers, I put them on non-flammable surfaces in the coop. Things like a concrete patio tile, bricks or concrete block. I've never had a problem, it's just a common sense safety measure. Anything electrical can have a problem, even if the odds are small. You can put them outside, too.

I've had as few as 3-4 chickens in a coop over winter. They've done just as well as a couple dozen have for me. They haven't even been in a particularly small coop.

 

[Fred's Hens]

A re-cycled ice cream gallon bucket, sitting the heated dog dish. Easy as pie.

 

[MeechHen]

I have a heated water bowl outside the coop in the pen and I have a heater in the coop. I have the coop heater on a temperature monitor that will turn it on when it gets below 45 degrees F and off above 50 degrees F. I had only one hen in there last year ( I had two but the other one was killed by a hawk before the winter last Nov.) but this year I will have 3 (and now they have a predator proof pen outside the coop). It gets cold north of Boston, MA where I live and we had a ton of snow last winter. She did just fine by herself until she was joined by her two new friends in the late spring. I keep a spare heated water bowl, coop heater and bulbs just in case any of them break down and have to be replaced quickly mid winter. I have spoiled hens....but they are more like my pets than anything else.

 

[LadyBantam]

Spekled Hen .... that is one beautiful bird !!!

 

[aishakz]

I accidently throw some water on my baby chick.............Now he is not eating or drinking just standing in a side...I think he is suffering from cold..what should i do??

 

[silkieloverz123]

my husband nevr thinks its to cold. he says "its a chicken". I worry and worry all the time. they have a big coop but no heat and its 10 degrees right now.i eaised them from babies and i coddle them like crazy. hes always rolling his eyes when i want to do something for them

chickens rule !!!

 

[MountainRoseBud]

I haven't read all the reply's but I sure love reading the ones I do! Here at 10,000 feet, with only my second rounds of birds EVER, I was worried about the little buggars, just because the fella I'm getting them from is a little OCD on his birds. They are 10 weeks old now and he still keeps them at almost 95 degrees! I think we'll ease them into it, but they will be living in the greenhouse not too long after we get them. We have winter for at least another 2 months, but if it gets bad they can come hang in the room-mates bathroom!

Happy clucking!

 

[chickness]

well, my 2 Deleware, and 1 Barred Plym. Rock made it through our wisconsin winter so far! They will be one year old next week. I was a nervous mother hen this winter, not really knowing how cold is too cold for a chicken. Although numerous people told me they would be fine through the winter without supplement heat. I did not want to take a chance...it's not like I have 30 chickens and if one freezes we would eat it! So I think city chickens are cared for a bit differently! I bought a programed electric timer. It's awesome. I set it to go on automatically when the temperature goes below 20 degrees, and shut off when it goes above. During the week that we had -8 degrees this winter, yes negative, they were in a Playskool plastic house with a 250 watt red heat light. It made it about 20 degrees inside for them with the heat light. They were still ansty to get out even on the negative degree days!. So if it was below 20 degrees I kept them locked up in their hen house and didn't let the heat get above 20ish degrees. When it was 25-30 degrees they like being outside to sit on their perches rather than locked up. When they were babies they seemed to adjust to less heat right away, I brought them outside and got them used to warmer spring days, even if I had to bring the heat lamp outside just in case!!! Have fun. Almost spring!!!