How cold is TOO cold for a chicken?

[Digsworms]

I have a small coop for 2 pet chickens. I placed a heated dog mat in their nest enclosure. They are protected from the wind. I am still debating if this will be enough!

 

[pdirt]

I have a small coop for 2 pet chickens. I placed a heated dog mat in their nest enclosure. They are protected from the wind. I am still debating if this will be enough!

Any heater is a risk. What are your average winter temps? And what's the coldest it gets where you are? Chickens can survive, and even thrive, far colder temps than most people tend to think. The most important part is that they have adequate ventilation. Ideally, you have 12-18" of unventilated space above their heads and 1 square foot of ventilation per bird above that. Dry is more important than warm, because the dry will keep them warmer. They breath a lot of moisture out during the night as well as the moisture evaporating off their droppings.

 

[Digsworms]

Thank you for your reassurance! It is dipping to the single digits excluding wind chill. They are protected from the wind. This temp will only last a few days. I know I am just an over protective mom to my peeps.
It is in the high 20's now and they are roaming the back yard and happy.
Only one hen laying, the other has finished molting and I am just waiting for her to start laying again. Oh, they are Buff Orp, so they are well insulated! Not Fat! LOL!
Thank you so much for easing my concerns.

 

[pdirt]

Thank you for your reassurance! It is dipping to the single digits excluding wind chill. They are protected from the wind. This temp will only last a few days. I know I am just an over protective mom to my peeps.
It is in the high 20's now and they are roaming the back yard and happy.
Only one hen laying, the other has finished molting and I am just waiting for her to start laying again. Oh, they are Buff Orp, so they are well insulated! Not Fat! LOL!
Thank you so much for easing my concerns.

Single digits is cold for us, but certainly not these fluffy warm chickens! We also have some silkies, which don't look like they've got as much warmth, but they have done exceedingly well, even down to -9F here. We don't use any heat, well except for chicks raised in a brooder box. I've read of folks up in Alaska that don't add any heat to their coop until it hits -20F.

It's natural to want to protect. The trick is just not to over do it. I was reading up on care of indoor jade plants the other day and the article said the number one killer for jade plants (or most any house plant) is too much watering and fertilizer...from plant owners that hover over their plants, literally killing them with their care and attention!

 

[yellowchicks]

Tonight is 3F with gusting 20 mph wind, with wind chill feels is -10F. Inside the coop is a balmy 11 degree, no wind. I just checked on my girls, they all fluffed up like balls of feather, no problem.

Just as an experiment, I put two hand warmers inside a wire lint trap on their roosting bar to give them some warm. Not sure if they really appreciate it. I can look by their poop location tomorrow to see if they actually "used it".

 

[Digsworms]

Thank you for your reassurance! The girls did just fine!

 

[leslud]

In 1999 I decided that I was going to move to Pennsylvania (Latrobe) because my children from my first wife lived there. I got the in autumm and it was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. It quickly went downhill from there. First off, you have to go to something called a state store to buy beer. woof.

Second, I fell down more times than anybody else in the state that year do to snow. Its all nice a soft looking in the movies. Wrong. It gets so cold there I actually hurt all over. brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Crazy Yankees.

You guys are a tough lot, I'll say that for ya.


Any how, spring came and I was outa there

 

[leslud]

Aha I live about 85 miles from atlanta and mine were all puffed up! It wasnt even that cold

I lived 17 plus yrs in Texas and now im here in Rochester NY its cold here hate it miss my Texas! I too worry about our ladies being cold and have even brought them inside on occasion to try to warm them. But so far they seem ok. We have put up tarps all around the run and over the top to keep the snow out.

 

[ChickenLady100]

My coop is pretty big and the temps are well below freezing! All of my girls stay in the coop all day long but when they sit down they are shaking like crazy. I am so scared that they are too cold.

 

[Beekissed]

Below freezing isn't too cold for a chicken, so no worries. Many chickens out there right now are doing subzero temps with no problems, such as mine. If your birds are very young it could affect them more, so that's a consideration, but if they are grown chickens with normal feathering they should be fine. If your coop is too big you can hang a blanket in front of where they roost but don't try to block off the airflow there or they will get chilled when their own humidity settles back onto them and freezes.

Good food, fresh water, dry bedding, a dry place to sleep and they should be fine.