How cold is too cold for my chickens?

[Jeslena]

Hi everyone! I know this question comes up a lot, but my husband and I are in a bit of a disagreement about our chickens and the cold, so I’m hoping for some advice.

We live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and have three chickens (two Buff Orpingtons and one Black Wyandotte), all about five years old. The temperatures here are consistently in the teens now. We’ve blocked the coop and run from the wind and added insulation, but when I check on the girls, I sometimes find them shivering or standing on one foot, which I know can be signs they’re cold.

My husband and I can’t agree on whether we should add a heater to the coop. He’s hesitant, while I’m more open to using one just to keep the internal temperature around 40°F. I’d love to hear what others in cold climates recommend.

Is heating necessary for older cold-hardy breeds, or are the shivering and one-foot stance normal? This is my first year taking care of chickens, so I know I am over-protective!


Any advice or experience would be so appreciated!

 

[Snowbelt]

I'm in upstate NY and do not heat my coop. My Buff Orpingtons will be 6 in March and they have done fine in past winters. I don't anticipate any problems this time around. Best of luck to you.

 

[redinator]

I live in the south, so I don't have any first hand experience with temps in the teens, but I've heard repeatedly that most breeds of chickens tolerate colder temperatures better than they do heat.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hi everyone! I know this question comes up a lot, but my husband and I are in a bit of a disagreement about our chickens and the cold, so I’m hoping for some advice.

We live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and have three chickens (two Buff Orpingtons and one Black Wyandotte), all about five years old. The temperatures here are consistently in the teens now. We’ve blocked the coop and run from the wind and added insulation, but when I check on the girls, I sometimes find them shivering or standing on one foot, which I know can be signs they’re cold.

My husband and I can’t agree on whether we should add a heater to the coop. He’s hesitant, while I’m more open to using one just to keep the internal temperature around 40°F. I’d love to hear what others in cold climates recommend.

Is heating necessary for older cold-hardy breeds, or are the shivering and one-foot stance normal? This is my first year taking care of chickens, so I know I am over-protective!


Any advice or experience would be so appreciated!

Take a (dry, unused! ) Kleenex with you to the coop on the next breezy day, and hold it up next to their roost. It shouldn’t flutter.

If it does, their coop is drafty. Chickens are fine in the cold (high internal temperature, bodies covered with down and feathers), but getting wet or having a draft ruffle their feathers takes away their heat quickly.

 

[AinaWGSD]

My first winter with chickens was my first winter with a polar vortex. I don't remember what the temps for that day were, but I decided it would be too cold for chickens and I wouldn't let them out that day. When I went out to bring them warm water, the entire flock met me at the gate to the run! I had forgotten to close the pop door the night before. Me and the chickens had very different ideas about what's too cold for chickens.

Chicken feathers are very efficient at keeping body heat from escaping! As long as chickens have enough shelter from the wind that would ruffle feathers (which would release the insulating pocket of warm air) they do well in temps well below freezing.

 

[Mrs. K]

My worry about burning down the coop and maybe my house, let alone my chickens. Many people have done so.

Do you see wild birds? They make it. If they are dry and out of the wind, they are good.

How are you going to keep that heat in there? The only way is to shut up the space. Almost immediately the moisture is going to build up inside the coop. Think of being in a car, without it running. Immediately the windows fog up.

So damp chickens at 40 degrees are going to be in ammonia filled air and colder than dry chickens at -25F.

Mrs K