How cold is too cold for hens?

[aart]

Will wait for pics, but sounds like they may need more shelter.

Oh, and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[ChickenGirl555]

I wouldn't worry about 30F. Mine have gone through -15F and ended up fine. Nobody got ill. But then again, it all depends on breeds.

This reminds me of one post where somebody from Florida worried about her chickens freezing in 50F.

 

[TheGoldenGirlz]

I think some people forget that animals acclimate to their climate. So a hen in Florida for example is not as used to the cold as a hen in Canada. 30 will not kill a bird, but it will make them uncomfortable if they’re used to more warmth. Just keep the wind off of them but make sure that there is plenty ventilation. Good luck!

 

[aart]

So a hen in Florida for example is not as used to the cold as a hen in Canada.

Good point....plus sometimes temps can drop, or rise, fast and drastically.
It's more the difference in temps over a day or so, than temps they are used to.

 

[petmainia]

Sorry. I added that. Colorado Springs, Colorado

 

[PirateGirl]

Well, the muddy answer is, that depends. Honestly, the best gauge of how your chickens are doing is their behavior. A chicken that is walking around, relatively active, eating, drinking, pooping, pecking, scratching etc. is doing well. You know what your healthy happy chickens look like. A chicken that is lethargic, stands still, huddled, puffed up, eyes closed, etc. is not doing well. Chickens are quite cold hardy, but sometimes, for one reason or another, we may have a chicken that struggles in the cold. It's up to you to recognize a chicken that is not doing well and take steps to give it a little extra TLC. Disease that is dormant in your flock can also surface at times of stress, extreme weather (heat or cold) is a time of stress.

It was below zero Fahrenheit this morning at my house already. The chickens aren't happy about it. I'd say once the temp drops in the single digits is when they start taking issue with the weather. They will choose to stay in their coop until a few hours after sunrise when things warm up a bit. They might run out and eat a few bites and then run back inside. I might see half the flock outside and half inside. Yesterday afternoon there were two girls outside drinking water through a hole they'd pecked in the ice. The other girls were in the coop watching through the window. They are all fine. They self regulate. They go in and out as they wish. The ones inside are still active, awake, walking around and scratching in their bedding even though they are hiding from the snow and the wind. I don't worry much about them anymore.

 

[1muttsfan]

Your coop is quite small for that many birds. When the weather gets cold or rainy, they are forced into too small a confinement space, and some will be chased out by the more dominant hens. As a GENERAL rule, you should provide about 4 square feet of floor space per bird inside the coop, and 10 outside. Your coop is 5'x3" (height is not as much an issue, although such a low coop does limit roost height), so 15 square feet, or enough for around 4 birds.

While you can get by with less space, I would not recommend it - crowding increases the risk of infections and bullying, and so many birds in such a small space will increase the humidity, which can be a factor in respiratory infections and frostbite.

If you can provide more inside space, or at least cover the run with tarps (top and sides both) to provide more protected space, that would be best.

 

[Mach 1 Padilla]

Im in west texas so it doesn't get that cold here, but maybe a week or 2 out of the year it gets down below freezing. my free roaming hens get by just fine without additional heat. Ive never lost one due to the cold.

 

[Hedwig Chicken]

I live in Canada and it gets pretty cold in the winter.

My chickens survived in -40 degrees. They didn't get any major frostbite at all.

My Broody Hen hatched 6 chicks in -40 degrees.

Right now the temperature drops around 35 degrees at night, they all seem fine.

The most important thing to keep them safe from the cold is probably avoiding the wind.

So that is I keep my chickens under this:

 

[wyoDreamer]

The wind will be your biggest enemy in Colorado. my chickens will go outside and scratch around and be happy in -30 degrees with no wind, but at +45 degrees Saturday with sunshine and 35 mile per hour winds, they were all in the coop scratching around and being happy. No heat in the coop, but no wind either.